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| Herbal
Medicine has been used for
thousands of years to succ |
| by: Danny
Siegenthaler |
Herbs or medicinal plants
have a long history in treating
disease and health disorders. In
traditional Chinese medicine, for
example, the written history of
herbal medicine goes back over
2000 years and herbalists in the
West have used “weeds”
equally long to treat that which
ails us. We are all familiar with
the virtues of Garlic, Chamomile,
Peppermint, Lavender, and other
common herbs.
Interest in medicinal herbs is on
the rise again and the interest
is primarily from the
pharmaceutical industry, which is
always looking for ‘new
drugs’ and more effective
substances to treat diseases, for
which there may be no or very few
drugs available.
Considering the very long
traditional use of herbal
medicines and the large body of
evidence of their effectiveness,
why is it that we are not
generally encouraged to use
traditional herbal medicine,
instead of synthetic, incomplete
copies of herbs, called drugs,
considering the millions of
dollars being spent looking for
these seemingly elusive
substances?
Herbs are considered treasures
when it comes to ancient cultures
and herbalists, and many
so-called weeds are worth their
weight in gold. Dandelion,
Comfrey, Digitalis (Foxglove),
the Poppy, Milk Thistle, Stinging
nettle, and many others, have
well-researched and established
medicinal qualities that have few
if any rivals in the
pharmaceutical industry. Many of
them in fact, form the bases of
pharmaceutical drugs.
Research into the medicinal
properties of such herbs as the
humble Dandelion is currently
being undertaken by scientists at
the Royal Botanical Gardens, in
Kew, west London, believe it
could be the source of a
life-saving drug for cancer
patients.
Early tests suggest that it could
hold the key to warding off
cancer, which kills tens of
thousands of people every year.
Their work on the cancer-beating
properties of the dandelion,
which also has a history of being
used to treat warts, is part of a
much larger project to examine
the natural medicinal properties
of scores of British plants and
flowers.
Professor Monique Simmonds, head
of the Sustainable Uses of Plants
Group at Kew, said: "We
aren't randomly screening plants
for their potential medicinal
properties, we are looking at
plants which we know have a long
history of being used to treat
certain medical problems.”
“We will be examining them
to find out what active compounds
they contain which can treat the
illness.”
Unfortunately, as is so often the
case, this group of scientists
appears to be looking for active
ingredients, which can later be
synthesized and then made into
pharmaceutical drugs. This is not
the way herbs are used
traditionally and their functions
inevitably change when the active
ingredients are used in
isolation. That’s like
saying that the only important
part of a car is the engine
– nothing else needs to be
included…
So, why is there this need for
isolating the ‘active
ingredients’?
As a scientist, I can understand
the need for the scientific
process of establishing the fact
that a particular herb works on a
particular disease, pathogen or
what ever, and the need to know
why and how it does so. But, and
this is a BIG but, as a doctor of
Chinese medicine I also
understand the process of
choosing and prescribing
COMBINATIONS of herbs, which have
a synergistic effect to treat not
just the disease, but any
underlying condition as well as
the person with the disease
– That is a big difference
and not one that is easily tested
using standard scientific
methodologies.
Using anecdotal evidence, which
after all has a history of
thousands of years, seems to
escape my esteemed colleagues all
together. Rather than trying to
isolate the active ingredient(s),
why not test these herbs,
utilizing the knowledge of
professional herbalists, on
patients in vivo, using the
myriad of technology available to
researchers and medical
diagnosticians to see how and why
these herbs work in living,
breathing patients, rather than
in a test tube or on laboratory
rats and mice (which, by the way,
are not humans and have a
different, although some what
similar, physiology to us…).
I suspect, that among the reasons
for not following the above
procedure is that the
pharmaceutical companies are not
really interested in the effects
of the medicinal plants as a
whole, but rather in whether they
can isolate a therapeutic
substance which can then be
manufactured cheaply and marketed
as a new drug - and of course
that’s where the money
is…
The problem with this approach is
however, that medicinal plants
like Comfrey, Dandelion and other
herbs usually contain hundreds if
not thousands of chemical
compounds that interact, yet many
of which are not yet understood
and cannot be manufactured. This
is why the manufactured drugs,
based on so-called active
ingredients, often do not work or
produce side effects.
Aspirin is a classic case in
point. Salicylic acid is the
active ingredient in Aspirin
tablets, and was first isolated
from the bark of the White Willow
tree. It is a relatively simple
compound to make synthetically,
however, Aspirin is known for its
ability to cause stomach
irritation and in some cases
ulceration of the stomach wall.
The herbal extract from the bark
of the White Willow tree
generally does not cause stomach
irritation due to other, so
called ‘non-active
ingredients’ contained in
the bark, which function to
protect the lining of the stomach
thereby preventing ulceration of
the stomach wall.
Ask yourself, which would I
choose – Side effects, or no
site effects? – It’s a
very simple answer. Isn’t
it?
So why then are herbal medicines
not used more commonly and why do
we have pharmaceutical impostors
stuffed down our throats? The
answer is, that there’s
little or no money in herbs for
the pharmaceutical companies.
They, the herbs, have already
been invented, they grow easily,
they multiply readily and for the
most part, they’re freely
available.
Further more, correctly
prescribed and formulated herbal
compounds generally resolve the
health problem of the patient
over a period of time, leaving no
requirement to keep taking the
preparation – that means no
repeat sales… no ongoing
prescriptions… no ongoing
problem.
Pharmaceuticals on the other hand
primarily aim to relieve symptoms
– that means: ongoing
consultations, ongoing sales,
ongoing health problems –
which do you think is a more
profitable proposition…?
Don’t get me wrong, this is
not to say that all drugs are
impostors or that none of the
pharmaceutical drugs cure
diseases or maladies – they
do and some are life-preserving
preparations and are without
doubt invaluable. However, herbal
extracts can be similarly
effective, but are not promoted
and are highly under-utilized.
The daily news is full of
‘discoveries’ of herbs
found to be a possible cure of
this or that, as in the example
of Dandelion and its possible
anti-cancer properties. The point
is, that these herbs need to be
investigated in the correct way.
They are not just ‘an active
ingredient’. They mostly
have hundreds of ingredients and
taking one or two in isolation is
not what makes medicinal plants
work. In addition, rarely are
herbal extracts prescribed by
herbalists as singles (a
preparation which utilizes only
one herb). Usually herbalists mix
a variety of medicinal plants to
make a mixture, which addresses
more than just the major
symptoms.
In Chinese medicine for example
there is a strict order of
hierarchy in any herbal
prescription, which requires
considerable depth of knowledge
and experience on the physicians
part. The fact that the primary
or principle herb has active
ingredients, which has a specific
physiological effect, does not
mean the other herbs are not
necessary in the preparation.
This is a fact seemingly ignored
by the pharmaceutical industry in
its need to manufacture new drugs
that can control disease.
Knowing that medicinal plants are
so effective, that these plants
potentially hold the key to many
diseases, are inexpensive and
have proven their worth time and
time again over millennia, why is
it that herbal medicine is still
not in the forefront of medical
treatments, and is considered by
many orthodox medical
professionals and pharmaceutical
companies as hocus-pocus….
hmmm.
About the Author
Danny Siegenthaler is a doctor
of traditional Chinese medicine
and together with his wife Susan,
a medical herbalist and
aromatherapist, they have created
Natural
Skin Care Products by Wildcrafted
Herbal Products to share
their 40 years of combined
expertise with you.
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***DISCLAIMER: The material presented on this website
is for informational purposes only and should not be
considered medical advice. Consult your physician for the
proper medical treatment for your condition.***
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