One of the things I’ve always appreciated about herbal medicine is the curiosity it encourages people to develop about their own health. Perhaps you’ve been dealing with a particular symptom for years, you’re frustrated with the options you’ve been given, or you’ve simply become interested in understanding how plants interact with the human body. Whatever brought you here, I think there’s something to be said for wanting to become more involved in your own healthcare.
I’ve been thinking about this quite a bit lately, especially when it comes to the way we approach herbal medicine as an alternative to pharmaceuticals. There seems to be an expectation that somewhere out there, there’s a plant capable of replacing just about any medication. A botanical counterpart, if you will.
Now, I understand where this comes from. I really do!
There’s a growing distrust of pharmaceutical companies and the industry as a whole, although I’m not particularly interested in opening that can of worms today. I also think many people have experienced the runaround within our healthcare system. They’ve spent years searching for answers, tried treatments that haven’t provided the relief they hoped for, or simply feel that their concerns haven’t been adequately addressed. Eventually, they begin exploring other options, and herbal medicine can offer an opportunity to become more involved in those decisions. I can certainly appreciate that.
I also think we’ve become accustomed to associating particular medications with particular ailments. Great marketing, really. You have a headache? Reach for Advil. Having trouble sleeping? There’s something for that, too. So, when someone becomes interested in herbal medicine, it’s understandable that they might ask, “Well, what’s the natural version of Advil?”
It’s a reasonable question, given how we’ve learned to approach treatment.
Where I think things become a little more complicated is when we begin expecting those alternatives to be therapeutically equivalent.
What Are We Trying to Compare?
I started questioning this approach fairly early on, partly because of my medical background and having endured a rather grueling year of pharmacology. (Those of you who’ve taken pharmacology know exactly what I’m talking about. My sincerest condolences.)
Every medication has its own pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties, half-life, adverse effects, contraindications, and the list goes on. I KNOW, that’s quite a bit of terminology to throw into one sentence. Don’t worry, I’m not about to make you sit through a pharmacology lecture. I’ve already suffered through enough of those for all of us. BUT these characteristics tell us about how a substance behaves in the body, what physiological processes it influences, and what we can reasonably expect from its use. I’m certainly not suggesting that everyone needs to understand all of these concepts before exploring herbal medicine, nor do I expect every herbal equivalency list to include a complete pharmacological profile. Can you imagine the size of that infographic? ACTUALLY, I would love to see that lol
But I do think we need to consider what we’re comparing.
In cases where a pharmaceutical consists of an isolated compound, we’re attempting to match its effects with those of a botanical preparation containing numerous chemical constituents, each potentially contributing to its overall pharmacological activity. The fact that two substances are used for the same condition doesn’t necessarily tell us whether they act through the same mechanisms or produce comparable clinical outcomes.
That’s a lot information to leave out when we’re telling someone that one can simply replace the other.