One of the most noticeable trends in medicine in recent years has been the increasing usage of herbal medicines, replacing allopathic ones. Although this trend started initially from Asia, it has now spread even to the western countries, which was sort of unthinkable some decades ago. This change can be attributed to many reasons, with the primary one being growing concern amongst people about the long term side effects of allopathic medicines, that have now become widely documented, even leading to advisories by the world health organization and many governments across the world.
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| Herbal Medicines |
The major distinguishing feature of herbal medicines is that these are only made from natural herbal extracts. The science of making herbal medicines relies heavily on age old wisdom regarding properties of various herbs passed over from generation to generation, especially in countries like China and India. Simply put, today it won't be an exaggeration to say that a lot of people in the subcontinent swear by alternative treatment methods like herbal medicines, with some even going to the extent of viewing allopathic medicines with suspicion.
For differentiation purposes, lets look at the evolution of herbal medicines in the three major civilizations where it was mainly used.
For differentiation purposes, lets look at the evolution of herbal medicines in the three major civilizations where it was mainly used.
- Traditional Chinese Medicine - In ancient China, the primary source of remedies for ailments was herbal, with supposedly over 12000 items being used by healers. Presently, herbal medicines are still very popular there, with around 5000 traditional medicines made from herbal extracts still in common use. The Chinese herbal medicines market accounts for about 20 percent of the whole pharmaceutical industry there
- Japanese Traditional Medicine - Many of china's wisdom about the healing power of herbal extracts found their way to Japan, with herbs native to Japan also being used widely. Regarding the present situation, although the usage of these medicines not as prevalent as in China but it still can be termed significant
- Traditional Indian Medicine - The traditional Indian medical and healing system, ayurveda has been known to exist for over 5000 years. Ayurveda is primarily based on the healing properties of herbs and dietary foods. It is still trusted by a lot of people in India and has been continuously seeing an increase in the number of people resorting to it.
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| Herbal Medicine |
Benefits of Herbal Medicines
- Unlike allopathic medicines, these generally do not have any negative effects on body as no artificial chemicals are used in the formulation
- All herbal medicines have anti inflammatory properties
- A lot of herbal medicines can simply be taken as a dietary supplement
- Unlike some allopathic medicines that require a person to follow certain advisories before consumption, herbal medicines require no such thing
- These utilize and supplement the body's natural healing ability for treating ailments, thus doing no long term harm to the body's immune system
- Last but not the least, the rising costs of modern medicines has been decried by many as something that's inhuman. Herbal medicines, being comparatively much cheaper provide a better alternative, ensuring proper health care to even the most marginalized sections of society.
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