Herbs are the most exciting topic emerging in the health and wellness field today. What was once the "go to" solution for all things medical and healthy aging has been relegated to the annals of history, until now. There is a reawakening to the error of our ways in 20th Century medicine. I encourage all who read this article to stand guard to your health and longevity by looking deeper into the secrets of human biochemistry and its relationship with what I call "Natures Pharmacy", the plant kingdom. It is here that we, as a species, can find solutions to all ailments, diseases, infections, and longevity issues. The sad fact is that, through a very aggressive 100 year long marketing campaign by the modern day pharmaceutical industry, we have forgotten where we came from and have paid a heavy price for it.

We are borne of the earth just as we return to the earth. Everything the human organism needs, and has always needed, can be found in nature. What most people aren't aware of is that, at the turn of the 20th Century, discoveries in the plant kingdom led to the isolation of certain plant compounds that had medicinal properties that could be profitable when engineered in a laboratory. Plants can't be patented but synthetic compounds can. This was the birth of the modern day pharmaceutical industry. After disasterous damage to the liver and immune systems by various drug therapies in disease treatment, the U.S. population is experiencing a welcome emergence of solutions from the medicinal plant and herb kingdom. People are now demanding an alternative way to address maladies in the human body. How exciting! The most powerful thing that ever happens in time is "an idea whose time has come".

We seem to be slowly creeping back toward the times where the Romans, Persians, Hebrews, Egyptians, and Native Americans relied on Mother Nature to battle disease and illness. Those segments of the population in the U.S. who are in search of natural solutions to aging ang disease are driving the awareness of Naturopathic and Homeopathic medicine, herb solutions, and herbal rememdies back into mainstream thinking. The United States is one of the 20% of nations that rely on drugs to solve problems in contrast to the other 80% that rely on non-toxic natural herbs as a solution. From their point of view we are crazy to forego solutions, provided by nature, and resort to toxic substances that always have a negative impact on human biochemistry. With the reawakening of medicinal herbs as a natural solution healing and maintaining a healthy profile, we are relearning that herbs can be used to treat and cure conditions such as gall bladder disease prostate cancer, leukemia, toxic buildup in the body. They can also be used as an anti-inflammatory, muscle relaxant, liver function normalizer, and more.

Herbs perform one of two functions; either as a "tonic" or as a "stimulator". Tonics have a slow and subtle effect on the human body when being used to strengthen the immune system and nourish the human body. There are a number of herbs that can be taken on a daily basis for overall health such as Echinacea, cayanne pepper, milk thistle, ginger, garlic, rosemary, and green tea. Stimulators are herbs that are taken for shorter periods of time and act to initiate strong healing processes for certain maladies. Example of these herbs include peppermint leaf, cramp bark, barberry bark, catnip, aloe vera, and ginger root to name a few. When purchasing such herbs purchase organic herbs whenever possible as these herbs, as opposed to bulk herbs, are usually more nutrient dense, contain no chemical fertilizers or pesticides, and typically are grown locally.

All in all we are, as a society, are beginning to look in the right direction for alternative solutions to health, wellness, and longevity. Pick up a copy of any book on medicinal or therapeutic herbs from any bookstore and learn how to find herbs that can easily be implemented in your daily eating or cooking routine and bring yourself back to your roots.