Herbal medicine is now finding its way into domains of health care industries with the influx of herbal remedies and herbal supplements in the mainstream. More than just presenting options for medication, herbal supplements are becoming popular choices in treatment from minor infections to chronic diseases. Wonder what is fueling this renewed interest over the healing wonders of herbs? Well, here is a rundown of what is probably enticing the over 40 million reported users of herbal products in the United States.

In the last few decades, the growing concern for nutrition and fitness in the midst of teeming obesity among 60% of the population has realigned the focus of many Americans toward a more natural way of life. That includes the reformulation of typical diets from greasy fast foods toward a daily nourishment of whole grains, fruits, and vegetables. This paradigm shift likewise ushered the demand for herbal products both as dietary supplement and herbal remedy.

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The efficacy of herbal supplements as treatment for diseases cannot be adequately disputed. Despite the contention of foremost medical experts over the patronage of herbal formulations, the overwhelming testimonies of cure from a good number of users hold much more promise in the eyes of patients who have been badly burned by the prolonged use of prescription drugs.

The herbal supplements prepared by expert herbalists have been contrived in the midst of extensive scientific research that will support the potency of each herbal extract blended into the formulation. Herbal supplements in pill, liquid, suppository, or powder form are now manufactured under strict pharmaceutical standards.

In the end, the charm of herbal remedies rest on their ability to provide a holistic form of treatment. Something that prescription medicine cannot provide with its synthetic formultion often confined to clearing the symptoms and neutralizing pathogens. Herbal supplements take an extra step in health care by probing into underlying systemic disorders that may be causing the disease, cushioning the side-effects of primary herbs in the formulation, while revitalizing affected organs to fully restore the well-being of an infected individual.

The rise of herbal supplements will likely challenge the potency of patented medicine as cure in the years to come. What sets herbal remedies apart from conventional medicine is the latent thrust of health preservation that is over and above the intention of merely treating a disease.

People take herbal health food for various reasons but the misguided notion about medicinal value is gradually being corrected. For whatever reasons people take herbal products and supplements, the guidelines prescribed through federal legislation provides that herbs cannot allege that these can prevent, detect or treat any ailment or disease.

The “health factor” was born out of the claims regarding positive effects of herbs on certain body functions or structures and the general welfare of those who consume these so-called natural products. However, this explanation is disputable and gives weight to ambiguous health claims. While legal stipulations have come out, consumers are still responsible for verifying their legitimacy and actual effects. The bottom line is to stay away from products with questionable claims despite all the hype about them.

What medical and fitness professionals maintain is that the best remedy for disease prevention is a healthy lifestyle. This consists of a diet rich in whole grains, vegetables, fruits and low in cholesterol. At the same time, physical exercises also play a vital role. Yet, workouts should be regulated. There is no available data suggesting that herbs are more useful than prescription drugs for curing illnesses.

Herbs have always been advertised as natural so millions of people believe that these are completely safe. Nevertheless, this is not always true. While many of these botanicals are considered safe, some have harmful side effects. There have already been several deaths because of the improper use of herbal products. In certain instances, even minimal amounts of herbs, have produced had injurious effects.

For the benefits of consumers, some of these products that have been mentioned by medical research and journals include the following:
• Ephedra allegedly for hypertension, strokes and seizures
• Chapparal for kidney and liver troubles
• Comfrey for liver poisoning
• Lobelia for breathing difficulty
• Wormwood for kidney ailments

Physicians recommend to their patients and the public in general that consuming herbal health food should only be for limited duration. It is still uncertain if temporary benefits that could lead to long-term use will be damaging to people’s health. You have to follow instructions printed on labels strictly and discontinue use in case of abnormal side effects. Medical practitioners do not prescribe herbs for medical remedies of chronic maladies like grave depression, diabetes, hypertension and heart ailments. Herbs are not recommended for kids under six years old; pregnant women; individuals with HIV; and, people affected by kidney and liver diseases.

Herbal vitamins and are classified by the United States Food and Drug Administration as mere dietary supplements and not as drugs. Henceforth, these are not tested for safety. Herbal commodities can be sold any time even without scientific research and approval from regulatory government agencies. Meanwhile, pharmaceutical firms are mandated to conduct clinical research to establish the usefulness of prescription medicine, probable interaction with other substances and proper dosages.

Consumers need to be well-informed for their own welfare especially at this time when the herbal industry continues to flourish. Research continues if only to determine the real causes and effects of herbal health food.

Alternative medicine is very effective in curing many health conditions, even those that the conventional system can not treat. However there are numerous alternative therapies and medicines available out there like Ayurvedic medicine, herbal medicine, Chinese medicine, etc, and it is important to use the most appropriate and proven alternative therapy for your health condition – be it pain, menopause problems, blood pressure, acne or allergies.

A particular alternative therapy or medicine addressing a health condition may work with one person but may not work with another with the same condition. For example a back pain relief herbal medicine may work on one person but may not work with someone else with the same problem. This is because we are all products of our environment. How we live, what we eat, when we eat, stress at work, stress at home, etc, all this has an impact on our body type.

This means that our body will need body specific alternative therapy or medicine to encourage our body to heal itself.

And there is a way to do that.

Let us discuss the first of the 6 Easy Steps to Good Health Naturally:

Evaluate Your Health Using Free Online Tools

First and foremost you need to determine and evaluate your health condition. It is important to know what exactly is the problem and then what is causing it.

You see unlike conventional medicine Alternative medicine addresses the cause of the problem and not its symptom. Once the cause is healed, the health problem goes away forever.

There is no reason to be embarrassed about your particular health condition. The fact is that there will be others like you in the same situation.