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The natural, safe, and effective way...
That's exactly the kind of stuff that makes me want to smack someone.
Look at it this way... I don't expect to see ads stating "Poison Ivy Extract... the natural, safe, and effective way...". If I do, I'll probably laugh, but I don't think that any of this will happen any time soon. Well, unless people want a potion that'll put them into anaphylactic shock.
Point? Natural doesn't always mean safe.
Actually, there's a major flipside to this idea. Many herbals are very potent and useful in different clinical applications. On the milder end (I meant potency and not taste!) are natural foods like ginger, which has been known for millennia to be a good anti-nausea spice/food. That said, there are also herbal remedies that are not only useful, but also potentially dangerous... the herb belladonna (see below), for example, is useful in some treatments, but deadly in overdose.
Some more examples:
Belladona: This plant is another well-known herbal, perhaps notorious for its use as a poison. However, modern pharmaceuticals are made from standardized belladona extracts (or synthesized to be identical). Examples include DONNATEL (belladona extract with phenobarbital) and scopolamine (various brand names). Belladonna acts as an anticholinergic, giving it anti-nausea properties. Also, belladonna's chemicals are used to make those burning-like-hell eyedrops you get during eye exams. Those eyedrops dilate (make larger) your pupils so that the optometrist can see through them to determine if you have eye issues anywhere within the eye. Interestingly, the term for this herb itself stems from the practice of using belladonna eyedrops as a cosmetic measure in women (hence "bella donna", or "beautiful woman").
"Nootropic" herbs ("smart herbs/supplements"): The two most popular are probably Gingko biloba and DMAE. The former has many actions, and we're still discovering them by the day. DMAE helps in the making of acetylcholine, an important neurotransmitter in our thinking processes.
Stimulant herbs: Ephedra (ma huang) is a very well-known stimulant herb. Ephedra's active ingredient, ephedrine, is sold OTC (in most US states) as PRIMATENE (both mist and pill forms) for treatment of asthma attacks. It's no surprise that Chinese medicine has used ma huang for asthma! Also, ginseng is also another stimulant herb, with actions similar to ephedrine.
Some chemicals that are sold as supplements in the US are actually prescription-only in some countries. Israel requires a prescription for the sleep-regulating drug/hormone melatonin, and in Germany, wortmannin (the main active chemical in St. John's Wort) is also a prescription drug.
So you've seen a few examples above of how herbal medicine can be effective. Herbs and OTC supplements aren't always safe; nonetheless, they can be very effective!
Now, don't take the above as reasons to go taking any supplement you want. Remember, these chemicals and herbals may be potent and dangerous, especially when mixed with each other or other drugs you're taking. Always consult your doctor before making decisions regarding taking supplements.
The above was just a summary. For all intents and purposes, I pulled the above information out of my arse without really looking at authoritative sources. I'll be looking more seriously into these topics with the use of published sources (and of course, citations here) when I get the opportunity to write up the full version of this topic.
