I know what you are thinking already. Native remedies are all just scams. They don't actually work. When I get sick I will go to the doctor, not some herbalist! Well to be honest the doctor's office IS the first place you should visit if you are ill. That does not mean that native remedies do not work. After all, plants are still the main source of medicine for than 3.5 billion people to this day. From South America to Africa to Asia many people still rely on just plants alone to treat their illnesses. Most of our modern drugs today are derivatives of plants or plant extracts. Below I will discuss 3 reasons why herbal medicine can be a valuable alternative to modern drugs.

One of the main reasons people turn to native remedies is they have FAR fewer side effects than traditional drugs. Have you ever seen those prescription drug commercials on television? At the end they always say this drug may cause diarrhea, headache, dry mouth, back pain, etc. The list goes on and on. It's funny to see that you sometimes need to make a choice between which is worse, your illness, or the side effects of the cure. Plants are much more benign and attuned to our bodies than lab made chemicals.

The cost of many native remedies is less than our modern prescriptions. There are many people here in the U.S. that are uninsured or underinsured. This problem is especially bad for the elderly who are often on a fixed budget and in need of many prescriptions. It is quite sad to see so many people who just can't afford to pay for their medicine. Now I don't want grandma to stop taking her heart medicine for the latest native remedy, but she could use herbal cures for arthritis, headaches, back pain, and many other ailments that many seniors suffer from.

The third reason is that native remedies actually work. This is why so many people use them. The therapeutic effects of many herbs have been scientifically proven. After all, plants are the main source of several modern drugs. It really is strange to think that penicillin wasn't even available before 1928. As I'm sure you already know penicillin comes from mold. I'm sure we can think of mold as natural. Many other modern drugs come from plants also a few of them are Quinine, Morphine, Codeine, Aspirin, and Digitalis.

There is no doubt that we have benefited from modern science. There have been many scientific breakthroughs that have made our standard of living much better. Native remedies should never replace doctors. The funny thing is doctors shouldn't replace natural drugs either. There are many reasons to use natural herbal cures. Sometimes they just work much better, or sometimes they may work the same for you as standard prescriptions, but without the horrible side effects. If you have a nagging problem that you just can't cure you might just want to take a look into herbal remedies.