Disadvantages Of Herbal Medicine

“Use of herbs as medicines dates back to the beginning of civilized man. The earliest known written records of herbal medicines were inscribed on a six thousand year old clay tablet written by the Sumerians, who lived on the banks of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in what is now known as Iraq”(History).

An increasing number of medical schools are now offering courses in alternative medicine for their students, and some hospitals already have alternative medicine departments. The availability of healers and doctors practicing holistic medicine has also increased in recent years, and more and more people are educating themselves in these new fields. In fact, the World Health Organization estimates that between 65 and 80 percent of the world’s population (about 3 billion people) rely on traditional medicine as their primary form of health care.

In modern medicine, alternative therapies are poorly understood and studied. The preference for alternative therapies, and herbal medicine were indicated, and the fear of relinquishing information regarding these practices were almost paralyzing. It seemed as though they were ashamed to admit to cultural healing practices, and did not divulge information to practitioners regarding their usage. The cultural disconnect was present as alternative/complimentary medicines are valued as a culture, and “modern” practitioners cast judgment on their usage. This perceived stigma additionally limited the information shared by the cultural participants with modern medical treatments, potentially causing additional harm, as some herbals are potentially toxic.

I specifically chose this topic because I believe that for us Americans this is the next big frontier. Not only could this plant helps save some people’s lives, but it could also help alleviate the pressure on our national debt. As long as we continue to do research and try to understand the complexity of this issue, then we should be able to grow in our mind frames of how this could be beneficial to a lot of people. There will always be the other side of this issue that it could do more harm than help, but if we continue to monitor and maintain control of these herbal medicines we can begin the steps towards a safer path.

The use of natural products as medicine has initiated the isolation of active compounds. The first commercial pure natural product introduced for therapeutic use is generally considered to be

Thesis: Efficacy of traditional herbal remedies combined with a cultural faith in those traditions, combats modern medicine 's inherent distrust of traditional healing.

It is the oldest and still extensively used in many parts of the world today. Herbal medicines played an important role in maintaining the human health for thousands of years, and have gained growing popularity and extensive usage in the world over the last decades5. Using plants as medicine provides remarkable advantages for treating many conditions5. Different parts of the plant provides certain therapeutic effects therefore, it can be used to treat many different diseases. They are usually sold as tablets, capsules, powders, teas, or even as dried plants6. Pharmaceutical drugs contain specific active constituents, while herbal medicines contain relatively unprocessed mixtures of phytochemical constituents and their holistic efficacy is usually produced by the unresolved integrative effects between the constituents

It is astonishing to me how plants from the ground can help with certain illnesses and viruses. I plan on becoming a medical doctor, and when I reach my goal of becoming one, I want to incorporate the study of Herbalism in my practices. The idea of Herbalism is what makes becoming a medical doctor more interesting for me. I am seeking a profession in medicine because I want to provide great health care service to individuals around the world, but I want to do so by implementing natural remedies. This way there are minimal side effects that would harm sick

In this regard, medicinal and aromatic plants are being employed, and they can be said to belong to the Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) category under the biologically-based treatments subcategory (Mohsen et al. 785). Mohsen et al. point out that the industrial utilizations of MAPs include herbal teas, galenicals, health, pharmaceutical/industrial auxiliary, traditional medicines, new drugs, and intermediates for the manufacture of drugs (786). As Mohsen et al. further observe, MAPs serve to provide the raw materials required in the pharmaceutical industry where drugs are extracted through the isolation of active chemicals, which is succeeded by decocting them to medication (787). Further, the scholars fittingly observe that over 85% of the general population in the U.S., Africa, and developing countries make use of the complimentary medicines and nonconventional practices adjunctive to typical medical care (Mohsen et al

One of the best examples of herbal remedy use in Western Medicine would be the use of Opium in pain treatment. Opium is made by drying the “tears,” or latex from a opium poppy (Papaver somniferum) bulb before becoming mature. By cutting the bulb, the latex seeps out, therefore producing a solution containing various substances, most notoriously, the 12% by volume of alkaloid morphine, which is used as a method of chronic pain treatment, as well as the production of heroine. It was originally used in the 16th century to induce sleep and relieve pain, and was introduced to western medicine by a man of the name Paracelsus. It was only after reading the Pseudo-Apuleius Herbarius book, a collection of herbs names and diseases, that he managed to

Grain and wine appear together throughout the text in 1:9, 1:10, 1:13, 2:14, 2:19, 2:24, and 3:13.

Herbal medicine has been used for many, many years and is a great natural alternative to modern medicine.

Homeopathy is a form of alternative medication that has been increasing in popularity in today’s society. It is often substituted for conventional medication14. Homeopathy was created in the seventeen hundreds when German doctor Samuel Hahnemann concluded that if a substance can induce the symptoms of an illness in a healthy person, then it can treat those symptoms in an ill person. He first tested Cinchona bark, a treatment for malaria, on himself and said to have experienced the symptoms of malaria. He also concluded that the medicine was more effective in a lower concentration therefore he invented the process of succession to reduce the side effects of the medicine and to increase its ability to heal13.

Herbalism or phytotherapy has many definitions but in essence is the interaction between humans and the plant kingdom (Hoffmann, 2003). Herbalism is based on three principles: 1. The correlation of the herb to the disease or disease picture, 2. The harmony the herb has to an organ system, and 3. The ability of the herb to assist healing in the body (Wood, 2018). Herbalism contains many different branches of which there is Chinese, Japanese, Tibetan and Ayurvedic branches, and is used to treat a wide variety of symptoms. Herbalists make their medication from plants and are dispensed in many

Modern medicine and healthcare system have categorized herbal medicine as a natural remedy used when people can’t afford to purchase conventional drugs. They are perceived inferior because they cost less but the health benefits are endless. However, there have been various situations and instances that prove that herbal medicine is good for health.