Fact a Day: March 24th

The Facts on Holistic Health and the New Medicine (Harvest House, 1992), p. 26

 

What is herbal medicine (botanotherapy, phytotherapy, aromatherapy, vegotherapy)?

 

Herbal medicine is the use of herbs and other plant products to allegedly help cure a wide variety of physical ailments, or the use of “spiritually potentized” herbs and plants for physical or psychic healing and/or other occult pursuits—as in the Bach Flower Remedies, Vita Florum, aromatherapy, and similar practices. Particular herbs, plants, or flowers are believed to possess physical or spiritual healing properties. Roots, leaves, stems, plants, seeds, etc., are prepared in various ways, sometimes through psychic methods, and either consumed orally as medicine or used on the skin as ointment.

Some herbs and plants do contain medicinal properties and in extracted or synthetic forms are used in modern health care and medical treatment. The scientific discipline known as pharmacognosy is a legitimate and important field, but extensive scientific research is required to separate the wheat from the chaff. Unfortunately, New Age herbalism largely ignores scientific concerns and pursues its own methods and interests….

New Age herbal medicine is largely, if not exclusively, a combination of questionable commercialism and wishful thinking based on ignorance (cf. V.E. Tyler, The Honest Herbal). Many commonly sold herbal remedies, even some herbal teas, are potentially harmful by themselves or through allergic reactions or synergism. …

 

*For full documentation, please see The Facts on Roman Catholicism.