IMPORTANT INFORMATION REGARDING HERBAL MEDICINES

Herbal medicines are safe and very effective. There is an herbal solution to almost every health problem.  Nowadays, they are valued in every country on this  planet. Furthermore, today we have the scientific validation and production of these natural medicines. These natural remedies play an important role in my practice, as they do with many acupuncturists; they  enhance the effectiveness of acupuncture and other natural therapies. For example, someone with  recurring colds and a weak immune system: herbal formulas can really help this person back to recovery. Herbal medicines can used at home for common problems, but should not be self-prescribed for more complex conditions. Beward of sales people on the internet or health food store that promise good herbal advice! 

• ALL HERBAL MEDICINES are NOT the same: they vary in quality in health food stores, health offices and natural pharmacies. I purchase the best quality herbs and sell them at a very fair price. Herbal medicines should be prepared scientifically, they should be organic and their source ( where they grow ) should be validated. The companies I purchase from are highly reputable: you are getting the best and most potent product available. Let’s say you find a bargain on the internet for a turmeric formula. It is very likely–not always of course– that you will get an inferior formula, using herbs grow with chemicals! The big companies and internet health salesmen  just can’t  promise that the herbal medicines are made well, according to the highest standards, using herbs that have been grown safely and organically. 
• Take herbal medicine  as advised and regularly. Herbal medicines are not pharmaceutical drugs: they work deeper but not as fast.
• They rarely have side effects or dangers like almost all pharmaceuticals which are processed chemicals. The medical drugs have their uses, of course, but herbal medicines are superior for disease prevention and strengthening the whole body and person. They work on the whole body, harmonizing and clearing. The best use of herbal medicine is what is called constitutional prescribing: that is using specific herbs that are balanced formulas for a particular person and health problem.  

 Herbs can also be used on symptomatic method: this herb for a cold, that for a headache, another for stomach ache. This method is suitable for simple short term problems. This method, by the way, is the method of pharmaceutical prescribing. Constitutional prescribing, however, is holistic in that it takes the whole person into account: that includes body type, genetics, emotional predisposition and physical complaints or diseases.

 Holistic herbal formulas are time tested :  five or six herbs that work together to enhance the effectiveness. Some of these formulas have been used for hundreds of years and today are used millions times a day around the planet. There is a complex method in Oriental medicine to prescribe these remedies that takes into account the physical symptoms and the person.

For example, four people with long term migraine headaches could receive four unique formulas depending on their symptom picture. Each person is different and needs an individualized approach.