7 Doctor Approved Natural Remedies

A plant fix over a prescription drug? Some doctors swear by it.

- Bonnie Munday

WHEN I WENT FOR my annual medical checkup a couple of years ago, I told my doctor I had frequent constipation, despite a healthy diet. “Is there something I can take?” Rather than recommend a bottle of pills, she suggested I try something herbal, and have it daily: psyllium. It’s a powder made from the husks of the psyllium (Plantago ovata) plant that you can buy at the drugstore, or health food store, without a prescription. You stir it into a glass of water and drink it. I followed my doctor’s advice to take a teaspoon twice daily, and found that psyllium works for me.

At one time, plants were the only drugs we had. Then along came antibiotics and other manufactured drugs, which have saved countless lives and continue to do so. Yet today they’re not the only option; witness the thriving market in herbal remedies. It’s estimated the global herbal market will reach US$107 billion by the end of the year. Europe accounts for the world’s largest market share.

But beware: not all natural products are safe, says Dr. Sarah Jarvis, a BBC medical columnist and general practitioner in London who sometimes recommends natural remedies. “Many plants are the basis for powerful manufactured medicines.”

Safety is one of the reasons why in 2014 the World Health Organization announced that it’s planning to integrate natural medicines into the medical mainstream before 2023. WHO aims to educate the public and promote safe use of natural medicine by regulating products, practices and practitioners.