The use of herbal medications has skyrocketed in recent years. In the United States one and three Americans have used herbal remedies in the past year. They are easily attainable at any grocery store or pharmacy and are relatively cheaper than prescription drugs.

Americans spent an estimated 3.2 million on herbal medicines in 1997. The top ten most commonly used of these herbs are echinacea, St. John's wart, gingko biloba, garlic, saw palmetto, goldenseal, aloe, ginseng, Siberian ginseng, and valerian. This is just the most popular of many herbal medicines available. Some 25% of pharmaceutical drugs are derived from plant extracts. This can be a problem with more people wanting to self diagnose their illnesses and treat themselves with these herbs. The problems being those herbal medications are not labeled with information on their proper usage.

Garlic is an herb that I can't get enough of. I put it on everything practically. Garlic can be used in the treatment of hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, and atheosclerosis because of its mild to moderate effects of decreasing lipids and blood pressure. An amount of 600-900 mg. a day is recomm

One of the more popular herbs is ginseng. Ginseng is good for overall health promotion, sexual function, athletic ability and more. One of ginseng's active ingredients is adaptogen, a substance that helps the body defend off stress. The suggested dose is between 200 and 300mg of extract (greater that 7% ginsenosides. Ginseng may interact with warfarin. High doses can cause nervousness, diarrhea, insomnia, and hypertension. As good as it may be for some, some people get little or no effect from this herb. Watch out for ginseng and mah huang mixtures. Ma huang contains efedra a drug linked to several heart related deaths.

http://www.herbs.org/current/shawshrink.html

Another of the ten most commonly used herbs is aloe. Aloe has been used for many years in the healing of cuts. Other topical treatments and applications include dermatitis, herpes and psoriasis. Orally it can be used for the treatment of constipation. When I started my research I was totally unaware that you can use aloe orally. Oral dosages are recommended at 20- 30mg of hydroxyanthracene derivatives daily. Topical uses are not defined. Aloe is found in a lot of store bought lotions and actual amounts vary. Some side effects include diarrhea when used orally and delayed wound healing time when us

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