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| What Is Herbal Medicine? Is It Safe? |
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Herbalmedicine is the oldest form of healthcare and constitutes a key role inthe development of modern medicine as we know it today. Back whentechnology was still unheard of, primitive men utilised the vast floraaround them to the fullest extent, observing both plant and animal lifeand their components, eventually giving birth to herbal medicine. In astudy by the World Health Organization on herbal medicine use, about80f the world's populace still rely on herbal medicine to cure certainailments and about 74f the drugs we use today contain at least onebotanical element. For instance, Chinese Herbal Medicine's use ofephedrine to cure respiratory conditions still exists in the presenttime. Ephedrine remains an active ingredient in most of the commercialdrugs that are being prescribed to relieve asthma symptoms. Herbalmedicine is defined by three schools of thought: Ayurvedic Herbalism,Traditional Chinese Herbalism and Western Herbal Medicine. While bothAyurvedic and Chinese herbal medicine have moved on to advanced forms,western herbal medicine remains a part of folk treatments. Herbalmedicine is, first and foremost, holistic. It aims to address not justa particular symptom, but also to help the whole body rejuventatestrengthen itself. And while there is no scientific evidence that allherbal medicines claiming to have healing powers are actuallyeffective, the number the herbal medicines that have been placed underclinical testing have proved their worth. The list of known kindsincludes echinacea, which is used to temper colds, St John's wort, usedto treat mild depression (without using Prozac), and hawthorne berries,which help in the recovery process from mild heart failures. Isherbal medicine a direct substitute to modern medication? It depends.While herbal medicines are extracted naturally from plants, not all aresafe to use; particularly if they are taken with other types oftreatments that may not be complementary. Also, herbal medicine isoften used only for mild ailments. If the symptoms are more serious, itis best to consult a trained practitioner of herbal medicine who cantell you which ones are appropriate and recommend dosage levels andfrequency. Presently, most of the recommended herbal medicines falloutside of standard drug regulations, thus, not all of their claims tofame are guaranteed and true. And even as common sense tells us thatherbal medicine has been around for thousand of years, giving animpression that it is quite an authority, it is not recommended toself-diagnose. Always keep in mind that herbal medicines arestill medicines and, therefore, share the likelihood of having sideeffects as regular commercial drugs. Some of us have this misconceptionthat because herbal medicines are natural, they are 100 afe. This isnot true all the time. The best defense against the possible sideeffects herbal medicines might give is to educate ourselves with thebasics on the herbal medicine in question and to use it with caution. About the author: Charlene J. Nuble 2005. For up to date links and information about herbal medicines, please go to: http://herbal.besthealthlink.net/or for updated links and information on all health related topics, go to: http://www.besthealthlink.net/ Add this page to your favorite Social Bookmarking websites          |