The Benefits of Natural Herbs

Natural herbs have been used by every culture throughout history, and was an essential part of the development of modern civilization. Well into the 20th century most of the pharmacopoeia of scientific medicine was formulated from natural herbal folklore of native people. Many drugs generally used today are of herbal origin, and about 25% of the prescription drugs dispensed in the United States contain at least one active ingredient obtained from plant material. It's odd that to this day natural medicines are looked down upon as primitve and unscientific, even though they have been healing since the creation of man.

The World Health Organization estimates that 4 billion people use natural herbs for modern medicine in some facet of primary health-care. The World Health Organization reports 119 plant-derived pharmaceutical medicines, that is 74% used in modern medicine. In ways that corresponds directly with their traditional uses, as plant medicines by native cultures. The reason that there is so little natural herbs used in modern medicine, is because pharmaceutical companies are required almost 15 years to go from development to market release. That is due to the large amounts of data that is required to prove its effectiveness and safety. Even though these natural herbs have been around for thousands of years, modern medicine is just now starting to look into natural medicines a lot more.

Some examples of natural herbs that are used in modern medicine include the fox glove, the powder on the leaf of this plant is known as the cardiac stimulant digitalis. It is used by millions of heart patients, and keeps people alive all over the world. The active ingredient in ephedra, is used in the commercial pharmaceutical preparations for the relief of asthma symptoms and other respiratory problems. St. John's Wort is largely used in the treatment of mild depression without the need for Prozac, and does not have the side effects that Prozac may have.