Herbal medicines are increasingly becoming the choice of most patients these days. The promise of preserving the natural properties that promote a healthier method of curing various diseases contributed to the popularity of these medicines. Additionally, since these types of medicines can be wild grown or available in your own backyard, they are cheaper compared to manufactured medicines.
What are herbal medicinal products and how do we benefit from them?
Herbal medicines are the alternative to commercially manufactured medicines that are already available in the market. Herbal medicine differs from modern medicines as it is made from 100% natural plant extracts which are believed to have medicinal values just as effective as the modern medicines, less the side effects and less the cost. In the Philippines, there are popular herbal plants that are now widely used to treat various ailments, including: Ampalaya, Bayabas, Sambong, Banaba, Luyang Dilaw and other. These are among the approved and recommended herbal medicines by the Ministry of Health. With this in mind, there are already discernible benefits that reinforce the DOH’s belief in the effectiveness of these drugs, as follows:
·Purely natural qualities. At this point, when many commercially available products have harmful health effects that we are trying to protect, the safest choices would be the products that are naturally manufactured and processed. By choosing these products, we reduce our risk and exposure to these negative effects.
·Simply available. In tropical countries like the Philippines we have an abundance of these plants and herbs. We have access to the raw materials we need for the preparations and preparations required for herbal preparation. For example, bayabas, ampalaya, luya, and malunggay are considered garden plants. They are native plants and do not need much attention. Therefore, they are readily available and cheap. It is only necessary to educate Filipino families about which herbal plants are suitable for which ailments so that every Filipino family can enjoy the benefits of the natural remedy.
·Effective. Herbal plants are scientifically studied to support the supposed benefits contained in each plant. These studies are recognized and recognized by the medical community as they have recommended proven effectiveness to treat a wide range of diseases. ampalaya, for example, it is known to contain antidiabetic elements. This claim to the effectiveness of ampalaya as an adjunct to the treatment of diabetes has been clinically proven by several researches that have been identified ampalaya to contain herbal insulin, which lowers the patient’s blood sugar and also normalizes insulin production in the body.
·Easy to prepare. Many of the recommended herbal medicines known to have medicinal values are very easy to prepare. Bayabas and lagundi, have uses that merely require applying the leaves directly to the affected area. Also, decoctions usually only require boiling the leaves and roots of the plants. These procedures obviously show that we don’t really need to rely on commercially manufactured medicines, because herbal regimens really don’t take much effort to prepare.
·Convenient and inexpensive. Aside from all of the benefits identified here, there is another benefit to using and patronizing herbal medicines – it’s cost effective, it’s a convenient option. These preparations are significantly cheaper than the chemically manufactured drugs, and more importantly, the results are the same as those modern drugs. It has been debated that these plants could be home grown or abundant in the wild. Therefore, it is much cheaper than the modern drugs manufactured by pharmaceutical giants and sold in pharmacies.
Thanks to Arnold Alvarez
