Secrets of the Medicine Man: Why they’re better then ours. Thousand of years ago Man, and Beast lived in peace. Then Man grew hungry and decided to hunt beast. Beast grew angry and decided to send disease to man. Man grew weak and sick, and was close to death. Plant took pity upon Man and said, “Do not fear, for death will not visit you. For every disease that Beast sends you, you will find the cure in us.” (Iroquois 34) This Iroquois folk-tale was used to explain the healing properties of plants. Plants have been used to cure all the aches and pains that have plagued mankind.There is a large body of research into herbal medicines. Great progress has been made in the isolation and identification of the constituents of medicinal plants using high pressure liquid chromatography and gas chromatography. Research to identify the main active components is carried out either in a search for new drugs or to enable claims to be made for proprietary herbal preparations. Medicinal plants have been generally shown to have not one but a combination of active principles. Once these principles are found, the next step is learning how to synthesize itThe medical industry has been synthesizing medicine for years now. We have become so reliant on the industry, that the very notion of ingesting the plant matter has become sickening. People have even stopped eating balanced meals, in favor of neat multi-vitamins. Most of which have vitamins that cancel each other out. The problems with synthesizing medicine, out weighs the benefits. We should not continue to synthesize our medication.The first factor that one should consider is the cost of buying synthesizing medication versus taking the natural approach. According to Forbes Magazine consumers spent an estimated $3.5 billion on herbal supplements, almost twice the amount as in 1994. (Forbes 28) However Goldenseal now costs $100 a pound, up from $15 a pound a decade ago. When one consi...
