lindajennings-HW499-01-Unit 4 Project

Botanical Medicine : 

Linda Jennings Vitamins, Herbs, and Supplements Project July 4, 2010 Botanical Medicine

What is Botanical Medicine? : 

What is Botanical Medicine? Botanical medicine or Herbal medicine, also known as alternative medicine, is used to prevent and treat various ailments. It is also known as phytotherapy, herbalism, herbology, medical herbalism or medicinal botany. Botanical medicine offers a powerful, safe, and effective approach to healing, with few, if any, side effects when compared to synthetic drugs. Medicines derived from whole leaves, roots, stems, etc. of a plant to promote health and prevent and treat illness.

Herbalism and Dietary Supplements Defined : 

“The Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA) defined dietary supplement as a product (other than tobacco) intended to supplement the diet, ingested, bearing one or more of the following dietary ingredients: a vitamin; a mineral; an amino acid; or an herb or other botanical” (NCCAM, 2009). Herbalism is the study and practice of using plant material for food, medicine, and health promotion (Micozzi, 2006). 3 kinds of ingredients that you can find in dietary supplements: botanical ingredients; nutrient ingredients; and a rather amorphous category of other dietary substances (NCCAM, 2009). This includes the familiar vitamins and minerals that are part of many foods. They include antioxidants, which you also can find in a great many foods (NCCAM, 2009). Herbalism and Dietary Supplements Defined

Arguments for Herbalism : 

Optimization of health and wellness Emphasis on the whole person Emphasis on the individual Emphasis on the community Attention to finding and treating the root cause of a problem Belief in the reality of the un-measurable and abstract Premise of recycling in nature Openness to the exchange of knowledge (Micozzi, 2006). Arguments for Herbalism

The Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA) of 1994 : 

According to DSHEA, a dietary supplement is a product that: Is intended to supplement the diet Contains one or more dietary ingredients (including vitamins, minerals, herbs or other botanicals. A plant or part of a plant used for its flavor, scent, or potential therapeutic properties. Includes flowers, leaves, bark, fruit, seeds, stems, and roots., amino acids, and certain other substances) or their constituents Is intended to be taken by mouth, in forms such as tablet, capsule, powder, softgel, gelcap, or liquid Is labeled as being a dietary supplement (NCCAM, 2010). The Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA) of 1994

Herbs Having Medicinal Purposes : 

There are a huge variety of herbs, having medicinal properties and they are used to prepare the herbal medicines. They can be used in the form of extracts or tea, or used to produce drugs. Various herbs can be used to treat a range of minor or major health problems. Herbs Having Medicinal Purposes

Some Common Herbs : 

Some Common Herbs Bee balm Black cohosh Bladder wrack Cat’s claw Chamomile Dong quai Echinacea Elderberry Ephedra Evening Primrose Feverfew Flaxseed Garlic Ginger Ginkgo biloba Ginseng Grape seed Green tea Lavendar Licorice Saw palmetto Tea tree Turmeric Soy isoflavones St. John’s Wort Valerian

Some Common Herbal Uses/Treatments : 

Some Common Herbal Uses/Treatments Common cold Sleep disorder Allergy Weight loss Digestive problems Hair and skin problems Anxiety disorder Heart problems Respiratory problems Hypertension Diabetes Natural detoxification process

Botanical Medicine as a CAM Modality : 

Trust and the appropriate use of nutrients and herbs is a significant and primary component of many integrative medical practices. Professional herbalist include: trained medical herbalists, clinical herbalists, licensed naturopathic doctors specializing in botanical medicine, licensed acupuncturists with training in Chinese herbal medicine, licensed Ayurvedic doctors, Native American herbalists and shamans, Latin American curanderos, and other lineage-recognized or culturally recognized professional herbalists (Micozzi, 2006). Naturopathy, a CAM modality, includes the basic medical sciences and conventional diagnostics, along with therapeutic nutrition, botanical medicine, homeopathy, natural childbirth, classical Chinese medicine, hydrotherapy, manipulative therapy, pharmacology and minor surgery. Botanical Medicine as a CAM Modality

How can a consumer decide what's safe and effective? : 

A dietary supplement manufacturer does not have to prove a product's safety and effectiveness before it is marketed. To help consumers make informed choices, dietary supplements now contain a supplement facts panel that clearly labels the product as a dietary supplement and gives information such as the amount of a standard dose, the number of recommended doses per day, the list of components (and how much of each is present in a standard dose), and, if the product is a botanical, the Latin name of the plant and the part of the plant used to prepare the product. Read more: Alternative Medicines and Therapies - food, nutrition, needs, body, diet, health, nutrients, vitamin, amino, acids, vitamins http://www.faqs.org/nutrition/A-Ap/Alternative-Medicines-and-Therapies.html#ixzz0spWv53fN Research diet information on the herb or supplement from reliable sources. Always tell your health care providers about any complementary and alternative practices you use, including dietary supplements. How can a consumer decide what's safe and effective?

Reference : 

FAQS.org. (2010). Alternative Medicines and Therapies. Retrieved July 5, 2010 from http://www.faqs.org/nutrition/A-Ap/Alternative-Medicines-and-Therapies.html Micozzi, Marc S. (2006). Fundamentals of Complementary and Integrative Medicine (3rd ed.). St. Louis: Saunders Elsevier. NCCAM. (2009). Overview of Dietary Supplements. Retrieved July 5, 2010 from http://videolectures.nccam.nih.gov/module2/module21.php http://videolectures.nccam.nih.gov/module2/module21.php NCCAM. (2010). Using Dietary Supplements Wisely. Retrieved July 3, 2010 from http://nccam.nih.gov/health/supplements/wiseuse.htm Reference