Southeast
Asia houses many herbs and medicinal plants. As with various magical practices
of Southeast Asia; there are certainly many types of herbs in Southeast Asia:
from India, China, Europe, Middle East and many more native SEA species. Many
of this type of applied herbal knowledge are handled down from mouth to ear by
our forefathers and seldom being written down. I call this type of healing arts
the “SEA folk medicine”.
I am not
sure if there is a clear separation line between the “folk medicine” and “traditional
medicine”; personally I treat “folk medicine” as rules of thumb that are taken
as it is and may or may not be fully tested. On the other hand, the “traditional
medicine” is built upon a set of treatment theories; no treatments and
medications can be administered without referring to these theories.
A TCM
(Traditional Chinese Medicine) practitioner once told me that it will be indeed
over his dead body to ask him to consume something that he does not know. I am
sure you will do the same, but for the proponent of folk medicines; certain
herbs are thought to be a “cure all” solution.
There are claims
that many herbs can cure cancerous illness, tumors, high blood, diabetes and
the like. I am not a doctor and let us pass this task to the field experts. But
what I do know is that some of the herbs can treat fever, sore throat and the
like pretty effectively.
Having said
so, please don’t take the herbs daily as if we are taking tea. Majority of the
herbs can be bitter, possess mild toxicity and having cold characteristics. I
have a pal who consumed too much of Andrograhis Paniculata Nees or “the king of
bitterness” and later found difficulties in controlling his muscles.
However, if
one apply the herbs correctly; the curing effect is simply amazing. At time a
simple herb can save one’s life from snake bite in wilderness far away from
civilization. Another example:
My pal from
Johor were having cough for 2 weeks. He visited a renowned TCM practitioner for
3 visits; each visit costs him $35. So he spent a total of $105 on the
consultation fees. At the mean time, he drank 6 bottles of cough syrup that
would cost him $18 per bottle. Hence he has spent $108 on the cough syrup. So he
spent a total of $213 on the TCM medication. Likewise, a visit to a medical
doctor would cost about $50 per visit.
So, how
much was the medicine I prescribed to my friend?
$12!!
Well… He
only took the first dose that has substantially relieved his cough. That would
be only $3! For the rest of $9 was a throat reliever drink. Now do you think we
should go further into the SEA herbs? Check out:
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