4C THE UNIVERSITY DAHY KANSAN
KANSAS RELAYS
THURSDAY. APRIL 21. 2005
Ocoee
Ocooe Miller wears an army-green shirt with cut-off sleeves over a magenta T-shirt with her sleeves rolled up around her strong, tanned arms. A teal bandana holds in place her shiny, silver hair. Inside Milleer's country home, a cool, dark storeroom contains her collection of dried herbs and herbal tinctures. Miller grows a variety of plants and herbs on her property outside of Lawrence, which she uses to make herbal medicine.
Herbal medicine uses plants and herbs administered in different forms, to benefit the health and wellness of a person. Herbs can help treat issues such as aneurysia, anxiety, stress, colds, flu, sore throat, poor digestion, herpes, PMS, headaches.
Use herbs to treat illnesses, boost your immune system and have better health. By Britta Florman, Jayplay writer
the gift of the garden
insomnia and bladder infections. Herbal medicine works to maintain balance in the body and correct underlying problems that cause illness. Herbs can also alleviate a variety of symptoms.
Civilizations have been using plants for healing since the Stone Age. Practically every culture, ancient and modern, has used plants for medicinal purposes. Over centuries, cultures have experimented with and learned the healing properties of plants including garlic, elderberry, lavender and echinacea. Native American, Egyptian, European, Chinese, Indian and indigenous cultures have used herbal remedies as far back as the beginning of written record. Today, Americans spend $4.2 billion a year on herbal supplements according to the National Nutritional Foods Association's Web site www.nnfa.org.
Herbs can be taken as medicine in a variety of forms; capsules, tinctures and teas are the most common. Capsules contain the herb in a dried form. Miller warns that capsules are not a very effective way to consume herbs. There is no way to know the age of the capsule contents, and once herbs dry out they begin to lose their potency. A highly effective way to consume an herb is by taking a tincture of the herb. A tincture is made by soaking the herb in alcohol, which preserves its potency and healing power. Herbs can also be consumed as a tea.
Self-education is an effective way to learn about herbal medicine. A variety of literature exists explaining the health benefits of plants and herbs. The internet has a dizzying amount of information on herbal medicine. Makk sure you understand the
12 Jayplay 04.21.05
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