Health Effects of Consumption Methods Details
Let's compare the health effects of consumption via vaporization, ingestion, and smoking.
The vast majority of herbs today are enjoyed by ingestion. Supplements may be taken in pill form, brewed into teas, or by simply eating the plant itself. The active ingredients of the plant, however, must pass through a series of obstacles that may degrade the plant's active elements before finally entering the blood stream and benefiting the user.
However, as digestive enzymes break down herbal remedies, they degrade their effect and sometimes even catalyze a change in the material. In addition, a time delay of noticeable effect often makes proper dosing a problem.
Ingestion is a relatively safe, but significantly inefficient way to benefit from herbs and medicines.
Inhalation is another choice and the most common form of this is smoking. Tobacco has been used for thousands of years. Millions of people have enjoyed the plant as an herbal aid, a religious and ritualistic device, and for recreational enjoyment.
Over the past 30 years we have finally developed the technology and medical advances to recognize the health dangers inherent in the combustion of this or any herb. Yet few herbal delivery options have been developed to replace combustion.
Over the next few years, vaporization promises to be a prominent alternative to current methods of drug delivery and aromatherapy.
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