Natural Alternatives to Precription and over-the-counter Drugs

The trouble with natural alternatives
It is only half a century or so ago, when many pharmacists the world over roamed the countryside on weekends and holidays, looking for various plants and herbs. From these they made a large number of preparations and filled many prescriptions. In a few out of the way places, some pharmacists may still do so.

But this ancient practice of our species had many disadvantages in a modern context. Plant gatherers had to travel progressively greater distances to find unpolluted plants. Standardization was difficult if not impossible given the variation of terrain, soil, weather conditions, season of culling, parts of the plant used, extraction of useful compounds, preparation of products, etc.

Then for the majority of not locally available herbs, one had to depend on commercial sources, which were never very informative about their products - something rather difficult even in the best of circumstances. So, preparing standard natural remedies was fraught with difficulties.

The assets of chemical drugs
It is therefore no great surprise that the expansion of the pharmaceutical industry after World War II, with increasingly more standardized, attractively packaged, appropriately advertised drugs, found a ready market with pharmacists.

The drugs came with properly printed instructions, notes on interactions and side effects, warnings about who should not take the drug, and perhaps most important of all, supplied with a built-in safeguard - for the pharmacist. The retail seller had no longer any responsibility for what he sold. Accountability was invested in the manufacturer.

He on the other hand, took all possible precautions by clearing the drug with the FDA (or any FDA-like organization), which raised the cost of bringing a new drug to the market, frequently to over $ 150 million. To recover the money spent, and naturally make a profit, the drug had to be patented and lots of it sold before it was eventually replaced. Since natural products cannot be patented, the manufacturer chemically synthesized the "active principle," because this process could be patented.

Sales were ensured through drug salesmen, advertising, and everything-paid junkets for health practitioners, during which the new drugs were fully explained. The extra cost was added to the price, but everything was perfectly legal and aboveboard.

So why replace chemical drugs?
Then why go back to natural alternatives, to replace over-the-counter and prescription drugs? There are many reasons. First, the "active principle" of a plant is only one active ingredient. Plants often contain many hundreds of compounds. Time and again it has been shown that there are many active ingredients, which seem to work better together. But to synthesize all these chemically would be uneconomic.

Second, chemical drugs are accompanied by undesirable and often dangerous side effects. One can hardly exaggerate the importance of such effects. The only excuse for prescribing these drugs, is that they can save the user from worse symptoms and complications. But why take the chemical preparation, if excellent natural and standardized alternatives are on the market?

Third, and of the greatest importance, natural alternatives begin with nutrition and appropriate nutritional supplements, like vitamins, minerals, trace elements, soluble and insoluble fiber, amino acids, enzymes, and of course the vast array of beneficial phytochemicals available through correct nutrition. Natural products should be the first choice in fighting and preventing disease. But if this has not been feasible, natural alternatives to drugs may be the next best choice.

Our program
For a variety of conditions, careful planning of a nutrition program together with the appropriate nutritional supplements, can lead to a gradual reduction in drug dependence, and in the treatment of health problems without side effects.

1. Comprehensive measures. Identification of nutritional alternatives to the drugs you take, leading to gradual reduction in drug dependence and the accompanying side effects.
   
2. Diet. What to eat, how to eat it, and how to change your diet so as to enhance the effect of the above comprehensive measures.
   
3. Nutritional supplements. What vitamins, minerals, trace elements, amino acids, enzymes, etc, you need, the dosages and times to take them, so as to avoid nutrient interactions.
   
4. Botanical support. Many standardized herbal preparations may be of assistance to your condition. A large number of drugs in the market are chemically reproduced. Others contain inadequate herbal ingredients. Expertise is essential. Take the appropriate standardized herbal preparations and avoid the side effects.
5. Lifestyle changes. Significant but not necessarily big changes in lifestyle, that may help reduce your dependence on drugs.
6. Topical treatment. For conditions that may be also treated externally, what natural preparations to use and how to apply them.
7. Physical therapies. Other forms of treatment that may be of help, such as acupuncture, aromatherapy, flower therapies, homeopathy, hydrotherapy, etc