Natural Remedies are not a quick fix
by Ask a Healer
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Herbs and other natural remedies benefit the body and help to address core issues over time. That’s an important thing to know if considering an herbal remedy for a chronic condition. The condition developed over time and, once the body is given adequate support, it can begin to heal but natural remedies most often take longer to create relief of some symptoms and conditions than some of their pharmaceutical counterparts.
Look at all the antacids, for example. All offer near-instant relief and some even promise to stop heartburn BEFORE it starts; yet, none of them promise to eliminate the condition that is causing the heartburn to keep coming back with the exception of Nexium. However, long term use of Nexium may cause some troubling side effects. Side effects with long term use of Nexium
The big difference between over the counter antacids and herbal medicines is the focus of purpose. The focus an antacid is to temporarily relieve the symptoms of heartburn. The focus of herbal medicine is to create a healthy environment in the body system, rebuild, cleanse, and permanently heal so that heartburn does not occur.
The primary focus of “quick-fix” medicines is to relieve symptoms temporarily, such as pain, indigestion or depression. As a temporary measure, providing relief is useful. Relieving distressing symptoms is not necessarily a bad thing. If I’ve got terrible heartburn, for example, quick relief can be very valuable and I won’t hesitate to chew a few antacid tablets if I don’t have time to make some nice ginger tea for the same effect.
However, if I fail to acknowledge that some imbalance of my total physical system, as well as some corresponding imbalance in my non-physical system (either mentally, emotionally, and/or spiritually) is causing me to manifest the symptoms and continue to treat those symptoms without dealing with the causative factors, then simple heartburn will eventually turn into something far more serious.
To completely balance an chronic or very serious condition in the holistic, herbal way, may take six months to a year. Usually, I see improvement within a week or so but each person’s system is different so my advice would be to hang in there for at least a month or two (in the absence of allergic reactions, of course) before deciding that a certain regimen is not working for you.
Also, just because one herb doesn’t work, please don’t decide that none of them will. In fact, most drugs have far more potential for allergic reaction than full plant herbal preparations, by far. Each person’s chemistry and metabolic make-up is unique. I’d keep trying until you find the right combination and dosage. Therein is an important key to cure.
