Isn it better to use “natural” or “herbal” products, such as St. Johns Wort, rather than “artificial” chemicals?
Recently in the United States and even more so in Western Europe there has been an explosion of interest in so-called “natural” or “herbal” products. The implication is that conventional medications – those that have been rigorously tested by academic and industry researchers and passed rigorous review by the Food and Drug Administration – are somehow not natural. However, there is a long and rich tradition within conventional medicine of using plants and naturally occurring compounds to treat illness. Lithium carbonate is a naturally occurring salt and one of the most effective drugs used to treat bipolar disorder. Digitalis is a plant extract used in the treatment of heart failure. When a naturally-occurring compound has been demonstrated to be safe and effective, it is adopted by the mainstream medical community, and is marketed and labeled under strict, tightly regulated conditions. Conversely, the implication that all that is natural is good is easy to disprove. Cholera, for examp
