The use of plants and herbs in traditional medicine is widespread in Paraguay. Everyone knows which plants or yuyo to use and where they grow. In addition every market has a stall piled high with remedies. They are all picked growing wild and are of course all organic.
The two main uses for them is either as flavouring and preventative medicine in drinks of terere or mate or taken as curative medicine using knowledge passed down from generation to generation.
This knowledge goes right back to before the arrival of the Spanish and to the original Guaraní inhabitants of the land. Any Paraguayan walking past what could be mistaken as a clump of weeds would quickly spot anything useful.
On the curative side many of the remedies have been used for centuries, ample time for the most effective cures to be found and for the whole culture of forest medicine to become an important part of the countries folk law. Many modern medicines derive from plants and it is more than possible that there are substances of use to science waiting to be discovered amongst the medicinal plants of Paraguay.
There is though one potentially dangerous side to this reliance on traditional cures, as new ailments have arisen and been named herbs have been named as cures resulting in some plants becoming cure alls for almost every illness. Fortunatly the custom is to use modern and traditional medicines in tandem so the modern is not boycotted in favor of the old.
The other main use for herbs is as flavouring and preventative medicine in terere or mate. So common is this that the yerba mate is rarely consumed without the addition of herbs. Often the preparation of terere involves a quick search around the garden for suitable herbs.
Many plants fill this medicinal larder and each one provides a certain part of itself. For some it is the leaves, for others the flowers, others stalks and others the roots. It is general knowledge which part of which plant is suitable.
Once collected together all are washed for soil has few curative properties. Then all are broken down with a pestel and mortar before being added to cold water for terere or hot for mate where they infuse the water with their flavour and release their curative properties.
Of course it is not always possible to find the right, or if living in a busy city any, herbs. For that reason every market has stalls packed high with herbs and plants from which any Paraguayan is able to select just the right herbs.
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