When the term “herbal medicine” gets thrown into the conversation, many people don’t really know what to feel about it. Herbal medicine is a sort of an alternative when it comes to curing various diseases, disorders, and ailments.
It involves quite a lot of things and for much cheaper than conventional or over the counter medication. This is what makes it so appealing. But there are a few other things that help take the cake.
In order for us to explain it, we would have to go through the various advantages and disadvantages of herbal medicine. This will be your 2024 guide, so make sure to stick around.
Advantage: It Is Entirely Natural
The biggest advantage herbal medicine has is the fact that is entirely natural. We get this medicine from nature itself and that’s enough for some people to trust it.
Nature has everything we need. From antibiotics to antidepressants and even antioxidants, nature has everything. As a matter of fact, a quarter of all medicine is based on natural ingredients from plants. Nearly 75% of all cancer treatment medicine is based on herbal medicine and natural ingredients.
Disadvantage: It Isn’t FDA Approved
For a medicine to be FDA-approved, it needs to go through multiple safety and efficiency testing. People constantly point to the fact that herbal medicine doesn’t guarantee any safety for the user as it isn’t FDA-approved.
However, herbs derive from nature and we mostly know which ones can be deadly and which safe for usage. You should, however, take anything you take with a pinch of salt if the particular medication isn’t approved by the FDA.
This means that you cannot be sure about how safe the medication is, what are its effects, and the potential side effects. But the biggest problem with herbal medicine is the fact that we are not entirely sure how it acts in accordance with other medication.
Advantage: Many Are Proven Effective
As a complete parallel to the previous point, herbal medicine is mostly found to be effective. This is because people don’t need the FDA to tell them what they can and cannot take as an alternative means of curing their diseases.
But those that are available on the free market, nearly 99% of them have been tested and proven effective by other users. Herbal medicine is full of antioxidants that work wonders for our health. Certain herbs are effective in the battle against bacteria, viruses, and others are excellent for strengthening the immune system.
Disadvantage: They Might Interfere With Other Medication
It isn’t anything unusual for herbal medicine to work against certain medications that you might be on. This is perhaps the biggest let down when it comes to regulation.
If we have some way of regulating herbal medicine, then we would know exactly which herb interacts negatively with certain medications. These are the most common risks of taking herbal medicine, and why a lot of people consult with their doctors first.
Advantage: They Encourage the Practice of Herbalism
Since alternative medicine has been around for centuries, it has actually encouraged people to study and know more about these plants.
People that study herbs and make it their lives work to know everything about them are called herbalists. These people encourage the use of herbs as a means to combat various disorders, ailments, and diseases.
The whole point of herbalism is to be entirely natural with no artificial ingredients used for the making of various medications. If you’re interested in finding a quality herbalist, then make sure to visit TonicNaturalHealth.
Disadvantage: Poisoning
We were going to eventually come to this one, and for good reasons. If you happened to be strolling around the woods and looked at an interesting plant, what is the first thing you do? Do you eat it to try it out and see how it tastes? Or do you leave it alone or maybe take a picture?
If you answered the former, then there is a slight chance that you might get poisoned.
Listen, we know that certain herbs are poisonous. But that doesn’t mean you should go out and try them. We have a general understanding of which herbals are and which aren’t poisonous. However, this is always a risk that manifests itself one way or another.
Advantage: You Can Grow Them Yourself
For the last batch of advantages and disadvantages, we are going to mention this one. The great thing about herbal medicine is the fact that you can grow it yourself.
Since this is indeed plants and so forth, you can effectively grow them in your garden or inside your home. This means that the medication will always be free as you will have it at your disposal.
Even when you have all the herbs at home, you can mix them up and create herbal medicine; still for free!
Disadvantage: No Dosing Recommendation
And the last disadvantage on this list is the fact that we have no idea what’s the recommended dosage for some of these medications. Growing things at home are one thing, but how would you know how much to take?
This is yet another headache that many advocates face on a daily bases. Sure, herbal medicine is great and all but how would you know the recommended dosage for every single thing you try?
When buying FDA-approved medication, you always know about the dosage recommendations as it is clearly displayed on the front or back label.
This isn’t the case with some herbs that you grow at home. You should always take this into account when growing your own beauties as it might prove costly in the long-run.
Conclusion
There are many more advantages and disadvantages to trying out herbal medicine as a means to cure various ailments. Although we’ve labeled some of the more important ones, we recommend that you go out of your way and do the proper research on every particular herb that you want to try.
As a safety measurement, tons of online forums can help guide you and make you aware of the potential risks.
If you already take prescription medication, Curogram, a leading healthcare communications software business, recommends talking to your healthcare provider before trying any herbal medicine to limit your risk of unwanted interactions.