relationship between the complementary therapies and orthodox medicine. This is the way forward to create the framework that will fulfil our expectations of health and wellbeing.
Herbal medicine has much to contribute to the development of a holistic health service using the healing plants provided by nature. The use of herbs for healing brings us immediately into touch with our world in a profound and uplifting way. Many ills of our culture stem from our sense of separation from the Earth, the ground of our being. Herbal medicine, whilst being a valid and effective therapeutic tool, can also be part of a personal and even social transformation.
A New Expectation
During the years since this book was first published there have been great changes in attitudes towards herbalism and complementary medicine in general. Why are people turning to such alternative therapies as medical herbalism? There is a growing recognition that concern with health and wellbeing is not the same as one with illness and cure. What this means and how anything can be achieved in practice is vague in the public mind, but expectations have been raised and important questions asked.
There is a multitude of reasons, ranging from abject desperation to a positive and active quest for transformation, why people will consider consulting a herbalist or other alternative therapists. An increasingly important trigger is the fear, real or imaginary, of drugs and their side-effects, or of the trauma of operations. The herbalist is often called upon to act as a surrogate counsellor, advising or guiding in place of the doctor. The question of safety and even the need for drug therapy is an enormous one and this is not the place to air it. However, fears about side-effects are often well founded. Whilst not wishing to belittle potentially life-saving drugs or surgery, I feel the limitations of such methods are becoming increasingly apparent and will often unintentionally direct people towards safer alternatives.
Another prompt to try alternatives in Britain is increasing exasperation with the organisational monolith of the National Health Service. This is not a criticism of the nurses, ancillary workers and doctors valiantly endeavouring to care for their patients but simply an acknowledgment of the faults of the system. An atmosphere of alienation and impersonalisation pervades many waiting rooms, hospital wards and consultations. The field of health and wholeness is the epitome of where small really is beautiful.
Those who have been told that they must learn to live with their illness, or that there is nothing else orthodox medicine can do, will often turn to medical herbalism in the hope that something can be done. Herbal medication may well help, but it is a great pity that such help is not sought earlier. Often it will be in such extreme cases that doctors themselves may even consider alternative therapies, and if little or nothing can be done they will then conclude the approach has no value. The flaws in this attitude are obvious.
It is 1990 and the Green movement grows strong, holism is no longer simply the domain of the fringe, and herbalism is thriving throughout the industrialised West. At long last the world view that this book is embedded in is increasingly seen as the only perspective that offers hope for the future of our society. Whether in health care, politics, economics or any of the multitudinous facets of human endeavour, a change is manifesting that moves us to cooperation, both with each other and with the world we are part of. This transformation is not easy or comfortable but is very, very real. I feel deeply blessed to be able to make this small contribution to the field of Herbal Medicine, one aspect of the dawning human awareness of the embrace of Gaia.
David Hoffmann
The Redwoods, Northern California, June 1990
‘The New Holistic Herbal’ consists of three parts. The Holistic Approach to Herbalism places herbalism into its context, showing plants in their relationship to healing and humanity. The central part of the book discusses herbs and the herbal treatment of the systems of the body. The third part is a traditional herbal which discusses the herbs in detail and provides information about their chemistry and actions, as well as information on gathering and preparing them.
The book can be used in several ways. It can be read from cover to cover as an introduction to herbalism; it can be used as a textbook; it can be used as a source for finding out about the holistic treatment of specific conditions and problems; or it can be used as a traditional herbal to find out more about a particular herb.
The approach to herbalism in this book uses herbs, according to their actions, that work synergistically to provide the body with the most appropriate help to work against disease. In this book the synergistic use of herbs is recommended. A combination of the actions of each herb or herbs must be carefully worked out so that the most appropriate aid is provided in combating disease. A uniform approach to the problem is necessary. The reader needs to decide which actions are needed to counteract a disease, and then consult either The Herbal section, which provides a general description of each herb and its actions, or the section on The Actions of Herbs.
To find information about specific diseases, the reader should consult the Contents for the chapter in which the problem occurs, or look in the General Index for references.
The Herbal section is arranged alphabetically by English names. If the reader knows only the Latin name, the Index of Botanical Names will help in finding the English derivation. A particular herb can be located throughout the book by using the General Index, the Index of English Names and the Index of Botanical Names.
To find out which herbs might be useful in a particular disease, the reader should look to the Repertory section, and then to The Herbal section for more detailed information. When it says in this book, “This may be helpful,” or “That may be considered,” it is for the reader to look herbs up and make the decision.
When to use herbs
Herbs can be used freely and safely as part of one’s lifestyle without thinking of them as ‘medicines’. For specific health needs, their best use would be preventative—to prevent problems appearing. There are specific herbs which strengthen and tone specific organs and systems. These may be used where a tendency towards illness is recognised but no overt disease is present. By using herbs it may well be possible to overcome any weakness.
While each person should find their own herbal ‘ally’, the following may be safely used over extended periods of time:
| Circulatory system | Hawthorn Berries |
| Respiratory system | Mullein |
| Digestive system | Meadowsweet |
| Nervous system | Skullcap |
| Skin | Nettles |
| Muscular and skeletal system | Celery Seed |
| Reproductive system |
Raspberry
|
