It's the most ancient form of healing documented 

Botanical medicine is the use of plants or plant extracts for medicinal purposes…

We are coming back full circle, understanding that by isolating a single chemical within a plant destroys the inherent intelligence of the whole to work in brilliant complexity.

THE TYPES

Botanical medicine can come in many forms such as herbal preparations like tinctures, glycerites, capsules, infusions, and extracts for treating specific aliments.  

ESSENTIAL OILS: You're probably used to the top players such as lavender, peppermint, tea tree oil, and eucalyptus which are all distilled.  These wonderful oils are usually applied topically or inhaled.  For example, tea tree oil has potent anti-fungal properties and can be used topically for tinea and athletes foot. Aromatherapy is a pleasant way to stimulate the olfactory nerve (which sends messages to the brain's limbic system (important for memory, learning, and emotions) to trigger physiological responses like, for example, lavender creating a feeling of relaxation.  FYI: Essential oils can be toxic (or even fatal) when taken internally.

TINCTURES: I love to use tinctures when I need a more concentrated dose of an herb, like when I feel a cold coming on. Don't think you can just pour some alcohol into a jar and drop a plant inside and call it a tincture!  Making medicinal tinctures involves real chemistry.  Constituents of specific plants are best extracted with a certain %  of alcohols and some even other plants don't do well as tinctures based on their composition (like milk thistle).