story

Medicinal plants and herbs are the oldest known remedies. The Aristotelian student Theophrastus of Eresos (~ 371-287 BC) wrote one of the first works in which the healing properties of certain plants were described.

In all traditional medicines in the world, plants are usually the focus: in Ayurveda, in TCM, in Tibetan medicine, etc. "Phytotherapy" is probably as old as mankind itself resorted to certain plants under certain circumstances. For example, animals can be observed to eat certain plants that are not normally part of their diet whenever they are sick. This "self-medication" by animals is now even a separate branch of research in biology as "zoopharmacognosy".

The Gauls, for example, used verbana as a sedative and mistletoe as a kind of panacea. Caraway, coriander, tarragon and saffron were common foods among the ancient Egyptians. In Mesopotamia, garlic, mustard, hemp and fennel were used for medicinal purposes. Foxglove was used as a laxative and wound herb long before it was used in cardiac medicine. Indian cuisine and Ayurveda applications are inconceivable without turmeric and its active ingredient curcumin. The fact that many "western" diseases hardly occur in India is attributed by many scientists, for example, to the widespread use of turmeric.

Traditional herbal medicine, based on centuries of experience, is also referred to as "monastic medicine", since in the past it was mainly the monasteries that preserved and increased herbal medicinal knowledge.
Probably the best-known representative of monastic medicine is Hildegard von Bingen (1098-1179 ), which, according to general opinion, founded European naturopathy. Two of her works on naturopathy in particular are still relevant today: "Physica" (healing power of nature) and "Causae et Curae" (causes and treatments of diseases), in which a large number of medicinal plants and recipes are described. Von Bingen has also already addressed the very important disease prevention as part of her nutritional teaching. In addition, "healing and salvation", i.e. physical and mental health, was inseparably linked for Hildegard von Bingen - just as is the case in TCM and Ayurveda, where people and their health are always viewed holistically.

Areas of application today

Here in the west, medicinal plants are used primarily for colds, e.g. thyme for coughs or sage for a sore throat. Other typical areas of application for plant medicine (cf. Prof. Dr. Andreas Michalsen, Heilen mit den Kraft der Natur, Insel-Verlag, p. 256) are:

• Anxiety disorders and stress: lavender
• Depression: St. John's Wort
• Sleep disorders: valerian, lemon balm, passion flower, hops
• Liver diseases: milk thistle
• Heart failure: Hawthorn
• Diabetes: ginseng
• Cystitis: nasturtium, horseradish, cranberries
• Irritable bowel: fennel, anise, caraway
• Inflammation of the intestines: psyllium husk, myrrh
• Arthrosis: rosehip extracts, turmeric, tree bark extracts
• Incipient dementia: saffron, ginkgo

Homeopathy and Bach flower therapy

Plant active ingredients also play a central role in homeopathy and Bach flower therapy. Unlike in Ayurveda and TCM, where it is always about balancing "too much" with the corresponding opposite (e.g.reducing an increased dohsa or compensating for "heat" with cooling foods), homeopathy is about "curing like with like", i.e. a preparation is administered that causes similar symptoms to the ailment it is intended to cure. In order to avoid overdosing, the active ingredient is gradually diluted.In order to still have an effect, the so-called "potentiation" takes place - a succussion, which is supposed to make the ingredients more dynamic.

Bach flower therapy, on the other hand, understands illness as an expression of a lack of harmony between body and soul. Accordingly, physical symptoms are not treated, but the illness is to be countered by impulses on a mental/emotional level: based on the mental state of the patient, the appropriate plant mixture is selected, which is intended to stimulate certain mental forces and release blockages. For this purpose, 38 plants were described, which are said to correspond to the 38 archetypal human states of mind - such as fear, excessive worry, hypersensitivity to influences, etc.

Micronutrients

In addition to herbal products, there are minerals that have been an integral part of naturopathy from the very beginning. In ancient times it was correctly assumed that muscle cramps result from a lack of magnesium and that the red blood cells absolutely need iron to bind oxygen.
In addition to minerals, trace elements and essential fatty acids, the so-called “micronutrients” also include vitamins, which are essential for the bodies are essential to life.

The term "vitamins" includes a wide variety of organic compounds that are necessary for metabolism. Despite all their differences, the vitamins have in common that they do not serve to generate energy, but rather have very specific functions, such as antioxidants to protect against free radicals. If there is a lack of vitamins, one becomes ill even with a sufficient supply of energy-supplying fats, proteins and carbohydrates. With the exception of vitamin D, which can be produced by the organism itself with the help of sunlight, all other vitamins must be supplied through food.

There are both fat- and water-soluble vitamins, whereby only fat-soluble vitamins (vitamins A, D, E and K) can be stored in the body (the exception is the water-soluble vitamin B12).
Vitamin deficiencies are particularly common Malnutrition, e.g. a vitamin 12 deficiency is often found in vegans. A vitamin D deficiency is also typical in the dark season in our latitudes. Athletes, smokers, pregnant and breastfeeding women also have an increased need for numerous vitamins. The same applies in times of increased stress.

combined preparations

Our combination preparations are of great importance to us because they perfectly embody what we at QIDOSHA have set as our goal: to combine the best of the 3 worlds of Ayurveda, TCM and western herbal medicine. In close cooperation with Indian Ayurveda doctors, TCM herbal specialists, naturopaths and pharmacists, we have combined ingredients in such a way that they provide you with the best possible support for various challenges. Of course, legally we have to point out that there are no scientific studies on our combination preparations, so we are not allowed to make any statements about their effectiveness. We have therefore given you an overview of the current study situation for each individual ingredient and where there are legally permissible "health claims", we have named them accordingly.

The fact that both in Ayurveda and in TCM, as a rule, several plants and their extracts are combined to form a complete medicinal product is important for understanding the combination preparation approach.In Germany, on the other hand, analogous to the synthetic drugs, va. individual plant extracts for the targeted treatment of specific ailments. "However, only a fraction of the potential effect of herbal medicine can probably be achieved this way." (cf. Prof. Dr. Andreas Michalsen, Heilen mit der Kraft der Natur, Insel-Verlag, p. 253)

The background to the widespread disappearance of mixtures of active ingredients in the 1980s, such as those found naturally in plants, is the official requirement to name only the most important active ingredient and to describe its active principle in a so-called "plant monograph". . However, since the active principle in nature is usually not based on just one single substance, a large number of herbal medicinal products disappeared from the market at the time. Modern drugs are therefore based on a single active ingredient. Accordingly, an aspirin with 500 mg of concentrated acetylsalicylic acid, for example, works faster than a willow bark extract, which contains the active ingredient of aspirin in a natural form along with other substances. Proponents of naturopathy, however, object that this would possibly be bought with corresponding side effects and there would be a risk that the holistic effect of the traditional medicinal plants would be lost. Multi-substance mixtures, also known as "multi-target" pharmacology, are much more adapted to the biology of the human body. The principle is: you identify herbs and plants that together increase the desired effect, but have different side effects, so that they do not add up, but remain below the threshold of perception.

In 2004, the legislature made approval somewhat easier across Europe, but the herbal medicines were largely excluded from reimbursement by health insurance companies on the grounds that they should not be classified as prescription-only due to their very good tolerability (cf. Prof. Dr. Andreas Michalsen, Healing with the power of nature, Insel-Verlag).
In our combination preparations, we consciously rely on "multi-component mixtures" - in our opinion, on the best that the teachings of Ayurveda, TCM and western phytology have made available to us .

Our first four combination preparations focus on strengthening the immune system, antioxidants, detoxification and fat burning. Medicinal mushrooms, Ayurvedic products as well as vitamins and vital substances are used in every preparation, which support the respective purpose in the best possible way.

Legal consumer information

German and European case law wants to protect the consumer from allegedly misleading claims. The statements made here refer to the original Ayurvedic and TCM texts. This knowledge, which has been handed down for thousands of years, is based on experiences that are passed on from generation to generation. It should not be claimed that the products described here have any effect in the sense of western medicine. All products are dietary supplements; they are not medicines and have no medicinal effect. If you are ill and require medical attention, please contact your doctor or pharmacist.

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