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| maceutical medications are the primary reason for hospital admissions in the United States. Once in the hospital, 35 percent of patients can expect to suffer from some type of side effect and, according to a U.S. General Accounting Office study, more than 50 percent of approved drugs have been found to possess serious side effects that were not known at the time of approval. Along with the typical mild side effects of nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, these side effects included respiratory failure, liver disease, heart and kidney failure, birth defects, anaphylactic shock, blindness and death.2 In total, adverse effects due to approved pharmaceuticals result in approximately 100,000 deaths annually, the same number of deaths associated with alcoholism every year.3 Many of these problems occur even when the drug is used properly within its normal dosage range. Because of these startling statistics, Americans should make every attempt to find less invasive, safer therapeutic alternatives such as herbs. |
| Another area where herbs have the advantage over comparable pharmaceuticals is their low cost. This is one of the primary reasons why herbal medicine is embraced by the World Health Organization. As we are finding out very quickly, high-tech medicine is too expensive. Our healthcare dollars should be focused on preventing disease through education about diet, exercise, stress reduction and the use of nutritional and herbal supplements as an integral part of a wellness plan. For example, with an herb less costly and at least as effective, if not more effective than conventional antibiotics, billions of dollars could be saved in medical expenses each year. Echinacea may be such an herb. |
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