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75 Safe and Effective Herbal Remedies

Used correctly, herbal remedies can be a safer, less expensive alternative to pharmaceuticals. Doctors have begun to recognize their treatment value.

By Michael Castleman

| October/November 2010

Herbal remedies can be a safer, less expensive alternative to pharmaceuticals, and you can grow many of them in your backyard.
PHOTO: DIANE GUTHRIE, STYLING BY BITTERSWEET FLORAL & DESIGN

Drug side effects are the nation’s fourth leading cause of death.
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Rather than herbs being too weak, many drugs are too strong, and using herbal remedies may help allleviate your symptoms without as many side effects.
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My wife is an M.D. trained in pharmaceutical medicine. She prescribes drugs every day, but also recommends medicinal herbs. In our medicine cabinet, we stock drugs and herbs, but we use more of the latter. When we catch colds, we prefer echinacea and andrographis (immune-boosting herbs proven to speed recovery), ginseng (ditto), licorice root (for sore throat), tea or coffee (caffeine helps relieve stuffed nose and chest congestion), eucalyptus lozenges (for cough), and pelargonium (if post-cold bronchitis develops).

Thirty years ago, when I started writing about herbal remedies, the vast majority of M.D.s (my wife included) never recommended herbs over drugs. Today, doctors are increasingly open to recommending nondrug alternatives given reasonable evidence of safety and effectiveness.

Unfortunately, many medical authorities still disparage medicinal herbs. Critics make four accusations: Herbs are ineffective, unsafe, unregulated and, when they work, they’re not as strong as drugs.

Ineffective? Hardly. As I document in my book, The New Healing Herbs, thousands of studies confirm the effectiveness of medicinal herbs for hundreds of conditions.

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Unsafe? Like drugs, medicinal herbs can cause harm. Anything that’s pharmacologically active can. To ensure safety, purchase a guide that emphasizes safety, such as my book or the American Botanical Council’s ABC Clinical Guide to Herbs, or check out the Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database.

Anyone who calls herbs hazardous is totally misinformed. Every year the American Association of Poison Control Centers (AAPCC) compiles statistics on accidental deaths from drugs, herbs, vitamins, and other supplements. The AAPCC’s most recent report (2008) records 1,756 accidental poisoning deaths. How many were attributable to medicinal herbs? Zero. In every accidental death caused by a pharmacological agent, the culprit was a pharmaceutical. And it’s been that way for many years. Herbs are safer than drugs.

University of Toronto researchers combed 30 years of medical literature (1966 to 1996) for reports of drug side effects in hospital patients. Extrapolating from the 39 most rigorous studies, they estimated that drug side effects kill an astonishing 106,000 U.S. hospital patients per year and cause 2.2 million serious, nonfatal problems. This makes drug side effects the nation’s fourth leading cause of death. The true number of drug-caused injuries is undoubtedly higher; this study focused solely on hospital patients, not the public. Note: These deaths didn’t result from medical errors; they occurred when drugs were administered as approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Unregulated? Before approving new drugs, the FDA requires drugmakers to prove them safe and effective. Such tests aren’t required of herbs, leading to claims that herbs are unregulated and, by implication, unsafe. But as we’ve seen, the supposedly stringent regulation of drugs hasn’t kept them from causing great harm.

In addition, preapproval studies typically involve only a few thousand people. Many side effects — some serious — only turn up in one user in 10,000 to 50,000, or more. These problems don’t emerge until the drug is widely used by people unaware that they are guinea pigs. Because so many new side effects turn up during the five years after approval, the FDA requires drugmakers to rewrite the warning labels of half of new drugs. Yes, drugs are regulated more stringently than herbs, but regulation doesn’t guarantee safety. Hundreds of studies show that, when compared head-to-head with herbs, drugs almost always cause more side effects. The vast majority of medicinal herbs have been used for centuries, standing the test of time.

Not as strong? Dose for dose, yes, herbs aren’t as strong as drugs. Willow bark contains a natural form of aspirin, but the standard dose (1 to 2 cups of tea or 1 to 2 teaspoons of tincture) doesn’t relieve pain as well as a standard dose of aspirin, ibuprofen (Motrin), acetaminophen (Tylenol), or naproxen (Aleve). As a result, critics dismiss herbs as medicinal wimps.

Rather than herbs being too weak, many drugs are too strong, causing side effects ranging from annoying to insufferable. Do no harm is the first axiom of medicine. This means that treatment should begin at the lowest possible effective dose. Why use a bulldozer if a broom suffices? Herbs should be prescribed first. Only those who truly need stronger medicine should use drugs, which cost more and have a greater risk of side effects. Unfortunately, American medicine does the opposite. Doctors prescribe drugs first, and only when the drugs are intolerable do some doctors suggest herbs. We don’t need medicine that’s stronger. We need medicine that’s smarter. For many common ills, herbs are cheaper and smarter.

If you’d like to try herbs instead of drugs, our Herbal Remedies for Common Ailments chart is a good place to start. These herbs have been included because of the strong clinical evidence of their efficacy.

Michael Castleman is one of the nation’s leading health writers, according to Library Journal.

tashamoore

8/15/2018 8:06:06 PM

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tashamoore

8/15/2018 8:06:05 PM

P12livel

8/7/2018 2:10:55 PM

I was troubled when was told by my doc that I have been diagnosed with HIV Disease. Firstly, I lost hope and I wept all day, but one day I was surfing the internet I found Dr. Uyi contact information. I contacted him and he guided me and ask me to worry myself that i will be cure soon. I asked him for solutions, after a few talk and email he prepared the medicine for me, after i received it i use it according to his instructions and today i am cured and free from this HIV Disease. I want to thank God that now everything is fine, I’m cured by Dr. Uyi herbal medicine, I’m very thankful to God Almighty for using Dr. Uyi to have me cure from HIV Disease, today i am very happy to testify to the world that Dr. Uyi is real and a God sent. You can mail him on his contact email address: uyiherbalmedicationcenter@gmail.com His Mobile Number; +2348077199766 you can also add him with his mobile via whatsApp He Specialize on this below disease/virus *1. HUMAN PAPILLOMA VIRUS *2. HERPES VIRUS *3. CANCER *4. ALS *5. HEPATITIS *6. LYME Contact him and be free from any virus you think that cannot be cured, he will cure you... https://uyiherbalmedicatio9.wixsite.com/uyiherbalcure

More Comments

P12livel

8/7/2018 2:10:54 PM

I was troubled when was told by my doc that I have been diagnosed with HIV Disease. Firstly, I lost hope and I wept all day, but one day I was surfing the internet I found Dr. Uyi contact information. I contacted him and he guided me and ask me to worry myself that i will be cure soon. I asked him for solutions, after a few talk and email he prepared the medicine for me, after i received it i use it according to his instructions and today i am cured and free from this HIV Disease. I want to thank God that now everything is fine, I’m cured by Dr. Uyi herbal medicine, I’m very thankful to God Almighty for using Dr. Uyi to have me cure from HIV Disease, today i am very happy to testify to the world that Dr. Uyi is real and a God sent. You can mail him on his contact email address: uyiherbalmedicationcenter@gmail.com His Mobile Number; +2348077199766 you can also add him with his mobile via whatsApp He Specialize on this below disease/virus *1. HUMAN PAPILLOMA VIRUS *2. HERPES VIRUS *3. CANCER *4. ALS *5. HEPATITIS *6. LYME Contact him and be free from any virus you think that cannot be cured, he will cure you. https://uyiherbalmedicatio9.wixsite.com/uyiherbalcure

Joseph Ehimare

8/1/2018 7:29:43 AM

I am here to explain how important is Natural Herbs. Herbal supplements have existed for thousands of years and can be traced during several different cultures.A lot of people are ignorant of how powerful herbal medicine is. As for now. Herbs are now used to cure Hiv, Diabetic, Herpes, HPV, Chronic Pain, Asthma Regurgitation, Chest Pain, Nausea, Dyspepsia, Hiccups, even Sore Throat and Heartburn. I love herbs so much. Most times, injection and drugs are just a waste of time. I was cured of HIV last year with the use of herbal medicine, i contracted HIV for 3 years ago but with the help of DR. JAGUAI herbal medicine, i was cured within few weeks of using the herbs which he sent to me through DHL delivery service. I don’t know the kind of health problem you are facing right now but i assured you that you will be cure if you contact Dr. JAGUAI and explain your problem to him, that issues will be solve within few weeks, Contact Dr JAGUAI through his Email address: drjaguai@gmail.com or WHATSAP/CALL him on +2349037990322. share the good works of Dr JAGUAI and save others lives from different kind of infections.

Tonya Becker Becker

7/31/2018 5:20:53 PM

I never thought i would be HIV negative again after been diagnosed in 2014, i have tried everything possible in life from one doctor to another, one hospital to another, series of tests, different kinds of medication, i had already lost hope until i meet Great Dr. OLIHA online testimonies, a specialist in herbal medication from Africa, i contacted him ( oliha.miraclemedicine@gmail.com ) and he prepared HIV herbal medication for me which i took for 7 days and now i am completely cured. i want to use this medium to express my gratitude to him for saving my life and curing me from HIV, for taking away all my pains and sorrows, I''m indeed grateful and i am so happy I''m now HIV negative. i will continue to tell the good news of your great works to everyone, if you have HIV or other disease contact him, Email: his email: ( oliha.miraclemedicine@gmail.com ) or His Whats app number: +2349038382931...thank you my great DR for curing me keep up your great work.

Bill Pedro

7/27/2018 4:30:38 PM

HIV CURATIVE HERBS Eliminate hiv from your immune sysytem tottaly with Dr Olori Black Seed Herbal Mixture today, i was once a carrier of hiv but now i can boldly say am tolally free from Hiv. Get in touch with Dr Olori via Email ( droloriherbalcenter@gmail.com ) Or Call/WhatsApp +2349053311935 https://www.facebook.com/droloriherbalcenter/

Bill Pedro

7/27/2018 4:23:42 PM

Bill Pedro

7/27/2018 4:23:42 PM

Bill Pedro

7/27/2018 4:23:42 PM

P12livel

7/17/2018 9:30:17 AM

I was troubled when was told by my doc that I have been diagnosed with HIV Disease. Firstly, I lost hope and I wept all day, but one day I was surfing the internet I found Dr. Uyi contact information. I contacted him and he guided me and ask me to worry myself that i will be cure soon. I asked him for solutions, after a few talk and email he prepared the medicine for me, after i received it i use it according to his instructions and today i am cured and free from this HIV Disease. I want to thank God that now everything is fine, I’m cured by Dr. Uyi herbal medicine, I’m very thankful to God Almighty for using Dr. Uyi to have me cure from HIV Disease, today i am very happy to testify to the world that Dr. Uyi is real and a God sent. You can mail him on his contact email address: uyiherbalmedicationcenter@gmail.com His Mobile Number; +2348077199766 you can also add him with his mobile via whatsApp He Specialize on this below disease/virus *1. HUMAN PAPILLOMA VIRUS *2. HERPES VIRUS *3. CANCER *4. ALS *5. HEPATITIS *6. LYME Contact him and be free from any virus you think that cannot be cured, he will cure you. https://uyiherbalmedicatio9.wixsite.com/uyiherbalcure

Bill Pedro

7/12/2018 8:17:08 AM

Hello everyone i am happy to say that i was cure from HIV by Dr Olori with his herbal medications after i tested positive July 2014 and ever since then i have been on medications to extend my living on earth. One faithful day i was browsing and i saw a comment on how Dr Olori cure HIV with herbs,i was surprise and i contact him on the email they provided on the comment and i explain my problem to him and he also prepare the herbs and send to me which i use for couple of days as i was instructed by him and after 7 days i went to hospital for checkup and i tested Negative.You can also reach Dr Olori on droloriherbalcenter@gmail.com or droloriherbalcenter@yahoo.com call him on +2349053311935 https://www.facebook.com/droloriherbalcenter/

Bill Pedro

7/12/2018 8:17:07 AM

alexangella

6/24/2018 4:19:09 PM

my name is Angella i was suffering from hiv/aids my pcv which is my blood level was very high, i was worried about my cd4count and viral load.. i heard about the power of Drlamiru healing herbs i apply for it and the doctor gave me the medicine and spiritual healing prayers to say and told me that the power of the healing herbs can cure my hiv/aids and he also told me to for get about the pcv, cd4 and viral load.. i really used the medicine and i was cure from hiv/aids i urge you all to get the DR lamiru healing herbs, you can reach the great man that produce the healing herbs through his email address drlamiru@gmail.com for any kind of diseases.

alexangella

6/24/2018 4:19:07 PM

Frank Woods

6/21/2018 11:20:25 AM

Dr Akuna Is a great herbal medicine man, who millions of lives has been saved via his wonderful work done for lots of people. i am very grateful for the privileged to have found someone like Dr Akuna who has cured me from my HIV/AIDS Disease. after 9 years of suffering, today it a different case that the disease that almost lost my life, has been cured. Dr Akuna send me his herbal cure and after using medicine for 7 days i was tested negative by my medical doctor. Dr Akuna also cure different diseases such as HSV 1&2. COLD SORES. DIABETES. HEPATITIS B&C. BRAIN DISEASE. KIDNEY FAILURE. CANCER And EX LOVER BACK & WIFE RETURN BACK & DIVORCE CANCELED, And Many More. TEXT/CALL & WHAT APP:+2348154625070 Or Email: drakunasolutiontemple@gmail.com.

conleytiffany

6/16/2018 11:43:10 AM

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Sarahta12

6/15/2018 4:20:58 PM

Natural herbs have cured so many illness that drugs and injection cant cure. I've seen the great importance of natural herbs and the wonderful work they have done in people's lives. i read people's testimonies online on how they were cured of herpes, hiv, diabetics etc by Dr. Ogba Kosu herbal medicine, so i decided to contact the doctor because i know nature has the power to heal anything. I was diagnosed with hiv for the past 7 years but Dr. Ogba Kuso cured me with his herbs and i referred my aunt and her husband to him immediately because they were both suffering from herpes but to God be the glory, they were cured too .I know is hard to believe but am a living testimony. There is no harm trying herbs. He is also a spell caster, he cast spell to restore broken marriages and he cast good luck spells to prosper and excel in life. Contact Dr. Ogba Kosu on: drogbakosu@gmail.com Phone/Whatsap no: +2348137291215 facebook.com/Dr.OgbaKosucurecenter/

Sarahta12

6/15/2018 4:20:57 PM

francamaven

6/10/2018 2:43:07 PM

God bless Dr ADIZEEO I was diagnosed for the past 2years I have being into HERPES drug since then,so I decide to look for help in the internet then I found this man posting about this great Dr calld DR ADIZERO telling people how he was cured by the Dr Dr ADIZERO I didn’t believe that because all I have in mind is HERPES had no cure, so I decided to contact the Dr, thank God for my life today am HERPES negative through the power of DR ADIZERO, I contacted him for help because who write about the Dr drop an email of the DR so I pick the email and emailed him for the cure and he prepared the cure and send it to me through the DHL and can also send through the USP he told me how am to use the medicine so I did and now am cured contact DR ADIZERO now email dradizerocurecenter@gmail.com or whatspp +2349073889037 1 Cancer cure 2 Hepatitis b 3 Diabetes cure 4 Ringing ear 5 HPV cure 6 Hiv 7 Get your ex back 8 Pregnancy herbal medicine 9 Fibroid

Lishacool

5/22/2018 5:27:22 AM

I infected my husband with HIV virus, and we started taking medication for us to live healthy. There was a day i went on internet and search for cure for our virus, i saw many comments and many posts until i saw a story about a spiritual doctor and how he helped so many people get cure to their viruses on the site. No crime in trying and i told how it started how i and my husband got our HIV virus, this spiritual doc told me what we will have to do and we did them, after he finished he told me we would take his medication for a weeks which we did as he instructed us and 2 weeks after we went for Medical test and when the results came out Surprisingly i and my husband was confirmed HIV negative by our doctor. I am so happy i got my husband infected and i also made him HIV negative. thanks goes to God for bringing Dr Muna my way and at this point if there's anybody who is infected and you think there's no way of making yourself negative again i must tell you, that's a lie because marvelspelltemple@gmail.com will make you negative again. contact Doctor Muna via Email marvelspelltemple@gmail.com call or text +2348071660388 and you might be the next person

Lishacool

5/22/2018 5:27:21 AM

MONICAH

2/8/2016 5:23:51 PM

I was disappointed with this article. From the title I was expecting to find 75 remedies but instead it was more a push to buy this authors book.

LibertyNcognito

2/26/2015 2:57:35 PM

So....what are the 75 safe & effective herbal remedies? I clicked in the link that brought me here expecting to find a list of herbal remedies, not an article saying a bunch of stuff I already know and trying to sell some guy's books. I was also hoping to find a list of 75 herbs that would include things I HAVEN'T heard about....most people with ears and an IQ above 40 have known about willow bark tea since, oh I dunno, about the time we came down out of the trees and started walking upright maybe???

Louise

11/4/2010 7:03:14 AM

There is a bill in the EU being put through in April 2011 which would ban buying and selling of all herbal remedies and related products. You can fight this bill here http://www.anh-europe.org/ Please support us in the EU. Thanks

58Bob

10/30/2010 6:54:21 PM

Dan I would like to comment on your statement of potentcy. The standard for pharmaceuticals is measured in miligrams which varies in potentcy by numbers obviously the higher the number, the higher the dosage, the stronger the potentcy. The higher the miligram for one person could kill another. For example I'm on 10 miligrams of methadone this same dosage given to you could possibly put you in the hospital with an overdose causing some kind of complication. What I'm trying to get at is how does one measure the potency of herbal medicine?

Alex McKenzie

10/26/2010 7:22:35 AM

While I'm overall a fan of herbal remedies, the risks to trying it yourself cannot easily be overstated. Some medicinal herbs look a lot like a lethally toxic plant. And there can be extreme reactions between prescription medications and herbs: the combination of St. John's Wort and some prescription anti-depressants has been known to cause liver-failure! If you're going to look at herbal remedies, find an expert and talk to your doctor. That herbal may be just what you need, but it also might cause a lot of damage, just like any other medication. When your doctor asks are you taking any over-the-counter medications, include whatever herbs you're taking: it really does matter, and you could wind up in a terrible situation if you don't tell them. Now... that said, some herbal remedies are actually more effective than the equivalent medications. Taking the example of St. John's Wort again, I've met a few people who had better results with that than with pharmaceuticals. There have been real, double-blind, controlled studies on some herbs, and they generally turn out to work well, so it's not all junk science. It's just important to do your own research before you try to make sure you don't run into a known problem.

Dan

10/25/2010 12:23:34 PM

Interesting article, but there were some serious issues. Psuedoscience like this is what gives herbal remedies such a bad reputation. The biggest issue is bias. Castleman's major purpose in writing this article is clearly to sell his books. Effectiveness He mentionions thousands of studies confirming the effectiveness of herbal remedies. Very few of these unnamed studies would stand up to any sort of academic muster. Double-blind clinical trials???-nope, usually just surveys of customers with obvious bias. Safety He gives two statistics about overdose and deadly side-effects. But, there is a lurking variable that must be considered. Patients in hospitals are already suffering from serious conditions, you can't compare someone battling pancreatitis to someone at home with the sniffles. Drug side-effects the number 4 cause of death in the US??? Really??? It's not even in the top 10. Number 4 is chronic lower respiratory infections. Unregulated Yes, herbs are unregulated. We've seen that even with regulation, there are dangers. What's your point? More side-effects in drugs??? No, it's just that drugs have been studied and the side-effects are known. Also, one of the big issues with herbal remedies is potency. Potency varies from batch to batch. Potency with drugs is very precise. That makes a big difference.

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