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Thursday, February 16, 2012

Herbal remedies vs modern medicine


Natural Herbal Remedies And Modern Medicine

The western medical establishment aided and abetted by the huge pharmaceutical companies is enamored of powerful chemical treatments for illness. Very few of the standard treatments are natural or herbal remedies. Most are synthetic although the original antibiotic penicillin derives from a natural mold. Unfortunately, overuse and misuse of antibiotics has lead to the development of highly resistant strains of bacteria and today the race is on to see if the newest most powerful antibiotics kill off the bacteria or the patient first.

One of the most terrifying experiences of my life was when my new-born daughter contracted a gram-negative staph infection in the delivery room. Both of us were lucky because she survived the treatment and thrived, but it was a long two weeks and touch and go. Partly, I'm telling you this because not everything can be handled using natural or herbal remedies. You have to be smart and you have to understand that traditional western allopathic medicine can save your life or the life of ones you love when nothing else works.

In many cases, people are beginning once again to seek out and use natural treatments and herbal remedies for many common problems. Modern medicine tends to be symptom-centered and tends to treat the symptoms and not the patient as a whole. Naturopathic and homeopathic treatments are often broader in scope and focus on the entire person. Using not only natural remedies, these treatments also take into account the whole person, their environment and their emotional and spiritual needs.

Illness understood holistically, is not simply a matter of killing off some germs. In fact, for many of the most difficult problems we all end up trying to deal with, the very concept of "illness" is inadequate and possibly misleading. Even modern medicine has finally begun to recognize the importance of life style and state of mind (or as we might prefer, the quality of one's spirit) as critical to health and healing.

In many situations, the body can heal itself with a modest boost from herbal remedies and the proper attitude. Over millennia, our bodies have evolved to cope with many of the problems we face. The stresses of modern society, however, are new and extra help may be required. Herbal remedies, in general, are designed to provide a reasonably gentle effect that over time can augment our ability to deal with many disorders. Since they operate in a less intrusive and heavy-handed fashion than many synthetic compounds, they rarely provoke negative reactions, side effects or any kind of addiction.

Since stress - whether it's anxiety or full blown panic - is a common ingredient in many secondary disorders, getting our reactions back to a more normal level is essential. The problem with most pharmaceuticals that deal with stress or anxiety is that they can have serious side effects and many are addictive or habit-forming. Somehow, trading off anxiety for a drug addiction seems like a bad idea.

Overall, the potential gains from natural remedies are substantial. Less abuse of your body, a lower (or non-existent) incidence of side effects and the avoidance of potentially addictive or habituating drugs. When used properly within an approach that deals with your life as a whole, natural herbal remedies can contribute a great deal to your comfort and health. You do need to always be aware though that modern medicine can deal with serious illnesses that are unlikely to respond to herbal treatment and you'd be foolish not to check in with your doctor whenever you are seriously ill.

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