Herbal Supplements & Therapies: A Prevention or a Cure?
Do you prefer the natural way as opposed to the medical? Would you rather drink some herbs or undergo a natural therapy instead of seeing a medical doctor? Do you believe in Aroma therapy? Or is it all just in our heads?
On Dec. 19, 2011, the 3rd Ta3a Ne7ke Debate for this Fall targeted this issue from different angles. Moderated by Dr. Rabih Talhouk, AUB Professor at the Biology Department, the debate spanned for about 2 hours between presentations, discussion, and questions from an enthusiastic audience.
The speakers of the third debate were: Dr. Pierre Zalloua, Professor of Genetics and Interim Dean of School of Pharmacy at LAU; Dr. Omar Obeid, Professor at the Nutrition and Food Sciences Department at AUB; Dr. Fady Maalouf, Assistant Professor at the Department of Psychiatry at AUB; and Ms. SuhaRbeiz, an aromatherapist and owner of Body Care Club.
Dr. Talhouk opened the session with an introduction about the uses and abuses of herbal supplements and therapies. He stated that Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) programs have been established in a wide range of universities around the world. About 70-80% of the population has already started using CAM; the majority of which is plant-based practices, according to Talhouk. In the case of Lebanon, the most popular are indigenous and medical plants as well as folk practices. Talhouk believes that the intake of such supplements is mostly based on psychological influences. He gave an example of an experiment which has been made on two groups of people. Both were given a liquid to test for its weight reduction abilities. While the first group was told that the liquid will remain a liquid in their stomachs, the second was told that it will turn into a jelly material. In fact, both liquids remain liquid. However, the second group was found to have eaten less because they felt full.
Dr. Zalloua stated that it is essential to recognize the fact that we are consuming herbs on a daily basis before we start thinking of herbal supplements. We do possess some genes which make us like or dislike certain foods. Some people, according to him, do not have the receptors necessary to taste a specific kind of food. He affirmed that there are certain genes which allow for the metabolism of certain vegetables and not others, which is what constitutes someone’s genetic background. How does food affect our genes? According to Zalloua, some foods are rich in methylating agents which work on affecting the reaction of certain genes.
Dr. Omar Obeid began his statement by asking: “Why do people use herbal medicine?” Obeid believes that as human beings, we learn to adapt to our surroundings and asserted that cultural practices are worth looking into. He believes that some traditional and cultural practices are more a force of habit than an assured benefit. Spinach, for example, which was believed to be rich in iron and possess an empowering effect emulated in a famous cartoon show, was found to be poor in iron after all.
Dr. Fadi Maalouf explained the difference between medicine and placebo. He stated that medicine is validated through effect and medical process while placebo is made up of sugar pills. However, he noted that about 30% of the populations which consume placebos are found to be responsive to it. The reason behind this responsiveness goes back to minor conditions in which the patients’ expectations had been raised. Maalouf asserted that some herbal medications do possess scientific evidence. The challenge, according to him is get approval which is hard with the lack of biological evidence and involves ethical issues. Maalouf stressed the importance of blind belief that herbs can do us no harm; that if they did not help, they will not hurt. This is a false belief, according to him, since some herbs can have grave side effects. Further, he stated that some herbal medications are only supplements that increase the effect of the treatment. It is therefore important to educate oneself in that regard before taking any medicine of any kind.
SuhaRbeiz practices aromatherapy on a holistic level, adhering to both body and mind of the patient. Rbeiz accentuated that aromatherapists do not and should not replace medical doctors. Therapy is applied externally only, through massage, using essential oils from a number of plants and flowers. The therapy is never one sided, both therapist and patient should interact in order to achieve pleasing results.