Safety and Efficacy of Herbs

Efficacy

As you may have noted, my experience over the years with the safety and efficacy of herbs has been remarkable. So I am obviously persuaded that herbs and other natural remedies are effective and safe if used knowledgeably and responsibly (that is, according to longstanding and traditionally accepted guidelines such as one would find in a good herbal).

The healing paradigms between Western Medicine and natural healing are completely different as are the philosophies underlying the two healing paradigms, and I think it's important to understand something about those differences. Individuals and organizations which have an anti-herb bias (usually because they are thoroughly indoctrinated in the Western Medical Model) think of and try to discuss herbs as if they are drugs, behave like drugs, or are in other ways equivalent to drugs, and should be regulated like drugs. But they are not drugs. And the safety and efficacy of herbs is not going to resemble that of drugs. In my view it's much better.

Safety

If you have food or other allergies, make sure that the herb(s) you may be considering taking are not in the same family as the food(s) to which you're allergic. For example, chamomile is related to ragweed. Overuse of chamomile (it's a delightful herbal tea) can lead to a ragweed allergy.

If you have diagnosed or undiagnosed underyling health problems, make sure that there are no contraindications for those conditions. For example, anyone with an auto-immune disease (such as HIV) should not take echinacea which is an immune system booster. People with high blood pressure should not take St. John's Wort. In my experience, such contraindications are rare but may be becoming more common. They do exist and where they exist they can be quite problematic -- even deadly -- if ignored.

The most widespread contraindication of all is pregnancy. If you are pregnant or lactating, NEVER use any herb of any kind without first checking to make sure that it is safe for pregnant women, their fetuses or breast-feeding infants. Some herbs are abortifacients, meaning that they can cause the uterus to contract and could cause spontaneous abortion.

If you are using pharmaceutical drugs of any type, both the safety and efficacy of herbs can be affected. It is imperative that you exercise extreme caution since herbs can alter the way your body metabolizes drugs, and whether it helps or hinders the action of the drug, that might not be for the better. Please see herb-drug interactions.

And always, always consult your healthcare professional before embarking on any new health regimen.