Herbs Vs Pharmaceutical Drugs

Firstly, what is a drug?

A drug is a ‘medicine or other substance which as a physiological effect when ingested, or otherwise introduced into the body.’

In line with the definition above, both Natural Herbs and Pharmaceutical are drugs, as they both illicit a physiological response.

However, in my mind, pharmaceuticals are different because they are synthetic and created using man-made chemicals rather than natural ingredients.

There is not a doubt in my mind, that there are useful pharmaceutical drugs out there with limited side effects that have saved lives, but there are a vast amount of drugs that are ill prescribed and can have extreme side effects. This applies particularly to mental health medication.

A study carried out in 2012 by the Natural Health International, published data showing the number of individual adverse reactions to pharmaceutical drugs.

It found that pharmaceutical drugs are:

-62,000 times more likely to kill you than food supplements
-7,750 times more likely to kill you than herbal remedies

The problem I have with pharmaceutical drugs is how they are approved, regulated, and marketed. In the UK, the MHRA is responsible for providing regulating all medicines and medical devices, ensuring they work and are acceptably safe. Note the word, ‘acceptably’.

They approve a drug by looking at whether the benefits, outweigh the side effects, and compare the usefulness to a placebo.

They go on to state that they do not ‘approve’ medical devices of any class, and that the licensing of medicines is based on the submission of Data to the MHRA, or the European Medicines Agency. They will then perform an assessment on the data provided before reaching a decision to grant or refuse a licence. You cannot market the product with a licence.

Further on, they go to state that ‘at the time of licensing, a medicine will only have been tested in relatively small number of patients and rare side effects may not be detected. Surely, because we know that every body is different and everybody will have a varied response to a drug, why is this aloud? Definitely does not fill with me confidence.

Imagine the scenario where a company has spent massive amount of money, time and research on a product that is not very safe, and the side effects outweigh the health benefits, what incentive do they have to provide accurate data? In an ideal world, their morals would prevent them from submitting false data, but we don’t live in an ideal world.

Pharmaceutical companies are facing increasingly harsh spotlight in the current regulatory environment, and rightly so!

-SciClone Pharmaceuticals settled more than $12 million in fines from US prosecutors after it violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. The California-based company provided gifts to doctors in China to increase the sale of its drugs.

-The biggest scandal in recent times relates to GlaxoSmithKline in China. In this instance, the UK-based pharmaceutical company has been prosecuted by local authorities. In 2014, GSK was found guilty of bribery and order to pay $490 million. Again, the drugs company was charged with bribing doctors and hospitals to promote GSK products.

This presents a complete and gross breach of trust by doctors, and the medical industry.

Regular individuals do not have the knowledge to challenge their doctors, and will simply take their word as truth, and potentially put their health at risk.

This betrayal is particularly rife in the case of medication prescribed for individuals suffering from mental illness.

Mental illness is very complex and ultimately, we don’t know what the cause of mental illness is, or how we can cure it. So why are pharmaceutical companies allowed to prescribe very strong medication to people suffering from mental illness? It is exploiting people and their vulnerability.

During my nursing degree, we were required to review case studies, and they often covered mental health case studies. These case studies would refer to a patient, suffering from particular symptoms, and whom had been prescribed very strong medication, which led to the patient gaining lots of weight, and in turn being diagnosed with type II diabetes.
“Some psychiatric medications increase the chance of developing type 2 diabetes or insulin resistance (which is when the body can’t use insulin properly and sugar builds up in the blood).

Some studies show that taking the newer “second generation” antipsychotics increases people’s chances of developing diabetes. Antipsychotic drugs of concern are: clozapine, olanzapine, risperidone, and quetiapine. More recent drugs such as ziprasidone, amisulpride, and aripiprazole may be less likely to lead to diabetes, but need further study.”

Not everyone taking psychiatric medications will develop diabetes. Instead, people who use certain medications are at increased risk. The weight gain caused by many medications is one reason why people who take them are at greater risk for diabetes.

Surely, someone who is depressed or has a mental illness, will not feel better about themselves when they are gaining weight, and suffering from other terrible side effects from antipsychotics such as:

Drowsiness
Dizziness
Restlessness
Weight gain (the risk is higher with some atypical antipsychotic medicines)
Dry mouth
Constipation
Nausea
Vomiting
Blurred vision
Low blood pressure
Uncontrollable movements, such as tics and tremors (the risk is higher with typical antipsychotic medicines)
Seizures
A low number of white blood cells, which fight infections

Anti-depressants or SSRI’s have the following side effects:

The most common side effects listed by the FDA include:
Nausea and vomiting
Weight gain
Diarrhea
Sleepiness
Sexual problems
Rare side effects include:
Thoughts about suicide or dying
Attempts to commit suicide
New or worsening depression
New or worsening anxiety
Feeling very agitated or restless
Panic attacks
Trouble sleeping (insomnia)
New or worsening irritability
Acting aggressively, being angry, or violent
Acting on dangerous impulses
An extreme increase in activity and talking (mania)
Other unusual changes in behavior or mood

If you look online, it even says these medications do not cure mental illness, but alleviate symptoms. Seeing as the side effects can be just as bad as the actual symptoms, I don’t understand why they are even prescribed.

We need to become more aware, and it needs to be marketed very clearly, that it does not cure mental illness, and more funds should be allocated for talk therapy. We need to fix the problem, not put a band-aid over it.

It seems that profit has surpassed the need for promotion and creation of medicine that actually cures a disease or ailment.

The importance of a healthy and balanced diet, exercise, and communication cannot be overstated!

I personally take herbal supplements, and I can only say that I have felt more energetic and healthy since.

In particular, I take turmeric, black pepper extract, st john’s wort, ginger, and manuka honey!

Please do as much research as you can, before ever taking any medication!