Ebook: The practice of traditional western herbalism: basic doctrine, energetics, and classification

The forgotten language of energetics : the green tongue -- The four qualities : energetics of ancient western medicine -- The six tissue states : forgotten energetics of nineteenth-century Western medicine -- Specific medicine : energetics of the medicinal substance -- The fountain of life : the energetic organism -- Organs and systems : primary structures of the body -- The three primary constitutions : assessment of the whole person -- Sedatives : heat, or the excited tissue state -- Relaxants : wind, or the constrictive tissue state -- Nutrative tonics : dry, or the atrophic tissue state -- Astringents : damp flowing, or the relaxed tissue state -- Alteratives or blood purifiers : damp stagnation, or the torpid tissue state -- Stimulants : cold, or the depressed tissue state.;The Practice of Traditional Western Herbalism places the function of western herbs in their true historical context, apart from homeopathy, traditional Chinese medicine, and Ayurveda. Recently there has been a revival of interest in western herbalism, but practitioners haven't been able to explore its benefits due to a void of information on the topic'the system of medicine the herbs fit into had all but disappeared. To remedy the situation, herbalist Matthew Wood has researched the old-time practices and reconstructed them for modern use. In resuscitating western herbal medicine and bringing it up to date, he gives his readers a powerful tool for holistic theory and treatment. Wood makes the point that plant medicines, because they are made from a broad range of chemical components, are naturally suited for the treatment of general patterns in the body. He argues against the biomedical model of standardization, in which herbs are refined and advertised as if they were drugs suited to an exact disease or condition.