#1.The highest order is Food is the highest order of medicine for NON traumatic injury. In maintaining Optimal health over the lifespan, ancient Greece, China and India were clear on this. For example, An Ayurvedic Gall bladder cleanse goes something like this....Eat apples and water ONLY for 3 days, Then have a bit of Vinegar in water, followed about 30 minuets later by 2 tablespoons of olive oil. The built up bile would supposedly squirt out some gall stones.....Or, consider that Oats are a nervine (they calm the nerves) so, a bowl of oatmeal at breakfast, can be used in nervous system related insomnia....The category of food includes NOT food, as in fasting, or avoiding certain foods for a while, which can be a game changer in many cases. This category includes herbal teas, salts and glandulars.
#2.The NEXT order, is Physical. Sleep/rest, (the great healer) music, light and temperatures. Sweats, cold compresses, sunlight, massage, movements (tai chi) , medicinal (clay or seaweed) baths, hydro therapy, forest-bathing, Art, ....Neti pots, herbal and flower Infusions, and so forth.
You would still be considered a decent healer that could maintain the health of your charges by using the next order. #3. Herbs, gentle if used with care but if misused very dangerous, even deadly. Herbal extracts are approaching drug potency. For example Rhodiola, Blackseed, Mimosa Pudica and Turmeric have no equal that I am aware of in any other category. Some antibiotic herbs for example, are flat out Equal in potency as modern drugs, should only be used as a last resort, as they , like antibiotics can devastate the gut biome.
Essential oils are right here. At the extreme end. Right now i have a toothache and i am so glad for the clove oil, which is a concentrate of just one aspect of Cloves, the herb used in food, especially potential parasite transmitting food. The ancestors were smart, maybe WAY smarter that we want to admit, on our high horse with our fancy teck and potential to destroy the planet....