Herbal remedy use affected by culture

Use of herbal remedies and other alternative medicine modalities may have as much or more to do with cultural differences than dissatisfaction with conventional medicine suggests a new University of Miami study.

The survey by the university’s Department of family medicine of 800 patients at 13 primary-care practices in South Florida found that herbal medicines are used by 31.6 percent of patients, while 59.2 percent acknowledged using other dietary supplements such as minerals and vitamins.

Principal investigator Dr. Bernd Wollschlaeger was surprised to find significant cultural differences in use of herbal remedies. “For example, Hispanic patients are more likely to use home remedies than other patients, and patients with one or both parents born outside the United States are more likely to use herbs and home remedies,” the researcher says.

Dr. Wollschlaeger also found that herbal sales fell 15 percent between 1999 and 2000, possibly attributable to negative publicity about potentially adverse effects and interactions with prescription drugs. However, he says that about half of the herb-using patients surveyed were unaware of possible side effects or interactions. Most patients had not advised their physician about their use of herbs or vitamins, but would volunteer such information if it were requested. Many indicated that they considered their physicians ill-informed about herbs and vitamins.

His findings were presented during the 2002 Caribbean Medical Cruise for Complementary/Alternative Therapies. The learning cruise was sponsored by The Institute of Integrated Medicine, Inc. of London. Wollschlaeger was one of about 30 experts who presented on science-based complementary and alternative medicine topics during the seven-day cruise.

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Assignment: Read the text and give some arguments in favour of homeopathic medicine.

Homeopathic treatment in a polluted world (by Doctor of Homeopathy, practicing classical homeopathy)

Autumn is beautiful...for some people. There are those who cannot breathe outdoors once harvesting begins. The pesticides on the plants are now more intensely part of the air we breathe. And maybe you’re one of many whose eyes weep and noses congest once the leaves start falling from the trees. What is the impact of the environment in our lives? There is air pollution, noise pollution, and light pollution, to name a few. Our water is polluted and our food is polluted.

How do we protect ourselves from these forces and live a full and healthy life? Is it enough to eat organically in a polluted world? Is it enough to drink bottled water? Do we relocate to the country to avoid the excessive air pollution in the city?

We certainly can make every concerted effort to decrease our intake of toxins, but what we really need is to ensure our bodies have the vital power to effectively handle the environmental hazards that besiege us in today’s society.

Homeopathic medicine offers the alternative. It is recognized worldwide as safe and effective in treating many ailments and has been practised in Germany, France and England for the last two centuries.

Homeopathy is a medical system of healing that assists the natural tendency of the body to heal itself. One of the primary principles of homeopathic medicine is that the symptoms a person experiences represent the defensive efforts of the body to heal itself. The symptoms of ill health are expressions of disharmony within the whole person, and the entire imbalance must be treated, not just the disease. When the body’s healing power is faulty, blocked or slow, a correctly chosen homeopathic remedy will act as a stimulus to the body’s own curative powers.

Homeopathic remedies are prescribed according to the Law of Similars. This natural law states, “That which makes sick shall heal.” This means that the symptoms caused by an overdose of a substance in its crude form are the same symptoms that can be alleviated in a case of disease with only a small, minute, diluted amount of the same substance. For example, we all know what happens when we cut up a red onion. Our eyes may water. Our noses start to run. In its crude form, a healthy person becomes affected by the symptoms stimulated by the onion. However, this same substance (red onion), as a diluted homeopathic remedy, can heal a person of these symptoms, which may be part of a cold or allergies.

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Assignment: Read the text and learn some more useful information on homeopathic medicine on the example of asthma.