Even before the turn of the new century, herbal supplements had become tremendously popular among a wide range of consumers concerned about their health. The use of these supplements reflects not merely a group of treatments, but a distinct approach to treatment. The consumer, evaluating what might be best for his or her health, has to sort through a great deal of information and disinformation.
One of the commonly expressed features of the herbal approach is that it leans toward an emphasis upon preventative medicine. Conventional medicines were typically developed as treatments against diseases that had already taken firm hold in the body and made people very sick. They often use chemicals in powerful combinations, designed to kill pathogens which the body isn't resisting on its own.
"Herbal" is of course derived from "herb". This group of supplements is made from fungi and plants, some of them extremely common, generally concentrated for greatest impact. They represent centuries of folk knowledge from around the world, but they have not always received much legitimate medical testing. What distinguishes them, however, is that they are generally intended to strengthen the body so that it can avoid disease, or at least knock it out before it has a chance to take hold.
Ginkgo biloba, for example, is one of the better tested examples of this new class of treatments. Its effect on the body is to increase circulation, an action that has the effect improving brain function, including memory. Red yeast rice has been used in Chinese medicine since ancient times, and is taken to lower blood pressure.
A few of these herbs and plants are extremely common, so much so that they are often used in pure form, without benefit of being processed into pills. A pinch or palm full of cayenne pepper, tossed into the mouth, has the reputation of being able to save one in case of heart attack. It is also reputed to turn aside both roaches and ants when it's sprinkled on baseboards and on the floor.
One should be careful evaluating claims made about these treatments, considering that they may not have been thoroughly tested if at all. They often might be best thought of as as a kind of nutrition rather than as kinds of medicine. Garlic, for one, is purportedly an effective blood-thinning agent as well as an antiviral agent whether it is taken in capsule form or to flavor spaghetti sauce.
This example suggests one reason why their is sometimes resistance to natural solutions. No pharmaceutical company makes a profit from a capsule of concentrated garlic extract, much less a spoonful of cayenne. That much said, it would be a mistake to take a lack of medical evidence as though it were, itself, a form of evidence. Herbal supplements remain controversial as more and more people turn to them.
One of the commonly expressed features of the herbal approach is that it leans toward an emphasis upon preventative medicine. Conventional medicines were typically developed as treatments against diseases that had already taken firm hold in the body and made people very sick. They often use chemicals in powerful combinations, designed to kill pathogens which the body isn't resisting on its own.
"Herbal" is of course derived from "herb". This group of supplements is made from fungi and plants, some of them extremely common, generally concentrated for greatest impact. They represent centuries of folk knowledge from around the world, but they have not always received much legitimate medical testing. What distinguishes them, however, is that they are generally intended to strengthen the body so that it can avoid disease, or at least knock it out before it has a chance to take hold.
Ginkgo biloba, for example, is one of the better tested examples of this new class of treatments. Its effect on the body is to increase circulation, an action that has the effect improving brain function, including memory. Red yeast rice has been used in Chinese medicine since ancient times, and is taken to lower blood pressure.
A few of these herbs and plants are extremely common, so much so that they are often used in pure form, without benefit of being processed into pills. A pinch or palm full of cayenne pepper, tossed into the mouth, has the reputation of being able to save one in case of heart attack. It is also reputed to turn aside both roaches and ants when it's sprinkled on baseboards and on the floor.
One should be careful evaluating claims made about these treatments, considering that they may not have been thoroughly tested if at all. They often might be best thought of as as a kind of nutrition rather than as kinds of medicine. Garlic, for one, is purportedly an effective blood-thinning agent as well as an antiviral agent whether it is taken in capsule form or to flavor spaghetti sauce.
This example suggests one reason why their is sometimes resistance to natural solutions. No pharmaceutical company makes a profit from a capsule of concentrated garlic extract, much less a spoonful of cayenne. That much said, it would be a mistake to take a lack of medical evidence as though it were, itself, a form of evidence. Herbal supplements remain controversial as more and more people turn to them.
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