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Herbs
Little did we know when we were young, how herbs were not only beneficial to our health, but they were very good to flavor many of the foods we eat. Our mothers and grandmothers used many herbs for teas and in foods to prepare meals and for whatever ailed us.There are many herbs and plants which are beneficial to our health and well being. Anthropologists even feel that the animals eat plants and herbs for their health and well being too. Herbs have been used for thousands of years for seasonings in foods and for medicinal purposes. Animals such as dogs, chickens, chimpanzees, sheep, butterflies, birds, and other animals have been observed and found to eat bitter plants and others that they would not normally eat, in order to ingest antiviral and other healthy ingredients into their bodies to help them fight off diseases and infections.
The study of herbs dates back at least 5,000 years and the Sumerians were recognized as being the ones who began the studies. The first Chinese herb book is dated at about 2700 B. C. The records show 365 medicinal plants and their uses. The Egyptians have records as far back as 1000 B. C..and are known to have used garlic, opium, castor oil, coriander, mint, indigo, and other herbs for medicinal purposes. The Old Testament of the Bible also mentions the use of herbs and the cultivation of it. Some of the herbs mentioned are mandrake, vetch, caraway, wheat, barley, and rye.
The Greeks and Romans used herbs and other plants for medicinal purposes and so did the Native American Indians. The writings of Hippocrates and Galen show the patterns for the use of herbs in western medicine. Hippocrates mentions a few herbs to use as well as rest, fresh air, and proper diet. Galen recommended large doses of mixed drugs, which included plants, animals, and mineral ingredients. He compiled the first records on the properties and uses of medicinal plant. During the first century A. D. Dioscororides wrote a bout more than 500 plants and was used as a reference well into the seventeenth century. Herbalists and botanists in later centuries used the Greek book which founded the science of botany. This reference was called Theophrastus’ Historia Plantarum, which was written in the fourth century B. C..
There are many herbs that people use today. Some of them are used for weight loss (such as Hoodia Gordonii), herbs used for digestion, metabolism, appetite, illnesses, viruses, health problems, preventatives, and much more. Some of the herbs and natural supplements used to lose weight are, cayenne, green tea, seaweed, nettle, ginseng, and more.