by Nina Drozd

Created on: May 03, 2009   Last Updated: May 11, 2009

In recent years, the emphasis on the use of herbal and more natural substitute to our every-day needs has increased radically. As all the nations now strive for a cleaner environment with healthier food and more biodegradable objects of every day use, the need for more natural medicine has also grown. It is seen as quite a popular trend in new generation, but is it always good and what risks can it have? One must agree with a notion of using a more natural approach to keeping your body healthy, like water healing which has proved to play an important role in helping an allergy problem, of making the skin less sensitive and healthier (as tested on yours truly...). Some herbal syrups and remedies are also used lately, which help by keeping the body more alert and regenerated, like echinacea helping with the overall "stamina" of one's system and protecting people from common cold symptoms and the development of cold and flu. These, compared to commercial cough syrups and antibiotic, do not contain any unwanted acids and bases and different unknown elements of the periodic table, but keep the body's endurance to illness and strengthen the overall stamina of the body.

But when is the natural treatment too natural for our supplement enhanced and anti-biotic filled bodies? Well, an obvious case would be one's allergy to a particular type of natural ingredient in herbal remedies, which has to be closely monitored. So if you're getting some herbal help, watch out for irregular redness and itching as you might need to stop using particular type of product that might have caused it.

The much more common but deadly risk of herbal remedies though is when combined with conventional medicine like surgery. The main problem is that the general public is not educated about the risks of herbal remedies, such as excessive bleeding, cardiovascular risk, supplements prolonging the effects of anaesthesia and interacting with other drugs given during surgery. The yet more alarming fact remains that "Although there has been initiation of herbal medicine into medical school curricula at several institutions, many practicing physicians remain unaware of potential preoperative complications of herbal medication use," says herbal supplement researcher Chun-Su Yuan. This means that your doctor might not always ask you if you have been using certain herbal supplements that can put you in risk during surgery and even endanger your life! And who hasn't used common echinacea, ginseng or valeriana as a way to relax or keep one's body stronger?! So the verdict is the following: herbal supplements have obvious advantages over the common medicine in the form of less e-numbers and more natural ingredients but do pose an immediate risk especially when combined with conventional surgery and drugs in the medicine. So beware, use herbal supplements carefully and always consult your doctor on previous use of herbal remedies if undergoing any surgery or use of conventional medicine drugs!

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