If you ask me this question: “Why use Homeopathic/Alternative Medicine?” I would say, “What kind of dumb question is that?” It is time to ask this question: "Why are we paying so much for health care and we are still dying a horrific death?" It is because western medicine is not the answer to everything. It is best to look at medicine from the same critical eye that we look at the other sciences. Medical science has not had major “cures” since penicillin. We still succumb to these five top killers:

• Heart Disease
• Stroke
• Diabetes
• Cancer
• Injuries

When you go to a doctor who practices only western traditional medicine, he has no time to counsel you about nutrition. The top five killer can easily be prevented with the right nutrition. You are going to suffer a heart attack if you stuff pies, cakes, fat pig, and Twinkies in your mouth from dawn to dusk. Western medicine doctors make you think that your disgustingly unhealthy eating habit can be reversed with a prescription.

New emphasis is being put on homeopathic and herbal remedies because traditional western medicine has no cure for most serious diseases. The trend is to create a maintenance therapy until you die. This trend is designed to extract the maximum financial value from you as a patient and make excellent money for physicians and their establishment.

The traditional western medical establishment has failed the general public in many ways. For instance, most western researchers do not pursue cures. Ninety percent of medical research dollars go into producing costly therapies that patients will have to take the rest of their lives. This increases the funds that pharmaceutical companies (already the nation’s most profitable industry) will make off your during your lifetime. Don’t believe me? Take a look at your pharmaceutical commercials. Every item advertised is a lifestyle drug. You will never see an antibiotic or cream treatment commercial for a major company. They want you to take drugs that you’ll need for the rest of your life. Their goal is to maximize revenue. Did you ever see a commercial and are confused whether you need the drug or not? That’s because they want you confused. They want you to purchase their drug – period. This is the same reason that herbs are virtually never discussed or taken seriously. They want your money.
Homeopathic/Alternative Medicine

Traditional western medicine has failed to produce major results in the top killers in the western world. Eastern traditional medicine also has some serious issues. Stomach and uterine cancer are running wild in the orient. They used the same pharmaceutical processes that western medicine does but they do some very smart things that western medicine society does not. In China diseases are prevented THROUGH diet. This means that certain chemical influences are not allowed in the food supply. As a result, obesity, diabetes, and high blood pressure rates are much lower in China and other parts of the East than in the West. Their explosion of stomach cancer is caused by soy sauce. Their food-related approach to medicine helps create healthier citizens by banning dangerous food components.

The United States is finally beginning to take this approach by banning dangerous fats used in fried foods. The Chinese have the same issues we have because of their cultural love for soy sauce, but they have proven more open-minded overall. Americans feel that true medicine happens in a hospital or with a pharmacist. Other countries are pursuing cures and effective treatments; meanwhile we are dying for expensive therapies focused on “creepy crawlie” feelings in our legs.


Balance
I urge you to approach homeopathic medicine in the same sense you do traditional eastern and western medicine. I think you should have a healthy skepticism for any medical information you get; after all it is your body.
Homeopathic medicine is an alternative approach to healing and medicine. Many laypeople think that because herbs are natural and have a long history of use in healing, they are always better than pharmaceuticals. This is a major misconception. Herbs have side effects just like regular medicines from your pharmacist. The United States has simply ignored herbs and classified them as food. Other countries not only treat herbs as drugs, but some are available through pharmacists and covered by insurance. With this being said, when alternative medicine is taken seriously, there is a lot to review.
Alternative medicines have risks associated with them that are often not discussed:

• Complete Inefficacy (No treatment)
• Life-threatening side-effects
• Unreliable dosing
• Unreliable sourcing

Efficacy
Efficacy is the major roadblock to the use of alternative medicines in the United States. In other countries, herbs that are produced as medicines must meet standards. As long as the FDA treats herbs as food/supplements, they don’t need to meet any standards required for dosing. This means you could purchase a high quality of St. John’s Wort for mild depression and use it with excellent results, while another person could purchase a poor quality St. John’s Wort that is completely ineffective. The source of the product must be verifiable and meet a specific standard. Several foreign sources do have verifications of efficacy.


Life Threatening Side Effects
Many herbs have side effects. Some of these side effects are life threatening or even lethal. This fact is downplayed. Many people who take herbs understand and realize they have medicinal properties. Most people don’t realize that not only do herbs have medicinal properties that have been respected and trusted for hundreds or thousands of years but they have side-effects that are also known in the area of their origin. Some of these side-effects are similar to those found in pharmaceutical products. A good example is that several pharmaceutical anti-depressants cause sexual dysfunction. Several herbal anti-depressants can also cause sexual dysfunction. Most laypeople have this idea that because herbs are natural they don’t have harmful side effects. Many of them do. We have endeavored to capture as many side effects as possible in our text to help you understand any risks associated with these medicines. While our text is only one source, we encourage you to read more fully and obey any package warnings. We would also like to bring to your attention to the fact that while the FDA does not strictly regulate herbs; it does identify herbs with lethal potential. Some herbs regularly can cause kidney failure, liver failure, dangerous high blood pressure, etc. The FDA BANS these herbs for import. Several Chinese herbs are banned for import because they cause organ failure. Some of these herbs are:

• Fang ji
• Wild Ginger
• Ephedrine
• Red Yeast Rice

Please note that an import ban does not prevent local sales, only banning a product for sale can do that. So you may still find these products on the shelf.
Danger still exists in these products, no matter what the source.


Dosing
Dosing is a very serious concern when treating any medical condition. When treating a medical condition, the patient needs a reliable source of medication. The dosages of herb or pharmaceutical grade material must be consistent when taken to achieve optimal efficacy. Herbal sources in foreign countries and a few in the United States have made efforts to be consistent in the packaging, concentration and grade of their products. You should read the packaging and review your supplier’s methods, practices and requirements before purchase. A good guideline is to simply check if your product is available in countries where these guidelines must be followed for sale. Several European countries like Germany and France require these guidelines to be followed for sale to the general public. Since several herbs are used just like medicines in these countries, doses must be consistent. If you are unsure about these facts you can investigate most suppliers over the internet.


Supply Chain Management
Sourcing is a major problem with some herbs sold in the United States. Due to an infinite number of middlemen, it is hard to ascertain the original manufacturer of the packaging. For higher quality products, it is much easier to find their source, as most products are sold directly from major suppliers. A good rule of thumb is that if you can’t look up the source of a product, don’t buy it. There is no guarantee of quality or efficacy.

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never give up

I am afraid that you confuse homeopathic medicine and herbal medicine. While both are parts of alternative medicine, they are completely different things.
But good recommendations on herbs and herb selection. Yes, herbs should be treated with respect, they have multiple chemical constituents and are much more complex compared to single-constituent drugs. The difference is that most herbs have much lower concentration of these constituents than the pharmaceuticals. Yet it does not mean that they can be used by anyone at any time. Like drugs, herbs have to be regulated and prescribed by qualified professionals to ensure their safety and efficacy.

A very valid point with the source of the herb. While dependence of the herb efficacy on the source is still debatable, the safety of the herb depending on the source is a real issue. And I am not even talking about herbs that are sold loose in some ethnic markets - you never know whether it really is the herb that you need. But even if the authenticity of the herb is ensured, contamination remains a major issue. For example, the bulk of Goldenseal in US is gathered by the individuals gatherers ,who sell it to the herb-processing companies. To increase the weight of the product, some unethical individuals often mix the chopped herb with dirt. And some practitioners recommend Goldenseal for treatment of wounds and conjunctivitis. What happens if a fungus-contaminated herb is put on conjunctiva? You know the answer.


Nadia Arora, ND
Naturopathic Living - Family Practice of Dr. Nadia Arora