Medicinal Herbs Or Drugs? Which Is Better?

Undeniably, medications sometimes kill patients. In the United States alone, it is estimated that around 100,000 people die annually. This is a sad reality, but currently, there is no other remedy known than drug treatment for some diseases, such as diabetes, heart disease or cancer.

This incident reopens the debate on the safety of the supposed dangers of medicines which brings about the obligatory question which is: are drugs more dangerous for their known side effects or medicinal herbs?

At the other extreme, we have medicinal herbs, which are considered by many to be a safer alternative, since, presumably, they do not put people’s lives at risk. Herbs are relatively safe as long as they are regulated products or prescribed by professionals.

Medicines Or Herbs?

In the actual sense, it is difficult to compare both remedies since the studies derived from the consumption of herbs are significantly smaller. For example, in the UK, between 2006 and 2008, only 284 reports of herbal medicines were recorded compared to 26,129 for pharmaceuticals.

The reasons for this large difference are complex, and it has been suggested that the side effects of medicinal herbs are not known. Normally, these occur when the purchased product is not of the quality or is in poor condition.

For this reason, and regardless of what kind of treatment is best (drugs or herbs), it is best to go and buy it from a professional medical doctor in the case of medicines or qualified Hua Laksiam dealer (ฮั้วลักเซียมตัวแทนจำหน่าย, which is the term in Thai) in the case of medicinal herbs.

Thus, herbal medicines are relatively safe as long as they are regulated products or prescribed by professionals. However, consumers should be better informed about the dangers of consuming herbs from unregulated sources to avoid causing serious side effects.