In my last article I was discussing the natural versus the man-made in the production of food and medicine. In a continuation of that examination here is a clear example of the superiority of the natural versus the man-made I have recently learned. Let's take a look at natural foxglove or digitalis versus man-made Digoxin, a medicine synthesized from the natural.
But before I begin let me just warn that no medicine, natural or otherwise, should be taken without the advice of persons knowledgeable about such things. Failure to understand what you are taking, and any interactions with other medicines you already may take, can be deadly.
From the website: "http://www.botgard.ucla.edu/html/botanytextbooks/economicbotany/Digitalis/index.html
"Unlike many medicinal plants, which have a long history of uses, foxglove (Digitalis purpurea) was not an important medicine until the late 18th century. In 1776, William Withering was a physician with a large country practice in England. A lady was dying from a disease called dropsy, or edema, in which liquids accumulate in the body and cause swelling of tissues and body cavities. He left her, expecting her to die shortly, but he later learned that she had recovered after taking an old cure of a garden plant called foxglove....Digitalis is very toxic and fatal with an overdose, so its potency was measured very carefully against an unusual standard...Digitoxin (the man-made synthesis of natural digitalis) is a stimulant that improves heart tone and rhythm, which then improves circulation...This then slows heart rate and also reduces heart size, which lessens myocardial oxygen demand. Digoxin is used instead of crude extracts of foxglove leaves because it has a short half-life in the body and is, therefore, easier to treat for toxicity. Digitalis is not now universally accepted for treatment of heart disease."
Now for the rest of the story. As the article said, foxglove, used in excess is toxic and can kill, but then again so can the man-made synthetic Digoxin. (http://www.medicinenet.com/digoxin/article.htm) Both the natural and the man-made used in excess can actually cause a heart attack and kill you. But the interesting thing is that natural foxglove will give you a warning before that point. It will create a headache and cause you to vomit when you have taken too much. It may even make your heart begin to race, all clear signs of nearing toxic levels doses. It is a clear warning to back off because you've taken more than you should. But, interestingly, with Digoxin there will be no such pre-warnings for nearing toxic levels. If you have taken too much you will know it only when you have the heart attack. That seems to me to show a kind of natural, built in intelligence factor in foxglove that is lacking in the man-made.
Over and over again we see that there is an intelligence of sorts contained in naturally growing herbs. Many herbs are, for example, naturally amphoteric. That mean that some herbs, such as hawthorn berry, will bring intelligent balance to your system. If you have high blood pressure it will lower it, if you have low blood pressure, it will raise it. So, on the face of it it seems to me that yes, man can synthesis and standardize naturally growing products, but at a cost. In the case, at least, the making of Digoxin causes the natural ability of the foxglove herb to warn you of taking too much is lost, and at a very high cost. And in this case, at least, I would have to say that the natural is a superior in that it will "talk" to you about its potent side effects, even as it keeps you take care of your heart. This is something that the man-made seems incapable of doing.
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