Ioan Popescu Pedagogical Highschool Barlad

Cerificat de atestare a
competentelor in limba engleza

Certification Paper

Coordinating tteacher Sudent

Mihaela Iacob Stancu Melania
2017

Ioan Popescu Pedagogical Highschool Barlad

Drugs vs natural cure

Coordinating teacher Sudent
Mihaela Iacob Stancu Melania
Ioan Popescu Pedagogical Highschool Barlad

Table of Contents
Iintroduction
Chapter 1 .
The abuse of drugs..
Chapter 2..
Drugs or natural remedies?.........
Chapter 3.
Statistics

2017
Ioan Popescu Pedagogical Highschool Barlad
Introduction

I chose to talk about this topic because I saw that the majority of the population has to face a very often
choice in their daily life. The selection of the treatment of a regular influenza can so many times turn into
a headache because people are not well informed about the consequences of the overconsumption of drugs
from trade or of the risks they could face if they try to treat themselves by ear or how their parents and
 grandparents did in the past. This issue should be debated or discussed more often, the mass-media
promotes some drug products but frequently forgets to debate the consequences the consumption of drugs
could have. Oftenly I could see people who at the very first symptoms go to the pharmacy to buy drugs.
Even though we live in a century when people have access to the internet or informations they are not
interested or probably believe that the drugs that apparently brig benefits could not be dangerous. I want to
destroy this myth in this study because the truth is different and I want to dismantle all this assumptions
youve heard till now, indeed drugs have beneficial parts. We cant forget that a long times ago the
pharmacys were named drugstores, and why do you think they were named like this? Because these drugs
could bring addiction and could harm by the time. Even though the drugs may treat a suffering, they may
cause other sufferings, for example a frequent consumption of a large amount of drugs could affect some
bodies such as the liver. Personally, I am not pro-drugs, because they can decrease our immunity. I am
aware that in present these kind of drugs are very promoted, they promise a lot but oftenly they are not
that good. In addiction, they are very expensive and in fact they are a bomb of harmful substances for us.
Even the doctors recommend a big dozen of drugs to treat a regular influenza. Instead, I prefer to drink a
hot tea when I feel the influenza is coming and to put my feet in a warm water with salt. I do not use
herbal drugs
from the trade. Babesia cures, as we named them, may have their risks. In this study I will present the
risks we could face if we choose to use different remedies which could cause some serious illness I will
try to determine you get better informed, and to know how to combine the two methods of prevention of
the flu and even more serious illnesses because its better to prevent than to treat. Many studies prove that
the majority of the people use drugs frequently. Many teenagers who want to loose weight without
practicing sports or keep a diet, spend large amount of money for some substances that in fact have no
visible results. Many young women get anorexic or even die from using drugs for a long time to lose
weight. Recently, the health minister realized the danger which people who use drugs in excess can face,
so he made a new low restricting the purchase of antibiotics .

Ioan Popescu Pedagogical Highschool Barlad

Chapter 1

The abuse of drugs the abuse of drugs is a serious issue of the comtemporary medicine, because of the fact that
some pharmaceutical products can be purchased very simple, in some cases without prescriptions. Largely we
call abuse of drugs the consumption of a larg amout of drugs or drugs usage in a long period of time. Also drugs
abuse could be the improper usage of drugs, for example using some drugs to treat a illness for which they are
not an antidote. In general, this kind of drug abuse is the result of sef-administer of drugs after friends advice or
pseudo-experts advice. Drug taking by ear is a problem seen in most of countries not metter their developing
stage. Contrary to expectations, some studies revealed that in the most developed countries, the number of
people to abuse drugs is in increasing. Using some drugs in large quantities may cause drug intoxicatons, drug
gastritis, toxic hepatitis or jaundice by destroying liver cells. Long time administration of some pharmaceutical
products may create tolerance or addiction. Tolerance means the progressive reduction of the response at the
drug, in conditions of repeated administer, the increase of dose is required for getting the wanted effect.
In case of an addicton installed, the interruption or decrease of the dose may give rise to some
symptomatologies manifested by nausea, vomiting, restlessness, collapse.The abusive usage of corticoids may
cause diabetes or coud bring osteoporosis, obesity or endocrine complications.
Using drug in inappropriate associasion may cause bleeding for example, the case of combining anticoagulants
with phenobarbitals. For pregnant women, the misuse of drugs may cause complications malformations of fetus
or even the death of it. Among the drugs with teratogenic effect (which cause malformations) in abusive usage
conditions we can name the aminopterin and the methotrexate. Syntetic progestogens and androgens may cause
the masculinizing of the feminine gender fetus. Caffeine nicotine and alcohol and drug that contain this
substances may be dangerous for the fetus, if the mother abuse them while she is pregnant.
If diazepam is administered to the mother while pregnant may produce hypothermia abd hypotonia to the
newborn child. Tetracycline administered to the mother may cause orange coloration of the child teeth, and
streptomycine may cause impaired hearing.
Ioan Popescu Pedagogical Highschool Barlad

Chapter 2

Drugs or natural remedies? What do we choose? Between the allopathic medicine followers and
those who prefer natural remedies its an eternal dispute. But natural products and synthetic drugs
do not exclude mutually- each category has its own role and the main interest shoud be the
patinent recovery. These two categories should not be regarded as rivals. Each has its own role.
The allopathic medicine (with synthetic drugs) has a speedy action time, with accurate action but
more brutal for body. It is preferred to be used only an emergency cases. Chimical drugs contains
substances which cand not be found in nature, with unpredictable effects for living system. These
drugs force the body to obey to chemical chain reactions, which have nothing in commune with the
own regulatory mechanisms of the body. So it is preferred to be used only in emergency cases.

Unfortunately, the allopathic medicine ignores the bodys own recover ability, and the reality shows that
the medical services became impersonal. Even so, in a pharmacy enter on the average, 500-900 people
daily (58% women, 42% men.
Most often, drugs are adnimistered to calming down sympthoms not to treat the illness. Drug abuse may
have secondary effect which cumulate and inevitably triggers other illnesses. The ideal solution could be,
of course, the prevention by maintaining or keeping the optimal health status with 100% natural products
consumption. Studies proves that in the last 50 years, the vitamins, minerals and trace elements of fruits
decreased with 80% by the time the carcinogen E vitamins present in the food trade in the stores increased
inversely. It is said that we are what we eat. 70% of the Romanian people illnesses are caused by bad
feeding. Beside a feeding based on living food, nutritional supplements are required. These help us to
counterbalance those factors which affect balance, the health and in fact the life- the stress, drugs,
alchohol or coffee abuse, the pollution, toxical substances of the food, etc. Natural products administered
as a treatment supports the own capacity of recover of the body which is natural. Active natural principles
amplify and stimulates the natural mechanism of illness elimination. Natural products do not have side
effects, do not give addiction, and have multi distribuitive benefical effect ( feeling on several organs at
once). Without exaggerating the role of the nutritional supplements we can admit that their administration
helps- the cases in which the body do not response at allopathic treatments are not a few, but they have
results with natural remedies. Listen to your body. Beyond diagnosis and the symptoms, each patient
should be treated as an individual, with unique particularities. The cause of healt issue should be
discovered. The main charged ones if the illness installs in our body are accumulated fatigue, poor feeding
or negative emotions such as depression, anxiety, sadness, envy or hate.

Ioan Popescu Pedagogical Highschool Barlad

Chapter 3

Medicines, both herbal and pharmaceutical, are big business. These days, Americans spend $200 billion
per year on prescription drugs and $20 billion on herbs and other dietary supplements. When choosing the
best remedy or preventive medicine, most of us simply want the safest, most effective option available,
whether its food, herbs or a pharmaceutical drug. But the question of using herbs vs. drugs isnt moot.
The facts about medicine aside, people often turn to supplements because theyre perceived as more
natural than drugs, and can have fewer side effects and generally cost less.

Regulation of Dietary Supplements

Alternatively, herbal supplements are regulated as foods in the United States, rather than drugs, under the
1994 Dietary Supplement and Health Education Act (DSHEA). Supplement manufacturers are responsible
for ensuring their products are safe before marketing them, but the manufacturers generally arent required
to register their products with the FDA, unless the ingredients are new to the U.S. market. The law allows
supplement manufacturers to claim their products help maintain the structure or function of the body
without FDA preapproval or regulation, but they must include an FDA disclaimer and notify the FDA
within 30 days of marketing the product. By law, manufacturers may print health claims on the packaging
to describe a supplements effect on reducing the risk of or preventing disease only if the FDA approves
use of the claim. The FDA is also responsible for taking action against supplements after they reach the
market and problems are reported.

Once a problematic herb appears on the market, it can take years before its pulled off the shelves, since
the burden of proof lies on the FDA to determine that its unsafe. For years, the agency received reports of
people suffering heart attacks, strokes and seizures after using the popular weight-loss herb ephedra, and
several people died. It wasnt until the death of Baltimore Orioles pitcher Steve Belcher, who used
ephedra, that there was enough of a spotlight on the herbs safety to spur the FDA into action. Consumers
are provided with more information about the composition and nutritional value of a loaf of bread than
about the ingredients and potential hazards of botanical medicines, according to Donald M. Marcus,
M.D., and Arthur P. Grollman, M.D., authors of a recent article in The New England Journal of Medicine.

And yet, consumers are somewhat justified in their comfort with botanicals and other supplements. Far
fewer people suffer adverse reactions to herbs than to pharmaceutical drugs. Theres currently no
mandatory adverse event reporting system for supplements or nonprescription drugs, so monitoring the
number of harmful effects is challenging. However, a study published in The Lancet found that there were
only a few hundred calls in one year to U.S. poison control centers involving probable adverse events of
dietary supplements. In contrast, another study published in the Journal of the American Medical
Association, found that there were more than 200,000 adverse reactions to pharmaceutical drugs reported
by hospitals in one year, and half of the reactions were fatal. Although these results were hotly debated in
the medical community, a recent report in the United Kingdom also found that nearly a quarter of a
million people there were admitted to hospitals in a single year because of adverse drug reactions.

Proving That Herbs Work

There are millions of people taking herbs and other dietary supplements who swear by their efficacy. And
though many herbs and supplements are safe and effective, medical science has been slow to verify health
claims. While pharmaceutical companies spent more than $51.3 billion in 2005 on drug discovery and
development, herbs and other supplements often dont get big money for research since they cant be
patented for a financial payoff the way pharmaceuticals can.

Noted herbalist James A. Duke, Ph.D., says choosing between herbs and drugs is difficult because the
information we need to make these decisions is largely unavailable. To date there have been only a few
clinical trials in which the closest herbal medicine was compared to a pharmaceutical drug and a placebo
control.

Thats why for years, Duke has been campaigning to get a Congressional mandate that an alternative
choice for treating a condition must be trialed along with any new drug in order to determine which is
most effective, and just as importantly, which has fewer side effects. Unfortunately many new drugs
currently are tested only against placebos, rather than existing medications or herbs.

If the government really wants to improve Americans health, they should mandate independent research
to prove that many herbs are competitive with pharmaceuticals, Duke says. Herbs are orders of
magnitude safer, and theyre also cheaper.
Mark Blumenthal, founder of the nonprofit American Botanical Council, thinks that if the current
regulations were to be fully, consistently and effectively enforced, no further regulations would be
necessary. By law, dietary supplements are foods, not drugs, so they shouldnt be required to show safety
or efficacy in the same way as conventional drugs, which by their very nature are usually novel chemical
compounds that have never existed in nature and to which humans have never been subjected.

Blumenthals group and many in the supplement industry support better labeling to clearly indicate a
products potential to produce adverse effects, as well as to outline conditions when the supplement might
create complications or interfere with medications.

Drug/Herb Interactions

Many herbs have been used to treat specific ailments for centuries. But just because a product is natural or
has been around for a long time, that doesnt mean you should assume that its safer than pharmaceuticals.
Just like interactions between drugs, many herbs can cause adverse reactions when combined with drugs
or other supplements. A recent study published in the Journal of the American Medical
Association revealed that among prescription drug users, one in six adults takes at least one herbal
supplement along with a prescription drug, and many are completely unaware of the impact one might
have on the other.

Herbal remedies are an increasingly popular choice today as people often make self-medication based on
catalogs, internet sites and visits to health food stores.

Herbal remedies are an increasingly popular choice today as people often make self-medication
based on catalogs, internet sites and visits to health food stores.

Sales of herbal remedies in chemists, health stores and supermarkets have doubled in a decade. But using
herbal home remedies can be a gamble and even a risk. People taking prescription medications should talk
to their doctors before taking herbs or even certain vitamins but even those who rarely take a pill should
seek advice before turning to herbs. It is always best to get a consultation before consuming any herbal
remedies.

Herbal medicines, which contain extracts from plants and minerals, account for the fastest growth.

Scientific tests have shown there is evidence that some could have a beneficial effect. Herbs are used to
stimulate the body's self-healing powers and remove the underlying cause of illness. Then the herbs are
used to nourish and tone all the organs and systems of the body from the inside out.

As it is, no herb or natural treatment or remedy can be labeled or even advertised legally as a cure
or treatment.

Think in terms of cancer, for example. If someone had an herbal supplement where 90% of the patients
who took it became disease free, it still cannot be labeled or advertised as a cure or even as a treatment,
while a synthetic lab-created chemical that kills more people than it cures can take out full page
advertisements in national magazines. And that is how the public interest is protected from all of those
dangerous herbs, which result in maybe 50 deaths a year compared to 106,000 deaths per year for properly
prescribed medications that can be advertised as cures and treatments. Not to mention the 2,000,000
serious drug reactions from properly prescribed medications.

Death from prescription drug side effects is now the fourth leading cause of death in the United States
according to the medical industry itself (the AMA Journal) and that doesn't include deaths that are
reported to be caused by the original disease that really were the result of drug side-effects, or of miss-
prescribed medications that are not reported by doctors leery of malpractice suits and malpractice
insurance premium increases (one survey found that only 1 in 24 doctors would voluntarily report
themselves in the event of a patient dying of miss-prescribed medications).

When all factors are taken into consideration, improper medical treatment and prescription drugs are
considered by some authorities as actually being the second leading cause of death in our country.

Herbal remedies can help you with your condition and can actually cure or even prevent it. Herbal
remedies are even safe, effective and with no side effects. But of course, you have to make sure that you
are using the right herbal remedy for your condition, in order to make sure that you will be curing your
condition properly.

In buying herbal remedies, you have to make sure you are buying the right herbs, and not just throwing
your money with the wrong ones, so you have to make sure that you are having the right information and
it can help to seek the advice of a herbalist.