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Nick Thompson BSc.(Hons) Path Sci., BVM&S, VetMFHom, MRCVS
Since the earliest times, man has used herbs effectively to maintain
health in himself and his animals. Actually, herbs were on the planet
long before animals. As higher mammals evolved through pre-history,
they modified their metabolism to use plants for their own benefit;
food, healing and parasite control being just a few examples.
I find it incredibly exciting to think that our bodies and those of our
animals have always had a complex relationship with plants and herbs.
As a holistic vet, I’m lucky enough to be able to learn and apply my
knowledge of herbs daily in the treatment of animals. Any single herb
is thought to contain 4-600 active compounds. In most plants, we only
know the top dozen medicinal molecules. Herbs are able to affect the
body and parasites in ways the pharmaceutical companies can only dream
of.
Use of herbs to promote health is, for me, a no-brainer.
They’re safe, avoid resistance problems and are more ecological than
drugs. Above all, they are effective. Of course they are – they’ve been
used by animals for aeons to complement their internal metabolic
pathways. They’re a bit like an external library of information the
mammalian body can borrow from in times of need. If you see it like
this, then I think it’s almost a crime not to use herbs in preventative
and therapeutic medicine!
Having an effective product that
contains herbs able to control internal parasites, condition the gut
and promote health is, for me, a revelation. Conventional drugs cannot
do all of these things. In these days of over-reliance on petroleum
products, drug resistant MRSA, Superbugs and suspicion with modern
pharmaceuticals, it is reassuring to know there is a product one can
rely on that provides cover without damaging ourselves, our animals or
our planet.
In the modern world, there is a place for drugs in medicine. There has always been a place for herbs. |
