The Dangers Of Herbal Remedies

I've long been an advocate of what I call complementary medicine, that is, using techniques not normally utilized by your family physician to complement the work he or she is doing. I refuse to use the word "alternative" to refer to things like acupuncture, herbal remedies, or massage therapy because that creates a connotation both unsafe and untrue.

The word alternative implies that these treatments can be used instead of, or isolated from, the ways in which traditional medicine does things. While it's true I might make a cough medicine out of a couple of plant leaves that I know will help as much as any over the counter stuff, I'm still going to go see an orthopaedic surgeon when I break my leg.

Somehow or other the word alternative has come to be mean harmless when it is used with regard to medicinal use. People have gotten mighty confused over the meanings of the words natural and organic. The perception is that just because it wasn't made in a lab, it won't hurt you. Tell that to Socrates and the bowl of hemlock tea he had to drink.

Herbals are not some newfangled remedy. They were used long before we had pharmaceuticals, and have gone in and out of style with genteel society over the generations. Victorian era society women would have a tisane to help calm their nerves and men would take tonics to restore their "vigour".

It wasn't really until after World War I that people began experimenting with ways of synthesising remedies in a lab. Synthetic versions were thought to have the advantages of being easier to mass-produce, and allowed for the standardization of doses.

Herbals do have the disadvantage that from plant to plant a variety of factors can affect their potency. Soil conditions, rainfall, and exposure to sun can all come into play. The other advantage of man-made medicines was the assurance of a constant supply.

All plants have a very specific growing season and harvesting schedule. Some plants, like dandelion, can only be picked before June in order to have medicinal value, while others can only be picked in the fall. The other consideration is that in some instances the root of the plant is called for, and not only could it take years for the root to develop in size, but once used, the plant has been destroyed.

So, while some people may still have been using herbals, during the post World War II years the use of pharmaceuticals took off. They were convenient to take, and produced quick results, two things that were of major importance in our new faster paced world. People wanted not to be bothered by being sick and needed to get back to work fast. They couldn't afford to take the time it took to heal using herbals.

Article Author: Richard Marcus

Richard Marcus is the author of the forthcoming book What Will Happen In Eragon IV? and has had his work published in print and on line all over the world. The not so long-haired Canadian iconoclast writes reviews and opines on the world as he sees …

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