The feeling of empowerment that accompanies control
over one’s health is the reason I chose to embark on the study of
herbal medicine. If you, your baby,
child, spouse, relative or friend were sick and did not have the means to
consult with a doctor, then what do you do?
I have had some foul experiences with a particular
branch of doctors that treat me like crap.
Here’s how it goes: I have
chronic bronchitis. Some days are better
than others. On a day when I feel like I’m
going to die, I call and cough my way through booking a doctor’s
appointment. Oh, there aren’t any
appointments available for a week? Okay,
well screw it, sign me up for the next available appointment.
A week later, I’m still feeling like garbage but on the day of the visit, I’m having a relatively good day. I go to the appointment. Though I try desperately to convince the doctor of my dormant symptoms, he assures me that nothing “should be” wrong with me because he can’t hear anything in my lungs. Obviously, I only went to the doctor because I didn’t want to go to work (note to reader: Please note my sarcasm).
He throws me an Rx like he throws a dog a bone and sends me on my way. Not all doctors are like this, thank God, but it will be a cold day in hell before I ever visit a doctor for my bronchitis again. Raise your hand if you have ever had a similar experience.
A week later, I’m still feeling like garbage but on the day of the visit, I’m having a relatively good day. I go to the appointment. Though I try desperately to convince the doctor of my dormant symptoms, he assures me that nothing “should be” wrong with me because he can’t hear anything in my lungs. Obviously, I only went to the doctor because I didn’t want to go to work (note to reader: Please note my sarcasm).
He throws me an Rx like he throws a dog a bone and sends me on my way. Not all doctors are like this, thank God, but it will be a cold day in hell before I ever visit a doctor for my bronchitis again. Raise your hand if you have ever had a similar experience.
Have you heard of essential
oils? Someone I know told me a story
of how some ladies had gotten her really excited about essential oils. She had been looking for a way to incorporate
natural remedies into her health regimen and it seemed like these ladies had all
the answers. After all, these neo-Avon reps had done
away with all the pharmaceuticals, over-the-counter and otherwise, from their
medicine cabinets! “Amazing!” she said. “Sign me up!
Oh wait, what does it cost?”
Sadly, as amazing as essential oils are, most people are not
willing to spend hundreds of dollars every month toward little bottles of
oil. If you’re not familiar with the
essential oil multi-level-marketing (MLM) schemes, there are two large
competitors, whose names I won’t mention.
To be clear, I think that these companies put out a good product, but
the cost bites. When it comes to essential oils, cost limits access for most people.
My goal is to facilitate access to botanical medicine.
Herbal medicine is referred to as the people’s medicine because it
works and it is cost effective.
There are a few reasons that people are turning to natural
remedies:
- Empowerment/Independence
- Lack of trust in FDA
- Intolerance to adverse side effects in pharmaceuticals
- Recently discovered toxins in pharmaceuticals
- Deep concerns about toxins in chemical medicines
- Recognition of value in centuries-old botanical use
- Inconvenience of doctor’s visits (Dufault, et al., 2004)
Not to be ignored are the reasons that some people have not turned to natural remedies:
- Lack of access
o
Not having the know-how
o
Not knowing who to ask about how-to
- Failure to achieve results in the past
o
Bad product
o
Improper use
o
Wrong product selected
- Misinformation
o
Warning labels on natural supplement products
are rarely borne from scientific research
- Disbelief
o
Your uncle Sam will never, ever allow us to say
that “dietary supplements” have the power to prevent, treat, or cure anything –
regardless of supporting scientific evidence.
Well, there it is: Botanical medicine access issues. I hope you have enjoyed the first part of Access Your Health.
Next
up: Mainstream Solutions (and why they suck).
Dufault, R., Hassell, R., Rushing, J., McCutcheon, G.,
Shepard, M., & Keinath, A. (2004). Revival of Herbalism and Its Roots in
Medicine. Journal of Agromedicine, 9(2), 407-415.
access.
(n.d.). Dictionary.com Unabridged. Retrieved December 13, 2014, from
Dictionary.com website: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/access
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