Summary
Herbal medicines from plants or plant extracts have been around since the beginning of history. Indeed, they form the basis of much of our modern medicines. Aspirin is derived from willow bark, digoxin for heart diseases from the foxglove while St John's Wort is used to treat depression and arnica is well known for helping with bruising.
But forget the image of wise old women sitting over a cauldron mixing their potions. Herbal medicines are now part of an industry valued at more than Pounds 3 billion a year. Herbal remedies are no tiny niche market: a quarter of the UK adults buy them. In the South West alone there are nearly 100 medical herbalists with thousands of outlets selling traditional potions and lotions. But as with many parts of British life and traditions the European Union with its overpowering urge to interfere in our legislation stepped in. In May the EU's Traditional Herbal Medicinal Products Directive came into full effect. No longer can you walk into a shop to buy unregistered herbal remedies. No longer can you buy them online. It is illegal. These remedies are now treated like licensed pharmaceuticals: they must be dispensed under the supervision of a practitioner.See the full content of this document
Extract
You Want, Argues William Earl of Dartmouth
Let me declare an interest.
I have taken vitamins and mineral supplements for most of my adult life and felt better for doing so. My grandmother, novelist Dame Barbara Cartland, was a leading and forceful adv...See the full content of this document
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