HERBAL EXTRACTS AND HORMONES

	Herbs are found everywhere, and hormones are a natural product of everyone's body.  The production of hormones increases and decreases with the age and development of the individual.  Due to the nature of hormones and the ongoing research still being done, this article will investigate only two hormones that are in common use by the everyday person.

	Herbs, on the other hand, can be found from California to China and as far as consumers are concerned, they are now mainstream products that can be found in supermarkets and drug stores world wide.  Healing plants and herbs are used by over ninety percent of the world's people. Mowry, pgs.1-11  In the United States, with the introduction of herbal capsules and pills, people are enjoying the benefits of Earth's good medicines.  The herb industry has been growing at about thirty percent per year for the past several years.  Herbs are being used in homes, for more than just spicing the sauce or glazing the chicken.  Herbs are being used as an alternative for medications as well.  In the coming years, we may see the introduction of newer and better medicinal herbs as scientists  Mowry pgs. 26-27     continue their search for the cures of all aches and pains.

	In past years, herbs were used for pains and aches.  These herbs are making a comeback because they have fewer side effects than regular medicine.  An example  is willow bark Mowry, pgs. 43-49   which is being used instead of aspirin.  Aspirin was made from the active ingredient in willow bark.  However, people are using willow bark instead of aspirin because it does not cause the stomach to bleed as aspirin does.

	Ginkgo is being sold as a leading prescription drug in Germany and most countries in Europe.   Takagi, pgs. 96-101    This herb is growing in usage in this country as more people age.  It has been used in Asia for countless generations.  There is a growing body of evidence, as research continues, that points to the outstanding effects of the Gingko tree on many age-related disorders or sicknesses.  This herb is reported to increase the ability of the blood circulation system.  It is a powerful medicine for the treatment of restoring of a person's memory.   Tagki, pgs. 3-10
	A tea made from the Passion Flower or Valerian Root is used to calm a person or relieve anxiety.  These are thousand year old medicines used as tranquilizers.  They have fewer side effects and don't damage the body as Valium or other man made tranquilizers.  It is almost impossible to over dose on these types of nerve calmer.   Uphof, pgs. 19-31

	The history of medicinal herbs begins long before the start of any large society.  Herb's were man's first line of fighting against the ills and accidents that beset mankind.  The ancient  people learned from instinct and from watching animals and using leaves, earth, mud and water.  These things were the first medicines.  By trial and error, the early humans learned what served them the best.  Several of these early medicines are still used today, but are more refined and better understood.  During the hunt by early man for medical herbs, the applications or taking of the herb was accompanied by the use of magic sayings or dances.  Today, for most of the technological people of the Earth, magic is no longer needed.  In the world which we live, many of our most useful drugs are still considered to have originally come into use from early societies.  Some examples of these herbs used as drugs are: Digitalis (for the heart) from Foxglove, Quinine ( for Malaria) from Peruvian Bark, Cocaine (and its derivatives) from the Coca Leaf, Atropine ( a stimulant for nerve gas) from the Belladonna plant, Curare (used in surgery) from the plant Strychnos (also used for poison arrows) and the new drug Taxol (used in the treatment of Cancer) from the Pacific Yew Tree. Weiner, pgs. 22-23 There are many others that exist and are being used by the drug companies to treat many of the ills of people today.

	Technology permits the making of newer and more pure herbal medicines.  Herbs are used and prepared in China in the following forms:  slices, powders, pills, plasters, distillates, pellets, teas and drinks.  In the United States, we can find herbs in the following forms, in the addition to those used in China:  tablets, capsules, fluid extracts, ointments, granules, syrups, suppositories, sprays, injections and ampules. Weiner, pgs.27-32

	In today's world, people are too busy to make their own herbal remedies and generally like clean, odor free, coated pills or gel tablets.  There is a potency and purity issue that is developing and the simple increase in strength of a herb could prove harmful or deadly to human use.  However, we should welcome the standardization of all medicinal herbs, and  making them from plants that have been proven safe.  Standardization has been introduced to off set the negative effects of poor quality control which has been a big problem with the herb industry.  We can now reliably count on receiving the same quality and quantity of a substance.  Quality control is needed because nature does not always produce a plant with consistent contents or medicines. Weiner, pgs. 31-35

	In the 1990's, I see a wonderful return to the reality that we must preserve our natural environment.  The realization that we must care for the natural drugs and herb that can be found in the shrinking rain forests, which could contain hundreds of thousands of new compounds that could heal mankind.

	The two major hormones that are being sold to the American public is Melatonin and DHEA.  I will discuss the merits of these two hormones starting with Melatonin.  Melatonin is an Amino Acid secreted by the Pineal Gland during the night.  This hormone plays an important part in the regulation of the sleep/wake cycle.  Each night a signal is received by the Pineal Gland to produce Melatonin.  This hormone is the one that induces sleep.  This is controlled by the amount of sunlight that is available to the individual.  A blind person is not able to stimulate the production of the sleep hormone and this their bodies do not react to a normal twenty four sleep/wake cycle. Lust, pgs. 91-96   A blind person trying to sleep when there is low Melatonin in their system will have trouble sleeping.

Melatonin is available from several unregulated health food suppliers.  This means that there are no purity standards and people are self-medicating with unknown dosages.  Research at the Harvard Medical School show that Melatonin is a potent cure Insomnia and does not have side effects.  You can already Buy Melatonin in drug stores, but no one knows the correct dosage, interaction with other drugs or the long term effects.

	DHEA is produced by our Adrenal Glands and is the mot common hormone in the body.  It is present in large amounts in healthy individuals.  DHEA is broken down by the body into other hormones such as  Estrogen, Testosterone, Progesterone and others.  Research has shown that maintaining levels in older individuals as those found in youth ensures energy, vitality and the support of the Endocrine System.  It seems that supplementing DHEA to levels found in youthful individuals has anti aging, anti obesity and anti cancer influences.  It may also help to stabilize nerve cell growth and is being tested in Alzheimer's patients.  This hormone may help prevent the effects of aging, hypertension, fatigue, depression, memory loss and obesity. Millspaugh, pgs. 22-27

	There needs to be more studies on the effects of herbs and hormones on the treatment of many ailments.  The evidence seems to support the claims being made for them by sellers of alternative medicine.  We are now entering a new age where progress permits the manufacture of highly reliable herbal medications.  Many of the herbal medications are bitter in taste.  New technology allows the masking or elimination of these bad tastes.  Science is making medications easier to take and to swallow by coating or making gelatin capsules that hide the odor and taste of a medicine.

	Today, we are faced with a potency war and the saying "Small is beautiful," or "Less is more," may yet become the normal way to approach drugs, medicines or herbs.  We should welcome the standardization of herbal medications, and using only those herbal extracts and plants which have been subject to safety and efficiency studies.  The following herbs have been proven to have a beneficial effect on people when used properly:  Ginseng, Ginkgo, Ginger, Milk Thistle, Bilberry, Echinacea, Turmeric, Orange Oil, Valerian and others.

	Standardization must be introduced into the herbal industry.  With its aid, herbs can become reliable and we can count on receiving the same dosage from capsule to capsule.  The future of herbal medicine is very bright.  People are rediscovering plant remedies and are once again looking to nature for the natural solution to the ills that man seems to be heir to.

	With the growth of the herbal industries, Americans will join the Europeans in taking charge of their own first symptom health care.  The increasing costs of conventional medicine and the many bad reactions to prescription drugs have given a new meaning to the old saying, "Physician, heal thyself."  Herbal medicines are coming of age in America and not too soon.

















Bibliography:
	Lust, John   "The Herb Book"   New York, NY.  "Bantam Books 1993
	Millspaugh, Charles " American Medicinal Plants" New York, NY.  Dover
	Mowry, D.B.  "The Scientific Validation of herbal medicine" Leni, Utah.  Cormorant  		Books 1986
	 Takagi, K. et al  "The Pharmacology of Medicinal Herbs in East Asia."  Tokyo,
	Nanzando 1982
	 Uphof, J. C  "Dictionary of Economic Plants."  Germany, Verlan 1968
	Weiner, M.A.  "Earth medicine"  New York    Ballentine Books 1990