“When I fall sick and go to the doctor, he takes down notes, then he whips out his notepad and writes a prescription. This happens all the time.”

“I’m tired of taking pill after pill, all these drugs have side effects, isn’t there an alternative?”

One of these alternatives which has been around since the beginning and is often presented to individuals is the use of herbal remedies. One may ask, do they really work? Should they have a place in a healthy lifestyle? If so, where do they fit in? This article aims to provide information to empower you to be able to make an informed decision.

Do Herbal Remedies Work? There is no short answer to this question. There exists a wide array of natural and herbal remedies and many of them are claimed to have multiple uses. While some have been documented and scientifically tested, many of them have not been subjected to the scientific process and are at best explained by psuedoscience. History has taught us when pandemics occur there has always been a number of claimed herbal remedies to the disease, and thousands of unsuspecting individuals have died due to belief in a heralded unproven herbal remedy. Such is the cautionary tale of HIV in the 80s when it reached the shores of sub-Saharan Africa and several theories, natural and herbal remedies were postulated to work. Individuals only showed up to hospitals and clinics when it was too late and we still live with the aftermath.

Do Herbs Have a Place in a Healthy Lifestyle? The fact is some herbs do work. In fact, until recently many medicines which are prescribed and proven to work were of a natural origin. These include: morphine, which is found naturally in a number of plants and animals; aspirin, which is based on a natural product salicin isolated from Salix alba; Paclitaxel, a drug used for ovarian, lung and breast cancer from Taxus brevifolia; Artemisinin, a drug used to combat multidrug resistant malaria from the traditional Chinese plant Artemisia annua; and Silymarin extracted from the seeds of Silybum marianum for the treatment of liver diseases. Other early drugs isolated from natural sources include cocaine, codeine, digitoxin, quinine and pilocarpine (Veeresham, 2012). This list barely scratches the surface. But as you may have guessed by now a good number of them may result in unwanted effects too. If used unregulated, one may easily overdose and experience adverse effects with possible death.

The Integrative Approach to Health. While on one hand the potential benefits of the use of natural and herbal remedies is apparent, the potential dangers of their sole use emerges. How does create the perfect balancing act between the two? Here are three recommended rules:

1. Herbs cannot replace your primary health provider. While there is a place for herbs in your health, they should not serve as a replacement for primary health provider and the conventional treatment and drugs they may prescribe. When you feel unwell, do not delay seeing a physician.

2. Know the herbs and natural remedies you take. Due to the potential of additive and synergistic effect of herbal remedies, it is advisable to keep a record of the ones you take and to avoid taking several of them at once. Research the natural and herbal remedies you are taking. Scientific textbooks and published peer-reviewed journal articles are a good place to start. When in doubt, ask your physician or primary health care provider.

3. Disclose the herbs you take to your primary health care provider. Whenever you visit your doctor or primary health care provider, furnish them with a comprehensive list of the herbs and natural remedies you are taking or have taken. Rather than treat the two as worlds apart, the best outcome for your health is when a treatment plan can be crafted which takes the natural remedies and herbs into consideration.

Why don’t you try the integrative health approach? Use herbs and natural remedies as well as conventional medication, yes, you can choose to be healthy today!