What
You Should Know About Herbal Health Products
Aren’t herbal heath products
safe because they are natural?
Don’t think that herbal
health products are safe just because they come from plants. Even some plants are poisonous.
Although herbal products are advertised as “natural” they are not
natural to the human body. Unlike
prescription medications, herbal products do not have to be tested to prove that
they work well and are safe before they are sold.
In addition, herbal products may not be pure. They
might have other things in them, like plant pollen, that could make you sick.
Do any medical problems make it
more dangerous to take herbal health products?
Yes. It may not be safe to take herbal medicines if you have
certain health problems. Talk to
your physician if you have had any of these problems at some time in the past:
High blood pressure
Thyroid problems
Psychiatric problems
Parkinson’s Disease
Enlarged prostate gland
Blood clotting problems
Diabetes
Heart disease
Epilepsy
Glaucoma
Stroke
What are possible side effects
of herbal health products?
Herbal health products are not
tested to be sure they are safe, so they may cause problems.
Be sure to tell your physician if you get a health problem while you are
taking an herbal product. If you
are taking ginkgo biloba, you may have bleeding as a side effect.
St. John’s Wort can cause an upset stomach, a tired feeling, dizziness,
confusion, or dry mouth. You may
also get sunburn more easily. If
you are taking any ephedra product, also called mah huang, you could have many
problems. You could high blood
pressure, or an uneven heartbeat. You
may feel nervous, have headaches, or have trouble falling asleep.
You could even have a heart attack or stroke. If you take kava products you may feel sleepy, get a rash, or
have strange movements of your mouth and tongue or other parts of your body.
Can herbal products change the
way prescription medicines work?
Yes. Some medicines should not be taken with herbal products.
For instance, do not take ginkgo biloba if you are taking aspirin,
Ticlopidine (brand name Ticlid), Clopidogrel (brand name Plavix) or Dipyridamole
(brand name Persantine). Do not take St. John’s Wort if you are taking an
antidepressant. Do not take ephedra
if you are taking a decongestant or a stimulant drug, or if you drink
caffeinated beverages. Do not take
kava products if you are taking benzodiazepine (a barbiturate), an antipsychotic
medicine, or any medicine used to treat Parkinson’s Disease. Also, do not drink alcohol if you take kava products.
This being said, it is further
recommended, however, that all patients supplement a good broad-spectrum
multivitamin multimineral to their regular dietary regimens.