If we follow the history of herbal medicine, there is a clear indication of how the practice of herbal medicine has evolved from being the primary method of healing in every civilization in the world, to subsequently being replaced in the early 1900s by pharmaceutical drugs.
In recent years, there has been very strong interest in the reemergence and use of natural herbal medicine. Based on consumer demand, along with scientific studies that are often validating the effectiveness of ancient traditional herbal remedies, natural medicine is experiencing a renaissance. The growing interest in herbal medicine is a testament to the fact that there are many holes that modern medicine cannot fill, along with the growing realization that pharmaceutical drugs have a long list of serious adverse effects, that can often be more problematic than the original health challenge that led to their use.
Pharmaceutical Side Effects Can Be Grave
Doctors and health care providers are often faced with the task of weighing the risks versus benefit when initiating pharmaceutical medication for their patients. This is due to potential adverse effects of these agents. For example, drug development for treatment of Hepatits C has grown exponentially over the last 5 years. Newer, more potent agents are available that have very high cure rates. However, they also come with very toxic side effects, such as dangerously low platelet counts and severe anemia.
Quite often other medications need to be initiated to manage these side effects. Once these antiviral regimens are initiated, it is paramount that patients continue without interruption or they will not clear the virus. Despite having newer, more potent medications, not all patients achieve undetectable viral loads. This is not to say that discoveries in modern medicine are not helpful, but many physicians and patients would like to discover how an imbalance can be modified while minimizing adverse effects.
Thoughtful physicians should be continuing to investigate natural therapeutics that may lead to a more positive outcome than those found by the use — and especially the over-use and unnecessary high dosage levels — of pharmaceutical drugs. In addition, it is the patient’s responsibility to investigate and follow lifestyle choices that bring down the imbalances that the pharmaceutical drugs were used to treat in the first place.
Ancient Remedies For Everyday Concerns
Herbal medicine has been a part of human life in every civilization across the planet since recorded history began. Ancient practices, such as Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), focused upon the concept of maintaining balance between opposites. An herbal remedy balancing hot and cold, for example, can be found in drinking chrysanthemum water sweetened with honey as a refreshing cooling drink during hot summers.
Dried orange peel and tea can be helpful to sooth cough and chest congestion. Make your own vitamin C by drying organic orange and lemon peels until dry and crisp. Then use a mortar and pestle to ground the dry peels into a powder, or go high tech and use a small electric coffee grinder. Add the powder to tea or water for an all-natural vitamin C with bioflavonoids to boost!
People often wonder whether to start a new drug they saw advertised on television or in a magazine. Just because it’s new doesn’t necessarily mean it’s better or even necessary. Our culture dictates better health through pills. What ever happened to better health through healthy living? Let’s save the medicine for when we really need it!
Losing The Battle In Overuse Of Antibiotics
Bacteria have evolved, and so, we are losing the battle in curing certain infections. We are now revisiting older agents that fell out of use due to toxicity. Unfortunately, they are what we have left, and even they are losing potency against certain bacteria.
Newer agents that are developed are mere derivatives of their predecessor, and we have not seen a novel mechanism of action over the last few decades. Because of this, it is warranted and absolutely necessary that we revisit herbal medicine. How does nature fend off infection?
Modern medicine has provided us with many innovative treatments, but due to serious adverse effects and overuse, we have created a vicious cycle of popping a pill for every ill, and running out of options for curing infections. Perhaps it is time that we strive to balance herbal medicine with modern medicine instead.
Find holistic Herbs & Herbalists in the Spirit of Change online Alternative Health Directory.
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