Herbal Medicine: A Valid Form of Alternative Medicine

             There are many doctors in modern medicine that have questioned the reliability of herbal medications as a viable treatment for patient's illnesses. Many Americans also ponder this question; wondering if botanical medications are the answer to their health problems, or if they are just another cultural fad? In some clinical trials, herbal medications have been proven to be an effective solution in treating numerous ailments such as mild depression to increasing stamina (Botanical Treatment). Thus, it can be stated that herbal medicines are a valid form of alternative medication, and can be useful in preventing some of the viruses, diseases, and sicknesses that afflict people every day.
             Botanical medicine includes medical herbalism, a healing art that relies on the synergistic and therapeutic properties of plants, to treat symptoms and diseases while maintaining personal health (Monroe). Interest in alternative therapies has exploded among Americans in recent decades. According to Floyd Leaders, Jr. Ph. D., "since 1980, the need for low-cost health care options and the increasing consumer-oriented health care movement has brought renewed interest in botanical and natural products" (Conference Highlights). Feeling that there is a need to stay abreast of this emerging information the public has asked for information regarding botanicals advantages and consequences. Researchers have therefore responded to this public curiosity with studies and reports about the efficiency and safety of these alternative herbal treatments. Above all, consumers believe that with these reports they can make their own knowledgeable decisions about using such alternative therapies as phytomedicine (maintaining health using plants) in their future.
             Perhaps one of the major concerns with plants as medicine is that many consider botanicals a relatively new practice. This is an incorrect assumption, plants have been used since prehistoric times as medicinal...

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Herbal Medicine: A Valid Form of Alternative Medicine. (1969, December 31). In MegaEssays.com. Retrieved 05:51, March 29, 2024, from https://www.megaessays.com/viewpaper/73819.html