Herbs and Drugs - Be informed to make safe decisions

Herbs and Drugs - Be informed to make safe decisions

W.What sources to believe when it comes to herbs and prescription medications? The advertisers? The articles planted in magazines by manufacturers? Something your neighbor said to you? A news story on television that was actually written by interest groups? The latest results from attention-grabbing new research paid for by those same interests? In other words, how can you separate fact from fiction to make decisions that are in the best interest of?Your own health and well-being?

A basic understanding of herbs and prescription medications can help you make decisions that support your better health.

Herbs & Pharmaceuticals

1. The difference between herbs and prescription herbs is that herbs are naturally produced herbal active ingredients, while prescription active ingredients are chemical active ingredients that are created in a laboratory (with few exceptions).

2. They each have a different story. Herbs have always been around. They have been used as medicines since time immemorial - to prevent and treat disease, to aid recovery, to adapt to stress, to eliminate toxins, to relieve pain, to aid digestion, to eliminate congestion, to improve mood, to reduce nausea and vomiting, to eliminate infections, to reduce inflammation, to reduce cramps, to stimulate the Colon cleanse, build health and vitality and much more. It is the true traditional medicine. The use of herbs to treat such physical health problems is called phytotherapy. Prescription medications have been around since around 1890.

3. Herbs have effects. Herbs are largely used to help the body do what it was designed to do. Medicines have both effects and side effects. They are used to reduce or eliminate symptoms. This is achieved by stimulating, suppressing or replacing a body function. Because drugs disrupt or replace substances or processes inherent in the living body, they carry potent toxicities. In other words, they are directedagainstbiological process.

4. The same medicine is used for everyone who has the same symptom. The assumption is that if the symptom is the same, the treatment is the same. For example, high cholesterol is treated with statins. While herbs can also be used for symptom control, the use of herbs has a different goal. It is based on the assumption that this symptom, which seems to be the same in a number of people, is the body's way of dealing with a problem, that forcing the body not to have the symptom (high cholesterol) does not solve it. and that suppressing the symptoms makes them worse. The problem (the inflammation that leads to high cholesterol) is still there, but the suppressant interferes with the body's attempts to correct the cause. And it is recognized that the symptom (in this example, high cholesterol) is due to inflammation, which can have unique causes for each individual. This is the reason why several people with high cholesterol can take different herbs to improve their condition.

The relationship between herbs and drugs

The vast majority of the world's population - especially in emerging markets - still rely on medicinal plants and herbal medicines for basic needs. The World Health Organization estimates that well over 75% of the world's population currently uses herbs in this way. This of course means that there are any number of traditions and systems used to use herbs. There are currently four main traditions: Ayurveda, Unani/Tibb, traditional Chinese medicine and Western herbal medicine.

The other 25% of the world's population is largely dependent on modern medicines. These patented medicines used today are actually based on herbal medicines and many are still derived from herbs. In short, herbs are an important source of drugs and the development of synthetic drugs. For example:

· The heart medicine Digitalis comes from Foxglove,

· The antispasmodic atropine is obtained from the deadly nightshade.

· The first antibiotic came from the penicillin mold.

· Painkillers come from the opium poppy,

· Muscle relaxants from Valarian,

· Aspirin comes from White Willow Bark.

According to the World Resources Institute, forest tribes originally discovered the medicinal uses of three-quarters of currently widely used herbal medicines. In the northwestern Amazon region alone, the indigenous people use at least 1,300 plant species.

Modern pharmaceutical companies still have their agents scouring the rainforest and living with the local healers. Since natural herbs cannot be patented, their goal is to learn the skills of herbal medicine and turn them into patentable – and therefore highly profitable – synthetic medicines in the laboratory.

Despite this reliance on herbs, the marketing arm of the pharmaceutical industry continually releases inaccurate information about herbs to the public. They fund studies to produce negative effects and then sound the alarm by publishing stories in the media about herbs being dangerous.

They are also active in politics to take herbs off the market. A documented negative reaction is often enough to encourage contact with well-placed political appointees (who often received campaign donations through the pharmaceutical company). The official then puts a rider on a bill to prevent legal use of the herb. If this is successful, the market for the patented medicine made from the herb will remain wide open, which can then be marketed without competition.

This is particularly evident when an herb is an effective agent, but its availability competes with a pharmaceutical product. This was the case when the herb Kava Kava, an effective relaxant and sleep aid, was withdrawn from the market because it was an effective alternative to Ambien (®), the sleep aid being advertised at the time. (Kava has since been back on the market).

However, the need for a phytotherapeutic approach at this point in history is highlighted by some alarming statistics. They reveal this in relation tocorrectly prescribedDrug:

In the United States, doctors wrote 4.2 billion prescriptions in 2011 - just over one per month for every man, woman and child.

· 100,000 people die every year from adverse drug reactions;

· Another 200,000 per year are seriously injured by side effects.

· More than 4,000 people are admitted to hospitals every day due to adverse drug reactions.

· ·correctPrescribed drugs are the fourth leading cause of death in the United States;

When improperly prescribed drugs are added, they become the third leading cause of death after heart attacks and cancer.

· More than 50% of all medicines are incorrectly prescribed, dispensed and sold;

· 68 million recipes per year contain errors.

There are now all sorts of debates about illnesses and even deaths due to the use of herbs. Even if you count everyone attributed to herbal use, the statistics don't even match the huge numbers of drug use.