Native American Herbal Remedies: A Rich Herbal Health Tradition

We have come to take modern medicine for granted at times and fail to consider the ages before the pharmaceutical industry as we know it existed. Yet today, more and more people are dissatisfied - or at least deeply concerned, about the effects of the products of that industry.  Natural herbal remedies have been developed by many cultures, often developed and used over many centuries to deal with illness and the various aches, pains and trials of life.

Native American herbal remedies represent one rich tradition for using natural substances with medicinal properties for dealing with many common problems. Herbal remedies filled an important role within the various Native American cultures which stretched beyond dealing simply with the body's aches and pains and into the realm of the spirituality as well. People's health, in these more holistic traditions, is seen as a complex mix of bodily, social, mental and spiritual elements. The more progressive elements within modern allopathic medicine (western medicine) have finally also begun to extend themselves beyond bludgeoning symptoms with industrial chemicals and are attempting to move toward considering the whole person.

Generally within the Native American cultures, remedies were derived from locally available ingredients so different tribal groups would develop their own specific herbal remedies. In seeing the world as a whole, filled with life, each part deserving of respect, useful herbs and medicinal plants were also accorded great respect as gift of life. Some were viewed as deeply sacred and might only be used within the context of religious or spiritual practices.

Natural herbal remedies today

While not universally true, herbal remedies tend to be far less toxic and have far fewer disagreeable side effects than many prescription drugs.  Of course, you do need to follow directions and use any remedy appropriately, in the proper form and at the proper dosage level.  Concerns over toxicity and the addictive or habituating properties of many modern industrial medicines has led researchers and medical scientists into investigating,  testing and formulating new and updated combinations based on the known effects of herbs and extracts.

Previously, you had to make your own or find an accomplished herbalist to compound a remedy for you.  That process, while fascinating, is fraught with problems ranging from being sure you actually have received the herb you paid for, through varying levels of potency in different batches or in herbs handled, processed and stored in different ways, all the way to questions of contamination and wildly different dosage levels raised by the manner of formulation of the final product.

For most, today's alternative is to chose a carefully controlled and formulated product using the highest quality organic ingredients and strict pharmaceutical level manufacturing and quality controls. This should ensure that the product is pure and uniform from one batch to another with the proper dosage levels for maximum effectiveness.  Today's natural herbal remedies draw their organic ingredients from all over the world rather than being limited to those found in a small local area.

As a matter of historical interest and for those curious about the Native American remedies and what North American plants have been used for their medicinal properties, here is a short list (and not a complete one certainly) of relatively common North American herbal remedies and what the have been used for:

Rabbit tobacco: asthma, colds, cough, flu, pneumonia;

Bloodroot: bronchitis, sore throat, some cancers including cancer of the uterus;

Oak: kidney disorders, menstrual problems, sprains and sores;

Wild Cherry: colds and coughs, tuberculosis, stomach cramps, wounds;

Wild Yam root: menstrual cramps, childbirth, hormonal imbalance, poor libido;

Passion flower: insomnia, hyperactivity, tension, muscle pain,
(As a poultice): injuries, wounds; (its root): boils, earache;

Sage: cuts, bruises, upset stomach, irregular menstruation, colds, tuberculosis, childbirth;

Juniper: urinary infections, gum disease, dandruff, indigestion, gonorrhea, diarrhea, high blood pressure;

Willow: pains, fevers, headache, toothache, sores in the mouth, stomach problems, diarrhea;

Purple Coneflower: insect bites, stings, snakebites, gonorrhea, bowel problems, toothache, sore throat, burns.

These are only a small sample of what herbal remedies are available - but note that some of the conditions above really require other kinds of intervention. No herb will cure a cavity so even if it kills the pain you are setting yourself up for seriously unpleasant problems later if you don't see a dentist. The same goes for sexually transmitted diseases such as gonorrhea. See your health professional. Herbal remedies seem to be most useful for problems where prescription medications don't truly solve the problem but only suppress the symptoms temporarily, have side effects that may be as bad as the problem itself, cause addiction or simply don't do the job. Obviously you need to be sensible with your health and should always consult with your primary care professional.

Just as an aside, those lemon, menthol and mint extracts you've had in cough drops are derived from Native American remedies. Be well.