How are Herbs Different from Pharmaceuticals?
May 12, 2010
Most pharmaceutical drugs today are highly refined and purified, and are often synthetic. They act to suppress our symptoms rather than addressing and fixing the cause. As recent as 1987, roughly 85% of modern drugs were originally derived from plants. Today, it’s only about 15%. Our bodies can’t metabolize these refined and synthetic chemicals, so they wind up building up in our livers and often creating nightmarish problems (to the point of destroyed livers and kidneys, messed up digestive systems and nervous systems, and even death). Pharmaceuticals also create an acidic environment in our bodies and deplete vital nutrients.
As an example of nutrient depletion, in his book Drugs & Nutrient Depletion (ISBN 157636156-x), Pharmacist Clell M. Fowles lists a variety of medications which deplete CoQ10 (including cholesterol-lowering meds, such as Lipitor, meds for high blood pressure, heart meds, and even anti-depressant meds). CoQ10 is a nutrient – a co-enzyme – that we (hopefully) absorb from our diet, but our bodies also manufacture it. However, as we age, we lose the ability to manufacture significant levels. So when you throw in a med that adds further depletion, you’ve just created a very dangerous scenario. Symptoms of CoQ10 depletion include congestive heart failure, angina, mitral valve prolapse, stroke, hypertension (high blood pressure), cardiomyopathy, cardiac arrhythmias, lethargy, gingivitis, and weakened immune system!
Doesn’t it seem a bit strange that a nutrient that is so critical to the cardiovascular system is depleted by the very drugs that are routinely prescribed by doctors for heart conditions? Click here for more information on CoQ10 along with a list of numerous studies.
There are many other examples of multiple nutrients being depleted by a whole broad spectrum of meds …nutrients like zinc, calcium, phosphorus, potassium, magnesium, iron, all of the B vitamins, vitamins A, C, and D, the friendly flora in our digestive tracts, and many others. The list of symptoms associated with these deficiencies is staggering! You get the idea …. but if you would like to become more educated, Drugs & Nutrient Depletion is an excellent source for this information.
In Contrast, herbs work on three levels:
- Nutritional (herbs are full of concentrated nutrition …organic nutrition that is bio-available to the human body),
- Medicinal (astringing, stimulating, soothing and relaxing), and
- Vibratory (energy building, opening, sending, and harmonizing).
Individually herbs are powerful, but when combined with other herbs into a formula, hundreds to thousands of interrelated compounds come into play. It’s the interrelatedness of these compounds that create a synergy that is many times greater than the isolated “active ingredient” from which pharmaceuticals are made. Science is now proving that the safety and effectiveness of herbs is often related to this synergy – a component that cannot be duplicated in pharmaceuticals.
It is common knowledge that viruses mutate and become resistant to pharmaceutical antibiotics, to the point of being useless. Not so with herbs. The chemical and energetic make-up of herbs (their synergy) is so complex that viruses cannot mutate themselves around them!
How is Herbology Different from Conventional Medicine?
April 30, 2010
The philosophical difference between herbalists and many conventional physicians is profound – in some ways you might even say they’re polar opposites.
The primary focus of many conventional physicians is to attack the disease with strong chemicals – drugs – that are difficult (if not impossible) for the body to process. If that doesn’t work, the removal of organs is another option. This philosophy ignores the unique makeup of the individual, seldom addresses the underlying cause, only seeking to suppress the symptom(s), and creates unwanted side effects that can be as bad (or worse) as the condition(s) being treated.
In contrast, the herbalist takes a holistic approach, focusing on the whole person – physical, mental, emotional and spiritual – regardless of the illness or condition. In other words, it is the person who is attended to – not the illness. The goal of the herbalist is to stimulate the innate healing power within us all, with the use of such interventions as herbs, essential oils, diet and lifestyle.
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