Herbal Medicine in Sustainable Healthcare

One of the things I love about herbal medicine, in fact one of the reasons I came to study it in the first place, is the sustainability and availability of it. Its ability to survive across time, across culture, across environment, and across economic status.

You may be in the middle of a developing country, a day’s walk away from your nearest pharmacy stocking out-of-date drugs you can’t afford, yet a herb that might ease your ailment may grow in your back yard. A perfect example of this is the plant Artemisia annua. It is the plant from which the main chemical in the leading anti-malarial drug is extracted. That drug may be out of the reach of many who need it, but the plant is not. It can be grown in many parts of Africa and has been shown to be effective against malaria in several studies.

Herbal Medicine is the oldest recorded healing art and likely predates humans, with there being evidence that Neanderthals used herbal medicines 50,000 years ago! Chimpanzees have also been shown to use a wide array of medicinal herbs, self-medicating with many herbs that also have traditional usage with humans! Globally herbal medicine is still one of the main forms of medicine used today and, according to the World Health Organisation, in some parts of the world it is the most relied upon form of medicine. Even modern medicine relies on plants: over 120 compounds used in medicine today are extracted from or based on chemicals found in plants.

So if existing for over 50,000 years isn’t classed as sustainable, then what is!

Of course, there are some aspects of herbal medicine that are not sustainable. One of the main concerns is that some herbs get over-harvested in the wild. Goldenseal, false unicorn, and some species of Echinacea are examples of this. In the latter case it is mainly due to the huge popularity of Echinacea, coupled with harvesters not properly distinguishing the different types of Echinacea and harvesting those that are less common. In my own practice I look for organically cultivated or sustainably wildcrafted herbs to use in my dispensary, and I choose non-endangered herbs to use in a prescription rather than endangered ones where these will have as good an effect.

Even with local non-endangered herbs, there can be a risk of over-harvesting and of damaging the local population of a particular herb. There are a set of principles one should follow when picking plants from the wild, but that will have to save for another post.

A Wider Role in Making Healthcare More Sustainable

Modern medicine offers much of value and it has some great strengths. However, it also comes with its problems. Some of these I will give in turn along with what I believe herbal medicine can contribute in helping make them more sustainable. It is not about replacing modern medicine, but rather about looking for an integration of the best of both that would serve the greater good.

Reliance on a Complex, Well Functioning Infrastructure

This is seen most clearly where such an infrastructure does not exist. A quick glance at many developing countries soon shows how modern medicine struggles where finances, good roads, a well functioning electric grid, technical facilities and equipment are lacking. Herbal medicine, by contrast, is little bothered by these things. Knowledge is the only thing really needed. Training in herbal medicine for those working in such situations would increase the reach of healthcare.

Over Burdened

Another thing that seems unsustainable to me is the amount of pressure put on the current healthcare system. Waiting times can be long, doctors overworked and over-stressed, and healthcare costs keep increasing. There are a couple of things here where I believe herbal medicine can help. The first is helping people look after their own health more using simple herbal remedies and dietary change, thus reducing doctor visits.

The second is by more clearly recognizing the strengths and weaknesses of both conventional medicine and herbal medicine. For some things you need medical intervention without a doubt, for other problems herbal medicine can have more of a beneficial effect with less side effects. I believe there is something to be said for starting first with more gentle and natural approaches before resorting to more powerful intervention. This could lead to less illness overall, less side effects, and the freeing up of conventional medicine’s resources for when it is really needed, thus making the whole system more sustainable.

Resource Intensive

Modern medicine, with the running of facilities, equipment, and manufacturing medicines, is reliant on using a lot of energy and other resources. Herbal medicine, meanwhile, uses very little. I spent some time in the Carpathian mountains making herbal remedies without mains electricity or running water and with fairly simple resources and local ingredients. If herbal medicine could be used more as mentioned in the above section, this could reduce some of the resources used in modern medicine and increase sustainability.

 

I believe that a crucial role can be played by herbal medicine in sustainable healthcare. It has so much to offer and I feel there would be a certain wholeness in combining the world’s oldest form of medicine with its newest. Of course there are also other therapies that could help towards the goal of sustainable healthcare, I have just discussed the one I am most familiar with.

I would be very interested to hear your thoughts on this subject, and so please leave a comment below if you have anything to add or contend!

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