Organic and Herbal - Are they safe?
Organic and Herbal – Are they safe?
Introduction:
Organic products are those which are prepared using organic materials. They may contain ingredients that have animals as their sources. And herbal products are the ones that are prepared from plants. Both organic and herbal products have one thing in common - they do not contain any chemicals or preservatives.
Today, a lot of organic and herbal products are available in the market. According to the World Health Organization, “Around 4 billion people across the world use herbal products.” Even in India, a lot of organic and herbal products like Tulsi Wellness Tea, Triphala, Haritaki, etc. are available easily. There is a high demand for these products in the market.
Now, let us take a look at whether these products are really safe.
Yes – Organic and herbal products are safe.
1. No chemicals – These products do not have any chemicals involved in their production. They are natural and, so, they do not cause any side-effects.
2. Effective - Organic and herbal products have a long term effect. For example, herbal products are effective to treat arthritis.
3. No antibiotics– Most of the organic products are derived from animals. These animals are not injected with any sort of antibiotics. Hence, they are very safe.
4. Trademark – These products come under the label of THR (Traditional Herbal Register) and PL (Product License). They guarantee that these products are not harmful.
5. Rules and regulations – The products usually follow certain guidelines prescribed by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The FDA is responsible for monitoring the safety of these products. The regulations assure that the products are safe.
No – Organic and Herbal products are not safe.
1. Not suitable – The organic and herbal products may not be appropriate in many conditions. The organic or herbal medicines may take much more time than the modern medicines' cure. For example, it cannot cure a heart problem quickly.
2. Lack of instruction – Unlike the modern medicines, most of the herbal products do not carry dosage instructions on the cover. Hence, it may harm a person.
3. Poisonous – Some products are made from wild herbs. Hence, consuming these products may be risky.
4. No regulation – The organic and herbal products do not have proper regulations at many places including the United States. Without proper regulation or law imposed, it is not safe to prescribe these products to patients. The quality of products may also vary.
5. Lack of nutrition – The organic products are mostly derive from animals. According to researchers, animals are infected with a lot of bacteria. Hence, it can be harmful for the people who consume these products.
Conclusion:
The bottom line of this discussion is that the organic and herbal products can be safe but, at times, they do have certain side effects. The products should be consumed only after careful scrutiny.
Discussion
- RE: Organic and Herbal – Are they safe? -Deepa Kaushik (01/16/15)
- There are two things – are the organic and herbal products safe? And the second query is framed like, ‘Are the organic and herbal products safer than the chemical products?’ we need to understand the hidden stance behind these two questions.
The word safe is relative. Nothing is fully safe, and nothing is completely harmful. The most poisonous substances have medicinal effect when taken in regulated doses. On the other hand, the most curative and nutritive substances also prove to be fatal when misused or taken in huge quantities. Keeping these instances in mind, we can say that we don’t have a confirm reply to the first query whether organic and herbal substances are totally safe. We can just assure that they are safe when taken in regulated doses.
Coming on to the comparison between the organic and herbal substances with the chemical ones, we can to a good extent confirm that the herbal substances and the organic ones are safer than the chemical ones. The curative action of the organic and herbal substances goes along the flow of nature, whereas, the chemical substances mostly have a suppressing impact on the natural systems and functioning. Also, the organic and herbal substances are more bio-friendly especially with respect to their disposal than the chemical ones which often results in environmental hazards.
To be precise, we need to understand the point that the dosage of the substances is very much essential for any product to have wise use. But, many of the herbal or the organic products fail to provide a standard guidelines for the usage instructions. All we need is to standardise these herbal and organic agents on a common platform for its safe utilization.
