Why Herbal Medicines are Back on the Table

It's March 20th, and the COVID-19 panic sets in everywhere. It's in the news 24/7, it's all over the Internet and it's all over the worried faces of people in the streets. This is a disease like we have never seen before, it's an absolute catastrophe, the world is coming to an end according to cable news. Facebook is hysterical, Twitter is dramatic, Wall Street is absolutely terrified, and Reddit is already calling the whole thing a conspiracy. One thing is certain, nobody knows what the hell is going on. My mom calls me once again, this time she tells me I've got to buy this new plant-based supplement that is going to strengthen my immune system and has anti-inflammatory virtues, and I've got to go outside as much as possible to absorb an optimal amount of vitamin D, which is supposed to help me fight the virus, should I catch it. "And don't forget to put a mask on", she adds before telling me she loves me, and hanging up.

For the record, I got the virus one day later, and no, I didn't listen to my mom. Coincidence? I don't believe in destiny, so let's call it bad luck. Long story short, I went through four painful, frustrating and extremely tiring weeks while barely getting out of bed. Luckily enough, I didn't get any major health complications. However, had I listened to my mom and her theories, I would have been much, much better off.

Why am I telling you this?

While still far from being over, this pandemic has already shown us so many things. It has shown how fast we can adhere to new social norms, and how quick some are to dismiss them. It has also shown how technology and creativity can propel some people to the stars in times of crisis, while leaving others lost in the dust. But coming back to my mom, this pandemic has shown how every mom can become a self-made doctor overnight. This is obviously an hyperbole, but you get the idea.

When the pandemic hit, moms all over the world entered in alert mode, and started looking into ways to protect their children against this new, unknown and devastating coronavirus. But more broadly, this pandemic has revigorated people's desire to be healthy in their own personal way, to defend themselves not only against this virus, but against all the potential infectious diseases yet to come. Home gyms, personalized exercising programs, weight loss pills, diets, eBooks and nutrition gurus, supplements of all sorts and kinds, and finally, herbal medicines.

Herbal Medicines

I think herbal medicines are extremally relevant, because they provide insights about where we are headed as a society. Herbal medicines feature three main characteristics: they have lower cost, they are greener products, they are potentially disruptive.

Lower Cost

Some people turn to herbal medicines not because they think they are more efficient, or because they want to boycott Big Pharma. No. They choose herbal medicines because they are on average much cheaper than other solutions on the market. Let's face it, the price of healthcare in the U.S. is prohibitive for a large portion of the American people, so unless you're willing to sell your left kidney on the black market, you might just choose to experiment with some herbal medicines, and see how it goes from there.

Greener Products

Ever heard of people going "green"? Yes, I know, they're all over the place, fortunately. After all, the survival of not only the human species, but most forms of life on Earth, depends on it. Having a sustainable lifestyle is the premise of human survival, and while hydro flasks might not seem like much, they are one additional step in the correct direction. Back to herbal medicines, their manufacturing is usually much less industry intensive compared to your mainstream pills, as well as more biological (duh), making it a greener product. However, some herbal medicines might be genetically modified, as some producers will use GMOs to lower their prices, so if that's a concern for you, you should always check if the medicine contains a GMO or not in the product description.

Potentially Disruptive

If I could describe 2020 with one adjective, it would be disruptive. Solar Energy, Elon Musk, Digital Currencies, Big Data, Electric Vehicles, Blockchain Tech, Data Software, you name it. You would always hear these terms thrown around in the Tech community, but now they have become mainstream. 2020 had its present robbed by the coronavirus, so it transposed itself into the future. Could herbal medicines realistically replace Big Pharma? I doubt it, since some diseases can only be treated with very specific, synthetized molecules that are unavailable in the natural world, or are simply too scarce. However, as more research is conducted on herbal remedies and solutions, we are edging closer to its true potential and efficiency. Herbal medicine will never completely replace pharmaceutical drugs, but its certainly disruptive to the pharmaceutical industry, namely because it offers a tangible alternative.

All of this is wonderful, but are herbal remedies actually effective?

This will be disappointing, but when it comes to effectiveness, its a case by case situation, just like it is with pharmaceutical drugs. For example, Echinacea is efficient at reducing your risks of getting a cold and Elderberry has been proven to be mildly effective to treat flu infections. St. John's wort is prescribed to treat mild to moderate forms of depression, while Turmeric has proven anti-inflammatory properties along with pain-relieving benefits [1]. However, a lot of herbal medicines are used based on beliefs rather conclusive scientific evidence, so prudence is key when looking for an herbal remedy, especially because some may have non of the expected effects while still having unwanted side affects or worst, producing adverse reactions. On the other hand, some herbal medicines have been proven to be more efficient in treating major diseases than the mainstream pharmaceutical solution.

Let's dive into it.

Diabetes

As of this year, 1 in 10 Americans have diabetes, and if you are an adult, you stand a 33% chance of having prediabetes [2]. That means one in three Americans reading this are at risk of developing the disease. Let that sink in. Although the World Health Organization has been talking about a diabetes pandemic for years now, it is only recently that the COVID-19 crisis has drawn renewed attention to diabetic patients due to the fact that they, among other individuals having pre-existing conditions, are at greater risk of developing more serious complications from the virus that may eventually result in death. Is there anything herbal medicines can do for them? As a matter of fact, there is.

Berberine

The story of Berberine starts somewhere along the older story of Traditional Chinese Medicine, itself dating back to the Shang Dynasty. Berberine is a bioactive compound of herbs such as Rhizoma Coptidis, Berberis amurense Rupr. and Phellodendron amurense Rupr. Its properties for treating diabetic patients, interestingly enough, where discovered inadvertently in 1988. In China, at the time, Berberine used to be prescribed for gastrointestinal infections, until patients to whom it was prescribed who happened to be have diabetes revealed its hypoglycemic properties [3].

Berberine has been proven to effectively lower blood glucose levels in patients with Type 2 diabetes, in some cases being more efficient than metformin, a pharmaceutical drug intended for the same use. This makes its usage very interesting for patients with prediabetes or early diabetes, as well as a preventive measure for patients at risk of developing the disease[4].

Now comes the very interesting part. In addition to lowering blood sugar levels, Berberine also has other very beneficial properties worth mentioning, like the fact it lowers cholesterol levels, has anti-inflammatory properties and strengthens the immune system [5]. It really looks like the perfect combo against COVID-19. And guess what? Berberine was the plant-based supplement my mother urged me to buy just before I got infected with the coronavirus. Although I'm not diabetic or at risk of developing it, it would still have been very beneficial to me, as it would have alleviated the bronchial inflammation I ended up suffering from, as well as strengthened my depressed immune system.

Needless to say that as of today, I have my own reserves of Berberine should I catch the virus again, or should my blood sugar levels start creeping up. Although the odds aren't stacked against me, being someone that is rather sedentary and having no specific diet, I prefer to not take any chances.

If you wish to get some for yourself, you can buy it online by clicking HERE.

What Berberine shows us, is how one single compound can have multiple beneficial properties. This is not unusual in herbal medicines, and that gives them a practical advantage over mainstream pills. You always hear how some people take 5 or even 10 pills per day, each one for a specific purpose. Think about how much they would save in money, in time and in headaches, if they took 1 or 2 effective and versatile herbal medicines that cover all of their issues at once instead.

Key Takeaways

So coming back to the 3 characteristics I discussed previously, we can infer a few things regarding the state of the herbal medicines industry, and how it seems to be positioning itself for the future. First, more people are preferring lower cost herbal treatments as opposed to overly expensive, but well researched and documented healthcare products. Second, there is a growing climate change sense of urgency expressing itself in a "greener" lifestyle, that relies first and foremost on natural healthcare solutions rather than on ecologically harming products. Third, the reality that herbal medicines are an economically advantageous alternative, coupled with the fact that they possess a solid ideological basis stemming from the need to go "green", precipitates their leap into the future. However, since scientific research is is still lagging in some areas, this advance is still somewhat premature, and therefore, the industry of herbal remedies is at best at the dawn of its true potential.