Natural Herbal Remedies

Disclaimer: This information is not meant to replace any medical treatment. It is offered here as a service only. Use this information at your own risk and only with qualified supervision. No guarantee is made towards the validity of the information presented here.

Here are a couple of views on herbal medicine:

On the one hand...

Natural herbal remedies have been used for centuries to treat and heal a variety of skin conditions and other physical ailments. Herbs can be used by themselves or in combination with other herbs and natural substances.

Alternative medicine and natural healing is more popular now than ever. Natural grocers are popping up in more and more in suburban areas across the country. Stores such as Whole Foods and Wild Oats feature a great selection of organically grown foods, top of the line meats, sushi grade fish, and natural herbal remedies as well.

Research has shown that some pesticides, fertilizers, and hormones are not good for humans to consume, which is why a number of people opt to purchase organically grown produce and chemical free poultry and fish. Natural herbal remedies and alternative medicine fit into this schema naturally.

The generation known as the ‘Baby Boomers’, so named because they represent the increase in the number of babies born from post World War II through the early 1960s, are starting to enter retirement. As this group ages, there will be more of a demand for health care facilities and professionals to staff them, as well as other options, such as alternative treatment facilities and alternative practitioners.

Natural herbal remedies are becoming very popular because people are looking for alternatives to high prescription drug costs and the side effects that go along with them. Alternative healing is nothing new; have you ever been to a chiropractor? This type of treatment is an alternative therapy, because it focuses on getting the body back in alignment. When the body is not aligned correctly, symptoms start appearing which cause us to have pain.

Chiropractors can also prescribe natural herbal remedies in addition to the therapies they provide, to cleanse the body and rid it of the toxins that may be contributing to the condition.

Natural herbal remedies are effective for many different types of ailments and physical conditions. At one time, natural herbal remedies were the only treatment available because there were no research facilities and drug manufacturing companies.

Now, alternative therapies are making a comeback, and people once again are discovering that there are significant benefits associated with alternative treatments and therapies. Natural herbal remedies also have fewer side effects because they are more easily absorbed by the body.  

There are quite a few online sources you can visit for more insight on natural herbal remedies; healthherbs.com and nutrasanus.com are both informative sites that can answer most questions you may have about natural herbal remedies and alternative medicine. To your health!

On the other hand...

The phrase ‘natural herbal remedy’ has become a very trendy and sought after label in health products today.  It seems like everyone is looking for the all natural herbal remedy for everything, which to me is a little disconcerting.  So many of these natural herbal remedies are untested, unproven, and very possibly unsafe.  Because the FDA restrictions are so much lighter on things marketed as ‘herbs’ as opposed to ‘drugs’, a lot of natural herbal remedy products out there could be dangerous.

I’ve never subscribed to the belief that a natural herbal remedy is always better than one designed by a person, and I certainly don’t subscribe to the idea that natural herbal remedies are always safe.  I’m not a doctor, but I do have a degree in biology, which is just enough to know at least one thing with certainty; natural does not equal good.

There is no better chemist than Mother Nature.  As hard as we have tried in our quest to design destructive and harmful chemicals to kill each other with, the most deadly toxins and poisons known to man to date are 100 percent natural, coming from herbs.  You could say that these toxins are natural herbal remedies for living, which is often times exactly what they are. 

As self defense mechanism, nearly all plants have some amount of toxins in them ‘designed’ by nature to kill or otherwise deter animals that want to eat them.  The toxins in what we call edible plants just happen to be ineffective against us, or have been artificially selected against over the years to the point where they are all but gone today.  Forests and jungles don’t have the need for sprays and insecticides because ‘natural’ plants and herbs have their own poisons!

The point of this little rant is just to warn against the label ‘natural herbal remedy’ but not to discourage you to ever take anything herbal or natural ever again.  Just as the most harmful substance we know are natural, some of the most helpful ones are natural as well. 

Herbal medicine has been used for thousands of years and there are some very reputable people practicing it. Just be careful when looking for a natural herbal remedy and stick to things that have had some testing done on them. 

Also, don’t discount a drug just because it isn’t ‘natural’ or come from an herb.  Afterall, people are 100 percent natural, and so are our intellects, and therefore anything we design is ‘natural’ as well!