Corinne Montenon

Medical Herbalist

MNIMH

BSc Hons Herb Med

PhD Theol

• Western Herbal Medicine consultations in London and Surrey.

• Education and information on Herbal Medicine: talks, walks, seminars, workshops.

Western herbalists know the value of conventional medicine in certain acute conditions and emergencies. However, herbal medicine can not only support orthodox treatments, but it is also a complete health system in its own right.

Western Herbal Medicine as it is practiced now is a combination of traditional and modern knowledge, and is both effective and safe. It emphasises prevention as well as cure and is particularly useful in chronic conditions.

Western Herbal Medicine

We know from records of Sumerian, Egyptian and Chinese culture that plants and herbs have been used medicinally from as early as 5000BC. Western Herbal Medicine is derived from the traditional Greek and Roman practices, best illustrated by the writings of Hippocrates, Galen and Dioscorides.

The Arabs contributed a wealth of knowledge to the herbal tradition; Avicenna produced the first pharmacopoeia in 1025, The Canon of Medicine, listing 800 tested drugs, plants and minerals, but also setting the basis of clinical trials and tests. From the 15th to the 17th century, herbals in English rather than Greek and Latin started appearing: the anonymous Grete Herball of 1526, John Gerard’s The Herball or General History of Plants in 1597, and Nicholas Culpeper’s The English Physician Enlarged in 1653.

In fact, the use of medicinal herbs and plants is part of all traditional medical traditions in the world, not only in traditional Western Medicine, but also in Ayurvedic, Chinese, Unani-Tibb (greco-arabic medicine) and the shamanic medicine of many cultures (Siberia, Latin-America, Asia). Most of the world population is still treated with herbal medicine, which is inexpensive and readily available in nature.

In the developed world, pharmaceutical drugs are often derived from herbs and plants such as quinine, aspirin, digitalis, or opium. In contrast to these synthetic drugs, herbal medicines are not made of a single chemical compound, but generally use the whole plant, thereby relying on its extremely complex and balanced chemical composition (plant chemicals work in synergy to produce an effect greater than the mere sum of their parts).

This, however, makes herbal medicine difficult to test in a conventional scientific way and explains why synthetic pharmaceutical drugs cannot achieve the safe and efficient effects of medicinal plants. Herbal medicine therefore uses natural chemical complexity to help restore health. The herbalist views patients holistically and supports their well-being in all areas, with herbs, well-being advice: diet and exercise, or examinations (including clinical examinations or laboratory tests if required), as well as empathic listening.