Download
1 / 36
E N D
Herbal Medicine, sometimes referred to as Herbalism or Botanical Medicine, is the use of herbs for their therapeutic or medicinal value. An herb is a plant or plant part valued for its medicinal, aromatic or savory qualities. Herb plants produce and contain a variety of chemical substances that act upon the body.
One more interesting fact is that the World Health Organization or WHO estimates that 80% of the population of the world is now using Herbal Remedies. • Another fact which is related to herbal medicines is that a whopping 7000 compounds used in modern day medicine have been derived from plants and herbs.
The whole is greater than the sum of the individual parts • Also what is important to bear in mind is that a herb just does not have one single use but has multiple actions affecting multiple body systems. Take St. John’s Wort again as an example, it is a nervine that calms anxiety, stress and anxiety-related depression, but it also aids repairs when nerves have been damaged, it has an anti-viral action, it is also helpful for healing damaged intestinal mucosa and it can be used for menopausal nervousness & menstrual cramps. Therefore St. John’s Wort is just not a herb for a single issue but a complex herb that works on many underlying issues in multiple body systems.
Psalm 104:14 He causeth the grass to grow for the cattle, and herb for the service of man: that he may bring forth food out of the earth;
Exodus 37:25 And they sat down to eat bread: and they lifted up their eyes and looked, and, behold, a company of Ishmeelites came from Gilead with their camels bearing spicery and balm and myrrh, going to carry [it] down to Egypt.
Principles of Herbal Medicine • Herbs must be preserved to maintain effectiveness. • Herbal teas and extracts are the best ways to take herbs. • Herb dosages vary depending on herb used, weight of person, form they are taken in and condition of person. • Herbs are best used if the cause of disease is ascertained. • Herbs are not a substitute for poor lifestyle habits. • Herbs should be used intelligently, and in therapeutic levels deemed appropriate for the condition. • Herbs are not to be relied upon continually, unless they are used for nutritional support.
There are simple herbs and roots that every family may use for themselves and need not call a physician any sooner than they would call a lawyer. over this subject. {2SM 279.1}
Handful of Herbs “This is God’s method. The herbs that grow for the benefit of man, and the little handful of herbs kept and steeped and used for sudden ailments, have served tenfold, yes, one hundred fold better purposes, than all the drugs hidden under mysterious names and dealt out to the sick. {PH144 12.2}
Safety & Effectiveness of Herbal Remedies • 0 Deaths • 21 Major reactions • 527 Moderate reactions • 603 Minor reactions • The report from the Poison Control Center does not give us details as to the way in which the herbs were given and the amount, but only the effect. I would also like to mention that many herbal preparations are alcoholic based, and therefore present a higher risk to children who may inadvertently be consuming high amounts. Bronstein AC, Spyker DA, Cantilena LR Jr, Green JL, Rumack BH, Giffin SL. 2008 Annual Report of the American Association of Poison Control Centers' National Poison Data System (NPDS): 26th Annual Report. Clinical Toxicology (2009). 47, 911-1084.
Safety issues often distorted by medical websites https://www.webmd.com/vitamins-and-supplements/features/risky-herbal-supplements#4
Twenty-seven studies met the study entry criteria. A total of 3,126 patients with depression were included. St John's wort extract did not differ from SSRIs in clinical response, remission, and mean reduction in Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression score. St John's wort extract had a significantly lower rate of adverse events compared to SSRIs (summary relative risk: 0.77; 95% confidence interval: 0.70, 0.84, P=0.00) and had fewer withdrawals due to adverse events. St John's wort extract had superior safety in the management of patients with depression. Both St John's wort extract and SSRIs are effective in treating mild-to-moderate depression. St John's wort extract is safer than SSRIs. Neuropsychiatr Dis Treat. 2016 Jul 11;12:1715-23. doi: 10.2147/NDT.S106752. eCollection 2016.
Chaparral Chaparral: Chaparral is considered to be a probable cause of hepatoxicity in most medical websites, however the FDA softened their stance on it as “may be associated with acute to chronic fulminant liver failure.” • According to the National Library of Medicine, “Liver injury attributable to chaparral was first reported in 1990 and subsequently more than a dozen cases of severe liver injury attributed to chaparral have been published.” According to the book, “Dietary Supplements: A Framework for Evaluating Safety, page 398”, only 1 in 15 case reports of chaparral-associated hepatotoxicity was it reported that a chaparral tea had been ingested.”
Comfrey • The four widely-reported cases of liver toxicity, all occurring in the 1980s, were outlined in a presentation by the National Institute of Medical Herbalists (London), to the Department of Health in January 1993 (29):
Kava Root • The University of Maryland in an article on Kava made the following statement: “However, there is serious concern that kava may cause liver damage. More than 30 cases of liver damage have been reported in Europe. However, researchers have not been able to confirm that kava is toxic to the liver. It's not clear whether kava itself causes liver damage, or whether taking kava in combination with other drugs or herbs is responsible.But the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a consumer advisory in March 2002 regarding the "rare" but potential risk of liver failure associated with kava-containing products.”
Pennyroyal • Pennyroyal oil, however, is highly toxic, and even small doses (one tablespoon, 15 mL) can cause syncope, seizures, coma, cardiopulmonary collapse, acute liver injury, renal insufficiency and multiorgan failure. Currently, pennyroyal oil is used in aromatherapy, as a bath additive and as an insect repellent, but is not recommended to be taken internally.” https://livertox.nih.gov/Pennyroyal.htm
Biggest Herbal Culprit • In the book “The Essential Guide to Herbal Safety” by Simon Mills, and Kerry Bone, it states that “It has been estimated that approximately 70% of severe poisonings caused by Chinese Herbal Medicine (CHM) are caused by churn wu (Aconitum carmachaeli) and can wu (Aconitum kusnezoffii) alone.” page 120.
86.6% of the adverse effects blamed on 14 plants: • Another systematic review, not included in the aforementioned overview, reported that 86.6% of the adverse effects of plant food supplements and botanical preparations were associated with 14 plants only. Two plants were responsible for 32% of the adverse effects reported, that is, soybean (Glycine max), for which allergic reactions and hormone-like activity were demonstrated, and liquorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra) responsible for hypokalaemia and hypertension (Di Lorenzo et al., 2015).
Green Tea • High in aluminum • High in tanins that block iron absorption • High in flouride • 20-5mg of Caffeine per cup • Knocks out Gaba
Doctors and Herbs In a study entitled “A gap between acceptance and knowledge of herbal remedies by physicians: The need for educational intervention” It revealed that “Of 192 physicians interviewed, most (60.4%) believed that herbal remedies were beneficial to health…Seventy-eight physicians (40.6%) admitted having used herbs in the past, and 60 of these (76.9%) were satisfied with the outcome. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1310610/
Patients reluctant to tell doctors about their herbal medicines 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).
