Herbal Medicine
Is it the Safer Alternative?
Herbal medicine is a plant or part of a plant used for therapeutic properties. It is considered in the medical community as a dietary supplement without any approved therapeutic claims. Several studies suggest that it can improve a person’s health if given the right dosage and indication.
Dietary Supplements
Natural herbs and plants have been use for the treatment and prevention of diseases since time immemorial. In recent years, health institutions are trying to define which herbal medicine should be considered as dietary supplements. In most cases, it is defined as any herbal medicine that is intended to supplement the diet, which means that it has to contain ingredients that are found to be nutritious such as vitamins, minerals, botanicals, amino acids and other substances that are said to improve one’s health. Diet supplements should be taken through the mouth as capsule, tablet or liquid. Herbal products should be labeled as such and must not state any therapeutic claims.
Reception
The knowledge of herbal medicine dates back from prehistoric times and has been passed on from generation to generation. In recent years, many became interested in natural methods of healing and preventing diseases. Such popularity was able to penetrate the medical community which is now considering herbs and botanicals as alternative medicine. In fact, several clinical studies are being conducted on common medicinal plants to prove their therapeutic value. Many are now recognized and recommended by health practitioners worldwide.
Herbal Products
Because of such acceptance, manufacturers are beginning to mass produce herbal medicine, making a niche of its own in the industry. Herbal products are now being sold as tablets, capsules, powder, tea, extracts, and fresh and dried plants.
Tea is one of the most popular means to mass produce herbal medicine. Tea is a solution containing the botanical substance that is supposed to be dipped in boiling water for a long period in order to extract the nutrients in it. If a stronger treatment is necessary, the nutrients have to be directly extracted from roots, barks and berries that are simmered up to boiling point. The extracts may be drunk hot or cold.
For manufacturers of herbal products, the most viable method to mass produce is via tincture done by soaking the botanical in a solution of water and alcohol to preserve its therapeutic effects. Tinctures are usually sold as liquids made in different strengths depending on the concentration of the solution and the botanical substance.
The purest forms of herbal products that are sold in the market are extracts. Just like tinctures, these are soaked botanicals into a liquid solution that is supposed to remove certain chemicals in the herb. This liquid should be left dried up to extract the nutritional value of the herb. What is left shall be used to produce capsules and tablets or sold as is.
Safety
Despite the continuous usage of herbal medicines in many households all over the world, health institutions still advise on the health implications associated with herbal medicines. Precautions are given against herbs that may cause further health problems instead of treatment. Some are also deemed ineffective and others may be hazardous when they interact with other pharmaceutical drugs a person is taking.
To avoid all these dangers, everyone is advised to consult a doctor before taking doses of herbal medicines. Patients must not take dosages larger than what is recommended on the label. Special precautions are also given to pregnant and nursing women.
Several tests have been conducted regarding the adverse reaction of herbal medicines to other drugs. This only proves to show that “natural” does not always mean healthier and safer. It would still depend on the chemical make up of the botanical plant, how it reacts in the body and how the product is prepared.
CONTACT ADDRESS :
Institute of Alternative Medicines Kolkata
189, Diamond Harbour Road, Thakurpukur
Kolkata – 700063, West Bengal
Phone: 033 2438 0705 (From India), +91 33 2438 0705 (From Abroad)
Mob: 09433024576 (From India), +91 9433024576 (From Abroad)
Email : iamk.online@gmail.com
