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Show SOUTHERN UTAH NEWS Community Herbal! mmedocities your cup of If you feel like youre getting a growth rate is running at cold, are a little blue, or have a percent per year. In 1996, queasy stomach and mention it American consumers spent $2.5 to a colleague, your mother-in-labillion for herbal products, and or the babysitter, chances this is expected to reach $5 bil- are theyll suggest treatingit with by the year 2000. Utah is the natural: echinacea, something capital of the industry for St. Johns wort or ginger. Every- manufacture of such suppleone seems to know an herbal ments, with sales nearing $1 treatment for whatever ails you. billion annually. This year, for the first time, Roberts, who takes garlic, students at the University of echinacea and other herbs herUtah College of Pharmacy can self on occasion, approves of learn about herbal medicine in people taking responsibility for the classroom. Jeanette C. Rob- their own healing, but does offer erts, Ph.D., associate professor some caveats. The Dietary 20-2- 5 w of medicinal chemistry, who teaches the class, has a shelf of Visual aids in her office: a variety of herbal supplements, and also what she calls nutraceuticals, freeze-drie- d food in tablets, includingbroccoli Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA) of 1994 created a category of vitamins, minerals, herbs, amino acids and some hormones that represents a sort of demilitarized zone, Roberts said. Companies can sell whatever they please, with no assurance of quality or content, so long as supplement labels make no claim to treat a disease. Some products may be highly adulterated. When you buy 200 milligrams (mg) of gin- seng, you really have no assur- ance that you are getting 200 mg or that you are getting ginseng, Roberts said. and other vegetables and fruits. Education in the area of herbal and alternative medicine has lagged, Roberts said, but the National Institutes of Health now has an Office of Alternative Medicine and some larger pharmaceutical companies are entering the herbal marketplace. Herbal medicine has been around for millenia and is the foundation ofmedicine and pharOne worrisome problem is that lends macy. History credibility many such products are used to to its use, but further substanpotential tiation is called for to ensure situations and dethat such products will promote lay medical attention, Roberts public health, Roberts believes. said. If you have heart prob- The industry is huge and the for example, I wouldnt self-medica- life-threateni- te ng recommend using plant cine for without medical consultation. Western medicine is the best in the world, especially for illness and trauma. For chronic, complaints, there is some rationale for use of botanical medicine, but common sense should be applied. Roberts advises those who believe in plant medicine to do logical things. Look at the expiration dates on labels. Start medi- - self-treatme- nt ng low-lev- el the Herbal American Pharmacopoeia. Most important, however is provider tellingyour health-car- e what herbal supplements youre taking in case of possible ad- verse reactions with over-the- or prescription medica- - tions. Among the current herbal fa- vorites are the four Gs: ginseng, garlic, ginkgo, and ginger, Rob-th- e erts said. Ginseng has been around for a long time, but it is poorly understood, according to withalowdosageandpayattention to how your body reacts to Roberts. It is considered an the product. Try to get objecadaptogen, which allows the information body to respond to a variety of tive, science-base- d from your pharmacist, healthThis biological activ- care provider or from reputable is attributed to its steroid sources such as the Herb ReGinkgo is said to im- search Foundation or the Ameriblood flow to the brain and can Botanical Council. Roberts may help memory and concen- advises that consumers beware tration in the elderly, garlic is of the Internet as a primary taken for overall cardiovascular source of information. benefit; and ginger is touted for A number of monographs by control of nausea, vomiting and Germanys Kommission E, motion sickness. which has reviewed all avail- Echinacea, or purple cone able literature on many herbs flower, and St. Johns wort are since 1978, are being translated other herb supplements with into English. There have been growing popularity. Believers numerous human clinical trials will tell you that echinacea, an and studies on the chemistry of immunostimulant, lets the body herbal supplements in Europe, ward off colds and e it must be proved that ness more easily, if its taken at products will not harm anyone the first sign. St. Johns wort and may help someone, Roberts has been widely used in Europe In the United States, up- - for treatment of mild depression monographs on herbal with few, if any, side effects, medicine are being produced by There have been clinical trials, flu-lik- ill-whe- re to-da- te Hearing Exams at New Hospital Take advantage of the opportunity to have your hearing checked. Jeffrey Manwaring, a clinical audiologist, will be providing free hearing assessments at the new Kane County Hospital. tea? mostly in Europe, but also in this country, and the herb has gotten some attention from the NIH alternative medicine office, Both of these plants are stand-lio- n ing up to scientific scrutiny and offer valuable medicinal alter-countnatives, Roberts said, What has led to the popularity of these supplements? Roberts believes it is partly dissatisfac- tion with western medicine and the sense that alternative methods can be combined to help prevent and treat disease. There are two extreme points of view regarding botanical medicine. she says. At one end are cians and other health-car- e pro-it- y viderswhohavenouseforalter-content- . native remedies not remem-prov- e bering that many prescription drugs come directly from plant medicine. At the other extreme are people who will take any herb, even ifnot proven, because they believe it is natural. Some people refuse to believe that the words drug and chemical are not necessarily bad. They seem to equate natural with harmless, she said. Herbal medicines are just that medicines and must be treated as such. The promotion, manufacture, sale, study, use and regulation ofthese products must be changed from the present posi-ssition allowed by the DSHEA to a s, place where common sense vails, Roberts believes. 30 to 50 OFF Jones Catalog Sales On select electronics, bedding, draperies and home furnishing items 310 S 100 E 644-270- 0 o uti. T-B-one c Jeffrey Manwaring erving delicious Ribcye, & Porterhouse Steaks and succulent Prime Rib! MSCCC-- A CLINICAL AUDIOLOGIST Other services include hearing aid repairs and new hearing aid fitting on a y trial 45-da- basis- - Call 644-410- 0 for an appointment. pre-lem- Select apparel from our & Winter Catalog On our collection of toys On Christmas items MERCHANT will be closed on Mondays! 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