Herbal Medicine
An herb is a plant or plant part used for its scent, flavor or therapeutic properties. Herbal medicines are one type of dietary supplement, and one type of medicine. they are sold as tablets, capsules, powders, teas, extracts and fresh or dried plants. People use herbal medicine to improve their health, and experts use herbal medicine to treat diseases.
Many people believe that products labeled natural are always safe and food for them. This is not necessarily true. Herbal medicine do not have to go through the testing which drugs have to do. Some herbs such as comfrey and ephedra can cause damage if using wrong dosage. And some medicine, if with low level doctor's prescription can cause interact and damage to patients. Herbalism has a long tradition of use outside conventional medicine. It is becoming more mainstream as improvements in analysis and quality control, along with advances in clinical research, show the value of herbal medicine in treating and preventing disease.
How herbal medicine works?
In many cases, scientists are not sure what specific ingredients in a particular herbs works to treat a condition or illness. Whole herbs contain many ingredients and they work together to produce a beneficial effect to improve the condition and treat disease. Many factors can affect the effective of an herbal medicine.
How are herbal medicine used?
Herbal medicine used by professional doctors. The use of herbal supplements has increased dramatically over the past 30 years. In China, and other Asia country, herbal medicine is widely used in treating chronic diseases and their complications. Herbal supplements are classified as dietary supplements by the U.S. Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA) of 1994. That means herbal supplements, unlike prescription drugs, can be sold without being tested to prove they are safe and effective. However, herbal supplements must be made according to good manufacturing practices.
Practitioner often use herbs together because the combination is more effective than use along. Health care provider must take factors as many as you can into account when using herbs, which includes the species and variety of the plant, the plant's habitat, how it was stored and processed, and whether or not there are contaminants.
Who is using herbal medicine?
Nearly one-third of Americans use herbs. Unfortunately, a study in the New England Journal of Medicine found that nearly 70% of people taking herbal medicines (most of whom were well educated and had a higher-than-average income) were reluctant tell their doctors that they used complementary and alternative medicine (CAM).
People in Asia is used to take herbs as ingredients to treat diseases in their daily life. And doctors are customaries too.
