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According to Chinese legend, tree leaves dropped into Shen Nung's cup of boiling water. He became curious and tried the new drink. Since then, he tested hundreds of different plants to discover their nutritional and medicinal properties. Many of these turned out to be deadly to humans. They classified the medicinal effects of the plants on the various parts of the body, and then tested them to determine their toxicity, what dosages would be lethal, and so on.
Herbs are made up of roots, bark, flowers, seeds, fruits, leaves, and branches. There are over 3000 different herbs that can be used for medical purposes. Only 300-500 of these herbs are commonly used. Herbal therapy has three main functions: to treat the immediate problem, such as killing bacteria or a virus, to strengthen the body, helping it to recover, and to maintain health.
Herbs can be taken for many kinds of illnesses. Because it is natural therapy, most herbs do not cause side effects. Those side effects that do occur can be easily counteracted with other herbs.
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