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WHEN it comes to giving more value to your health nowadays, going natural seems to be an
emerging global trend that has yet to gain ground in the Philippines.

Normally, when we get sick, we just pop a pill and wait to be cured. Although these medicines
may improve our condition, some of these cures can also actually interfere with our body¶s
natural healing process, resulting in a worse state of health.

Compared to other countries, acceptance and use of natural medicines in the Philippines is still
not a majority. This is sad especially when one realizes that our yearly export in herbal products
figures in millions of dollars.

Republic Act 8423 otherwise known as the Traditional and Alternative Medicine Act of 1997
was pushed for approval by natural medicine advocate and then-Secretary of the Department of
Health (DOH), former Senator Juan Flavier. It seeks to promote and advocate the use of
traditional, alternative, preventive and curative health care modalities that have been proven safe,
effective, affordable and consistent with government standards on medical practice. DOH
currently endorses the 10 most promising herbs which have undergone thorough research and
clinical trials and have been approved for their medicinal attributes. Among these are lagundi
(cough and asthma), sambong (kidney stones), and ampalaya (diabetes).

Despite this growing use of natural medicines, the market for herbal or natural medicines in the
Philippines has been bombarded with negative publicity

We live in a country that is abundant with various tropical plant species. Exploring and
developing their uses are inevitable. Dr. Nelia Cortes-Maramba, founding member of the
National Integrated Research Program on Medicinal Plants (NIRPROMP), has made it her
mission to verify the curative properties of the plants in the Philippines.

NIRPROMP has conducted researches and experiments that paved the way for the use of herbal
medicine in our country. This has led to the production of herbal medicines like lagundi for anti-
cough and anti-asthma, sambong for kidney stone dissolution and ampalaya for diabetes. Dr.
Maramba¶s clinical tests on Vitex negundo, or what is popularly called Lagundi, showed its anti-
cough and anti-asthma therapeutic action, while consecutive clinical trials further proved that
lagundi is safe and very effective. Lagundi, based on the tests, inhibit the release of leukotrienes,
which makes it effective in controlling asthma.

Those who choose to take on a more practical approach will attest that natural medicine also
makes for a perfect solution when times of belt-tightening come. Compared to most chemical-
based or synthetic medicines, natural medicines cost at almost half the price. And, contrary to the
belief that they have a slow relieving effect on the body, natural medicines have been proven to
produce immediate relief without exhibiting any side-effects based on its clinical studies.
So why do natural medicines have an edge over chemical-based medicines? Simply put, natural
medicines are safe, effective, readily available and affordable. They are also curative as well as
preventive, both of which chemical medicines cannot claim. If we truly love our bodies and put a
premium on our health, then natural medicine is the smarter and more pragmatic choice. So next
time you experience any ailment, go natural before you pop any pill.

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