Are herbal plants safe as alternative medicines?

Yes! See this Philippine Information Agency (PIA) post last January 2024: DOH promotes traditional medicine as cheap, viable healthcare alternative - for reference, here are some texts from the article:

As the government aims to provide universal health care for Filipinos, the Department of Health (DOH), through the Philippine Institute of Traditional and Alternative Health Care (PITAHC), is reintroducing and promoting the use of alternative and complementary medicines and treatments.

Helen Posilero of the DOH-Ilocos Center for Health Development said that the promotion of alternative and traditional medicines and treatments adds to the viable healthcare options that the public can avail.

Aside from the scale of effectiveness,  alternative and traditional medicines are also cheaper and more accessible. 

"Nowadays, these alternative medicines are abundant in our communities and even readily available at home but some of us are unaware that we can use them as herbal medicines," Posilero said. 

Garlic, lagundi, sambong, akapulko, ampalaya, guava, tsaang gubat, and niyog-niyogan  are just some of the herbal plants approved by the DOH-PITAHC. 

For instance, garlic as an herbal medicine has anti-inflammatory and anti-hypertensive properties while ampalaya has agents for the management and treatment of diabetes. 

On the other hand, guava is traditionally used for gastrointestinal infections. 

Posilero disclaimed, "We can integrate the use of alternative and complementary medicines with the western medical treatment we can avail in hospitals, no need to neglect one for another or vice versa."

Further, there are also alternative practices such as acupressure, aromatherapy, ventosa, “hilot”, and even steam inhalation. 

What is PITAHC?

The Philippine Institute of Traditional and Alternative Health Care (PITAHC) advocates for the development and use of traditional and alternative health-care in the country. PITAHC was created with the objective of improving the quality and delivery of health care services to Filipinos by integrating traditional and alternative health care into the national health care delivery system. Our goal is also to position T&CM (traditional and complementary medicine) as a legitimate field of medicine. 

see: https://pitahc.gov.ph

How do I contact you?

That is easy, please send us an email at hi@mrpau.com.