As a qualified herbalist you might expect me to be a great promoter of herbal remedies, such as teas and tinctures, to be bought over the counter. I'm not and I'm glad I'm not.
At the end of this month the new Traditional and Herbal Medicinal Products Directive will be implemented and will effectively limit the herbs which members of the public can buy off the shelf. The reason given for the introduction of this new law is that of safety to the public but in reality it is more about the impact that these herbal medicines have had on the medical profession. With more people self medicating there is less need for the medical professionals (and the cynic in me notes that there is less need for the pharmaceutical industry...they can't cash in on herbal medicines).
Still, it's a good job that mother nature provides such an abundance of medicinal herbs free of charge. Add to that the fact that the food we eat can help both to prevent disease and cure it and we're onto a winner!
It's never been more important to educate people on what grows around them, how and when to use them and also how to nourish themselves properly. With this information we can each be responsible for our own health and we wont then need mass produced over the counter remedies. So let's get to it!
