Herbal supplements should be regulated as prescription drugs Essay

Herbal supplements should be regulated as prescription drugs - Essay Example This paper also stresses upon the need of providing more awareness to the people regarding the possible harmful effects of herbal supplements so that they could use these supplements only when suggested by their physicians or other healthcare experts. Discourse about the Regulation of Herbal Supplements An athlete came in the emergency of the hospital. He reported intense pain in his liver. The medical staff conducted all the tests and examinations to diagnose the root of the problem and it was unveiled from the test reports and examination that his lever was failed and was not working properly. The doctor diagnosed that the liver was failed mainly due to the use of illicit steroid. When asked from the athlete, he informed that has been using performance supplements that were considered legal with no side effects. However, his health conditions revealed that the use of the herbal supplement has destroyed his liver. He was admitted for treatment in the hospital and the doctor strictly instructed him to stop the use of the self-selected supplement. Also a Georgia woman took a memory booster herbal supplement and developed diarrhea, joint pain, hair loss and lung problem. These examples show the potential effects of herbal supplements upon the health of the human beings. Herbal supplements are the natural products that are made from the plant extracts. These could be used for the treatment and prevention of wide array of diseases and health problems. The trend of using the herbal medicines and supplements has considerably increased over the last few decades (Dennis 2009). People commonly take the herbal supplements as a measure of self-medication in case of any minor illness and health problem. ... People commonly take the herbal supplements as a measure of self-medication in case of any minor illness and health problem. This is because the herbal products have proved their significance and effectiveness in dealing with the health issues without causing negative side effects in the human body. As the interest of the people in the herbal medicines is growing, the concerns of the common people and health scientists are also increasing in identifying the potential side effects of the herbal supplements upon the human health. The evolving debate about the regulation of herbal drugs has also got momentum as the medical practitioners and health science experts are convincingly pointing towards the potential negative and adverse effects of herbal medicines and need to regulate them like other prescribed drugs. It is now widely demanded by the physicians and other healthcare experts that the herbal supplements should also be regulated like the other prescribed rungs. Currently, the Uni ted States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) considers the herbal supplements as food due to which these are not subjected to same regulations like the other prescribed drugs (Aronson, 2009). Herbal supplements are defined by the Dietary Supplements Health and Education Act of 1994 (DSHEA) as products (other than tobacco) intended to supplement the diet containing one or more of the following: vitamins, minerals, herbs or other botanicals, amino acids, or any combination of the above ingredients. Herbal supplements could be taken in form of tablet, capsule, powder, soft gel, cap, or liquid. They are not supposed to be used as conventional food or as a sole item of a meal or diet but these are just dietary