Mississauga Botanical
Before the advent of modern Western medicine, one of the primary forms of healthcare was plant-based, or botanical medicine. Today, botanical medicine is still a significant portion of the toolkit of most healthcare practitioners worldwide.
Even some of the most commonly prescribed pharmaceutical drugs – like aspirin, penicillin, and codeine – are derived from plants. In fact, more than half of the drugs on the market today are derived from plants.
At the Mindful Healing Clinic in Mississauga, chief medical officer Dr. Maria is well-versed in the healing properties of plants. By combining knowledge from both Chinese and European traditions of herbal medicine, and adding modern research and advances, Dr. Maria is able to offer botanical medicine solutions for a wide range of health concerns.
What Are The Benefits Of Botanical Medicine?
Botanical medicine has a wide variety of different applications for nearly every health concern imaginable.
From both an illness prevention and illness treatment perspective, there are often plant-based solutions for your health woes.
Below, you’ll find a list of just some of the health concerns for which botanical medicine has a solution, along with scientific research supporting that solution. This is by no means an exhaustive list.
- Constipation
- Headaches
- Psoriasis
- Skin conditions like acne, skin cancer, UV damage, and alopecia
- Hair loss
- Healing of surgical wounds
- Epilepsy
- Liver conditions like hepatitis and cirrhosis
- Plantar warts
- Cardiovascular disorders
- Musculoskeletal health
- Depression, anxiety, and insomnia
- Anti-bacterial and anti-fungal
- Strep throat
Botanical medicine can also be used to fight common illnesses like the flu or the common cold. This can help you avoid some of the negative side effects of the pharmaceutical approach, which often involves antibiotics.
What To Expect From Botanical Medicine
When you come to the Mindful Healing Clinic, chances are you won’t be coming for “botanical medicine” services. Instead, botanical medicine is just one of the tools in the belt of chief medical officer Dr. Maria.
Your health plan will come alongside your assessment, which may include botanical medicine on its own. More likely, though, it will be recommended alongside several other treatments to help address the health concerns you’re facing.
Each case is different, but the general aim for botanical medicine is a course of several weeks of higher dosage, before reducing to a lower dosage, and eventually removing the medicine altogether.
As for the botanicals themselves, they can take many different forms. Here are some of them:
Botanical Tinctures
A botanical tincture is a concentration of herbal extract, usually made of alcohol. You make a tincture by soaking herbs and other plant parts in alcohol for a few weeks, which extracts the plant’s medicinal components. Your tincture may include a single plant, or a combination of two or more plants to increase efficacy.
Most tinctures are taken orally, though some should only be used externally. Dr. Maria will be sure to explain to you how best to take your tincture.
Botanical Capsules And Tablets
Botanical capsules and tablets are likely the most familiar form of botanical medicine, because they most closely resemble pharmaceutical drugs in appearance.
A botanical capsule is a small container designed to contain a concentrated amount of your botanical, and then dissolve as it reaches your stomach.
Botanical Medicinal Teas
If you’re a regular drinker of black tea in the mornings, you may be surprised by the inclusion of tea in this list. However, many find tea to be a pleasant and effective way of consuming botanical medicines.
You prepare these teas the same way you would any other tea, except that steep time varies. Some of the common uses of medicinal teas include, but are not limited to, digestive issues, headaches, sore throats, detoxification, destress, and menstrual issues.
Botanical Creams
Topical botanical creams are often useful for skin issues, such as psoriasis, eczema, and acne. They can also be used to soothe any aching muscles or tension, such as arnica, or infections, like calendula.
These creams generally come in a tube or a glass bottle, and are applied directly to the skin.
What Is A Botanical Medicine Practitioner?
Like all naturopathic doctors in Ontario, Dr. Maria has received extensive training in the use of botanical medicine. Her training also included contraindications between botanical medicine and pharmaceuticals, rare though they may be.
That means whether the effects of your botanical medicine will conflict with any pharmaceuticals you’re currently taking. This is why it’s important to be as detailed as possible when revealing your previous health history to your naturopathic doctor.
Contact The Mindful Healing Clinic
If you’re looking for a solution for your health condition, you may find it in the world of botanical medicine.
At the Mindful Healing Clinic, Dr. Maria offers a wide range of health solutions based in botanical medicine. To find out how botanical medicine can help you with your health concerns, contact the Mindful Healing Clinic today.
If you’re new to the world of naturopathic medicine, Dr. Maria also offers FREE 15-minute introductory consultations. You’ll get a chance to ask questions, get your concerns addressed, and find out more about your options going forward.
Contact the Mindful Healing Clinic today.
