The Evolution of Plant-Based Medicine: A Historical Perspective

Luna Herb Co. and The Smelly Gypsy sell natural herbal remedies. Herbs are wildcrafted, grown, or bought from others. Although not organic, they use no chemicals on their herbs. Within two years, they want to cultivate or wildcraft all their herbs. Local herbs or those that grow well here are their preference.

They make 100% natural goat milk soaps. Artificial scents and colors are avoided. Their beard oils are organic, lip balms are fragrance-free, and deodorants are aluminum-free.

Their family farm and company is tiny. Their herbal goods are complemented with eggs from free-range hens throughout the day and turkeys and lambs in the fall.

They batch-make all our medicines to ensure quality. Herbs are collected and prepared at their optimum for maximum therapeutic potential.

They do have free range chicken eggs available at our farm (in Troy) for $4/dozen. And all of their soap is available here too!

Anyone interested in herbs can take lessons or join their weekly study group. Visit their website for details.

To schedule a herbal consultation, visit the website.

Luna Herb Co.

8801 State Route 162, Troy, IL, United States, Illinois

facebook.com/lunaherbco

herbalist@lunaherbco.com

The relationship between humans and plants has been longstanding, and botany and medicine have always been linked. Any culture's herbalists, shamans, and healers learnt about plants from their grandmothers and great-grandmothers. They learned this way. They may be considered the first professionals in history and had a major impact on the colony residents.

According to the Chinese proverb "there is nothing new under the sun," archeology shows that many modern treatments are derived from prehistoric herbal medicine. This follows from the reality that nothing is new.

Trial and error may have taught mankind about herbs and plants' curative (or fatal) properties. Herbalists were suspected of witchcraft, and people may have learnt about herbs and plants. Many ancient tribes believed plants could heal by analogy. For instance, they believed that plants with heart-shaped leaves were heart-healthy and red resinous leaves were blood-healthy. However, the main premise was (and still is) that even the smallest plant with little value has a role and must serve humans. This notion is old.

The 16th-century printing of books with either a lot of useful or a lot of worthless material led to modern ideas about using herbs for therapy. Medical plants are now widely accepted for their benefits, which is significant. Since then, medicinal plants have acquired popularity and esteem via modest but steady development.

- From Yoga of Herbs, Vasant Lad and William Frawley