Herbal medicine refers to the use of plants or plant substances as medicinal remedies. Herbs have been used safely and effectively for the last 5000 years.
According to Dr. Michael Murray, N.D., who is a Naturopathic Doctor and one of the leading authorities of the world in the area of complimentary medicine, 80% of the world's population depends on plants to treat many common ailments. Thirty percent of modern conventional drugs are derived from a plant source.
There are several advantages of utilizing herbal medicines to address one's health concerns. First, as a general rule, herbal preparations are less toxic than their synthetic counterparts and offer less risk of side effects. Second, the mechanism of action of a particular herb will often be to address the underlying cause of an ailment. However, it is important to note that herbal medicines can have interactions with certain prescription medications and they can be contraindicated in certain health conditions and situations. In this light, it becomes important to have your health concerns monitored by a licensed health practitioner such as a Naturopathic Doctor, especially if you are already on prescription medications.
One question that is often asked is that "can I take herbal remedies if I am already on prescription medications?" The simple but not complete answer to this question would be 'yes' and 'no' depending on the health situation and current use of prescription medications. Naturopathic Doctors are not only trained and proficient in the use of herbal remedies, but are cognizant of the potential interactions with allopathic medications and the situations where certain herbs would be contraindicated. In that regard, it becomes important for an individual who is considering an herbal approach to have their case monitored and under the care of a Naturopathic Doctor.
Herbal preparations are available in several different forms: bulk herb, teas, tinctures, fluid extracts, and tablets or capsules. As an example, an extract is a concentrated form of the herb obtained by mixing the crude herb with an appropriate solvent (such as alcohol and/or water). A standardized extract refers to an extract guaranteed to contain a "standardized" level of active compound. It is important to ensure that if you are purchasing a standardized extract of a particular herb, it should indicate the amount or percent of active constituent of the particular herb in question. For example, the active constituent in St. John's Wort is called hypericin. Typically, a standardized extract of this herb will have 0.3% hypericin . Similarly, for Curcumin (which is an herb quite useful for it's anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and immune boosting effects) one would look for 95% Curcuminoids on the label. The standardized extract provides the greatest degree of consistency and assurance of quality.
When considering herbal remedies, one must appreciate and take into account the idea of quality control. This refers to the process involved in maintaining the quality or validity of a product. Regardless of the form of herbal preparation, some degree of quality control should exist. Without this, one cannot be sure that the herb contained in the formulation is what is stated on the label. At Holistic Healing Arts, we take great pride in knowing that our remedies (including herbal remedies) are from highly reputable manufacturers with the utmost attention to quality control measures. This not only enhances our confidence in the recommendations we make, but it also translates to positive clinical outcomes.
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