Essay about Herbal Remedies in FDA Limbo

Now the United States has a shorter history of medical herbal use. Native American’s, and early European’s used herbs as medicines.

An increasing number of people are using products to enhance their diets. A recent estimate indicates, “Americans are spending some $6 billion annually on nutritional supplements, and the market is growing by 20% every year” (Zahn, 1997). Of these supplements, the increase in herbal remedy use is most dramatic. Zahn holds that the increase can be attributed to the widely held belief that herbal substances are healthy and harmless because of their natural origins (1997). Unfortunately, research on these supplements, herbal or otherwise, has not transmitted to the public as quickly as the diet enhancers themselves. The phenomenon leaves many consumers misguided by skewed advertising and

The findings of this survey showed that 73.6% agreed with the use of traditional medicines for health maintenance, 79.2% agreed for benign illness, such as colds or sprained ankles, and 90.3% agreed for palliative care (Zubek, 1994, p. 1926). Where they disagreed the most was with the use of traditional healing in the intensive care units, only 16.9% agreed with the use of this treatment for serious illness, such as cardiac or respiratory compromise, whether in the hospital (21.2% agreed) or as outpatients (26.4% agreed). Nearly half (48.6%) agreed with using traditional medicines for chronic illnesses, such as non-insulin dependent diabetes or Parkinson's disease (Zubek, 1994, p. 1926). One instance where physicians were unwilling to allow their patients to use Native medicine was while the patient is in the hospital, because the physician could be held legally responsible for any treatment administered while admitted under their care. There is also the problem of differentiating between legitimate Native healing practitioners and those who would take advantage of anyone not aware of the proper rituals and techniques that need to be performed (Zubek, 1994, p. 1929). This could be overcome by having a formalized licensing organization such as is used by Western practitioners (i.e. American Society of Clinical Pathology [ASCP]). That poses another problem though, as to whether traditionalists would be willing to have such an organization.

Because many of the treatments of alternative medicine do not adhere to the principles of conventional medicine, whether or not to allow practice of these techniques in the United States is a major concern of the medical community today. The Food and Drug Administration is the decision making body of issues such as this and more often than not, does not approve many of these practices. Due to the fact that holistic medicine sometimes contradicts the fundamentals of biomedicine, health care regulation boards such as the FDA find it difficult to accept many of these treatments. Because the Western world is so unfamiliar with these techniques it is only natural for medical community to often disprove these methods. However, as more and more doctors discover the limitations of

It is estimated that 20% of the U. S. population use herbal medicine. “The prevalence of herbal medicine use by some ethnic and cultural groups in the US may be even higher; one meta-analysis found that 4% to 40% (mean 30%) of Latinos living in the United States regularly used herbal medicine” (Kiefer, Tellez-Giron, & Bradbury, 2014, p. 64). The growing number of Latinos in the US and their reliance on herbal remedies is something that healthcare providers are going to have to address to be able to provide culturally competent care to this population.

Traditional and modern medicine share the same curative objective which implies that they have similarities from a general point of view. Both medicine is using plants extracts but in different aspects. Though traditional medicine is based on the use of plants and herbs, modern medicine uses many herbs and plant derivative based on biological and chemical aspect as well. Many common drugs are derived from plant-based sources directly or indirectly. Moreover, traditional and modern medicine have both side effects. They could be harmful or ineffective for a human body if the dosage is not well calculated, in this case we run the risk of over or under dose. Also, many side effects can occur from the interaction of both medicine. Traditional and

* Other solutions categorized as herbal or dietary supplements were not regulated by the FDA i.e., safety not warranted, e.g., dietary supplement “ephedra” was linked to sudden cardiac death

Since 1994 when herbal medicines became more widespread the Food and Drug Administration has had multiple issues with pesticides germs, and other foreign substances in these products. Furthermore, they have also had the trouble of manufacturers disclosing or including ingredients that are not on the drugs since the rules regarding these types of drugs are not as strict as that of synthetic drug regulations. Additionally, the supplements made in these factories are not required or even standardized to ensure

Both Acupuncture and Chinese Herbal medicine have long roots in American history as alternatives to the Biomedical practice, albeit with Herbal medicine gaining greater early popularity due to it's similarities to alternative medicines in American cultural traditions. The fulfillment of needs not adequately addressed by biomedicine, whether it be the basic lack of healthcare of any sort in early Western America in which the first Chinese American arrived, or the lack of preventative care in the modern day United States, is a defining thread in the practice of TCM in the US, of which Herbal Medicine and Acupuncture served as vanguards. Another defining thread in these practices history and future in the US is the influences of cultural adaption,

This is a good first step, but the FDA’s plan doesn’t go far enough, argues Dr. Cohen, an assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School whose research has explored the use of dietary supplements (FDA.gov).

Herbs are used for all sorts of health and body care products along with culinary purposes. An herb farm could supply herbs to pharmaceutical or cosmetic companies as well as directly to the consumer. The world market for herbs is volatile with prices as low as a dollar per pound for some herbs to more than one hundred dollars a pound for others (USDA Department of Agriculture, 2012). Political situations in some third world countries where herb production is typically found can cause shortages and wide price fluctuations (USDA Department of Agriculture, 2012). Increasing commercial harvesting in the United States could decrease our dependence on imports. This could lead to a decrease in the costs of dietary supplements and other natural remedies that are becoming

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

The scientific community is much quicker to label this second type as quacks, whereas the scientific community has failed to gain a consensus on the legitimacy of the first type. Unfortunately, both are encompassed by the term alternative medicine. This paper will focus on the more controversial alternative medicines described in the first group.

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.