Therefore an isolated chemical compound would never be considered herbal medicine. Polypharmacy again is the answer - although several plants will have similar therapeutic effects the chemical compounds in each one will be different and it is this diversity that is the very strength of herbal medicine. In simple terms, one compound has an effect and another, either within the same or a different plant, will have a supporting effect which might for example balance any side effects or increase absorption into the system. There is of course a correlation between polypharmacy and food. Every food that is consumed consists of many and complex chemical compounds and no-one would put forward a sound argument in support of foods being taken as single chemical entities.
Complex foods are nutritious, health giving and totally beneficial.
Nutritionists advocate a varied balanced diet for good health both in animals and people. A comparable situation exists with herbal medicine and it is this very use of combination products which are not at variance with nature that explains why herbal medicines maintain all round health and are effective safe treatment for many problems. This comparison with food is very relevant as the other important factor in herbal medicines is that like foods they are based on organic plant materials, which are more readily assimilated into the system than inorganic compounds. It is for this reason that although the individual quantities of elements, such as minerals, in an organically based product may be very small, they are more readily absorbed and able to be used by the body than a much larger quantity of the same mineral that has been derived inorganically. Calcium is also only absorbed efficiently when Vitamin D is present which is the reason for most supplements having this added to the product.