Humans have been using herbs to manage health concerns for much, much longer than Western medicine has been treating conditions with science-backed treatments. For thousands upon thousands of years, humans have been documenting the effects of different herbs on the body and mind, and even today, many trust herbal supplements more than medicines specially engineered for specific health applications.
However, before you begin investing in herbal supplements, there are some facts you should know that might influence what you take and how you take them.
Herbal Supplements Do Have Health Effects
For most of human history, herbal medicine was the only recourse to physical ills. Today, we utilize advanced and powerful Western medical treatments that have immediate and radical effects on health — so much so that some who experiment with herbal supplements can hardly detect their effects. However, the truth is that many herbal supplements do impact the human body and mind, but they do so with much greater subtlety.
Some examples of herbal supplements with well-documented effects include:
Kava. An extract from a plant native to the South Pacific, kava is often brewed into teas. You might experience strong feelings of happiness or contentment from drinking kava, which is why it is often used to address anxiety or depression.
Hemp. You might know about cannabis, but you might wonder what hemp is. A non-psychoactive variety of cannabis, hemp contains many valuable compounds that can help with pain relief, anxiety and troubled sleep.
Ginger. In higher doses, this delectable spice has many useful health applications. Ginger can provide natural nausea relief and is sometimes used to manage arthritis and other types of pain due to inflammation.
Unfortunately, not all health effects provided by herbal supplements are positive. Like Western medicines, many herbs generate side effects that might put your health at risk. For example, kava is known to compound liver damage, which makes it an exceedingly dangerous supplement if you drink alcohol or already struggle with liver concerns. Even ginger is highly regarded as risky as it can cause all manner of problems in the blood, from issues with clotting to issues with pressure and sugar levels.
What’s more, herbal supplements can and do interact with prescription drugs. Some interactions are so common that healthcare providers know to advise their patients to avoid certain herbs while using the drug, but other interactions are less understood and may have disastrous consequences on your health. To be certain that you are not causing harm with herbal supplements, you should always talk to your primary care provider about any supplements you are interested in before you take them.
Not All Herbal Supplements Provide Advertised Effects
Capitalizing on the subtle and sometimes unrecognizable effects of their herbs, many herbal supplement brands will make additional claims about the power of their products. Often, packaging will suggest that the herbs provide benefits that are difficult for regular users to track, such as the improvement of memory or the boosting of immunity, but that have not been associated with that particular herb in the past.
Unfortunately, scams are common in the field of herbal supplements. The supplement industry as a whole is regulated much less intensely than other foods and drugs, which means manufacturers and retailers of herbal supplements can get away with more unscrupulous behavior. Research has found many examples of herbal supplement packages containing little or none of the advertised herb; in fact, many of the world’s largest retailers stock herbal supplements that are actually cheap filler material, which can be exceedingly dangerous to those suffering from specific types of allergies.
Even if you do invest in a brand that sells the herbal supplement as advertised, you should not expect to benefit from all the marketed effects. You might spend some time researching the evidence-based effects of different herbal supplements before you make any purchases, so you can have realistic expectations regarding the impacts different supplements will have on your health. Then, as mentioned above, you can seek opinions of healthcare providers to ensure that there is little risk of adverse effects.
Herbal medicine is real medicine, and it is important that you remember that as you explore the wide and wild world of herbal supplements. By recognizing the risks as well as the rewards, you can improve your health and wellness through the power of natural herbs.
