Warning! Herbal Remedies May do More Harm Than Good
October 2001 — Chances are you've heard a lot of stories about the wonders of herbal remedies. Maybe you've heard that echinacea will help to cure the common cold. Or that ginseng will increase your energy and stamina. While it sounds wonderful, it's important to find out more before you "self-medicate" with herbs or other nutritional supplements.
While television infomercials depict celebrity spokespersons singing the praises of natural remedies, they often fail to address the potential hazards. The truth is, the dangers are many. Mixing herbal supplements with prescription medications can be fatal. Unlike the prescription drug industry, there is no regulation for anything labeled "supplement." With zero regulation, supplement manufacturers can include ingredients such as sand, sugar and wood as fillers. The amounts of these ingredients are unknown. For some patients, this can be extremely dangerous.
Unknown Dangers of Herbal Supplements
"The biggest problem with herbal remedies is the question of purity and quantity," says Warren Feldman, M.D., a Family Practitioner on the medical staff of Memorial Regional Hospital.
"With ingredients and their amounts unknown, you just don't know what you're taking. Mixing prescription medications with the unknown poses a great risk. For example, if a patient taking prescription Coumadina - a blood-thinning agent - takes the herbal remedy willow bark to relieve joint pain, bleeding ulcers may occur. Various reactions may occur with different prescription and herbal combinations."
Dr. Feldman urges all patients to check with their doctors before taking any type of supplement. He cautions that herbal supplements are not a substitute for proper medical care.
Overdose can occur with herbal supplements the same way it can occur with pharmaceutical medications. With medicinal herb ingredient purity and quantity in question, overdose is an even greater possibility. Again, be careful and check with your doctor before taking these herbal remedies.
The Best Medicine
Aside from the dangers of mixing medications, do these natural remedies actually work? According to Dr. Feldman, there is no formal research supporting the majority of claims made by herbal supplement manufacturers. Reinforcing this opinion, legitimate supplement manufacturer labels are printed with the following statement: "This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease."
"It would seem that the counterculture revolution of the sixties' generation has made its return in the new millennium," says Dr. Feldman. "They seek out plant chemicals, believing these to be chemicals in their purest form, yet overlook what other toxins they may contain. Herbal supplements are produced with fillers and impure chemicals. The truth is, pharmaceutical companies are able to control and produce the most pure forms of these same chemicals. Physicians are then able to deliver proper doses to their patients."
Dr. Feldman adds, "When herbal supplement claims are substantiated by thorough, double-blind studies performed at top universities, then the naturopathic approach will be more widely accepted. Until then, I urge patients to listen to their doctors, and not to celebrity spokespersons."