Posted on 12/21/2004 4:11:10 PM PST by shrinkermd
Some herbal remedies may do more harm than good. Researchers writing today in the Journal of the American Medical Association report that 20 percent of herbal medicine products sampled contained dangerous levels of heavy metals.
Unlike prescription drugs, herbal medicine products can be sold as dietary supplements, which are not required to undergo rigorous testing before entering the marketplace. Indeed, the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA) does not require proof of safety or efficacy. Robert B. Saper, now at Boston University's School of Medicine, and his colleagues purchased imported Ayurvedic herbal medicine products from stores near Boston's city hall and had them tested for metal contamination. They discovered that a fifth of the 70 samples tested contained lead, mercury or arsenic, or some combination of all three, in significant quantities. If taken as directed, the products would expose a person to more of the metals than is deemed safe by the Environmental Protection Agency.
"Although the prevalence of heavy metal-containing Ayurvedic [herbal medicine products] is unknown, the number of individuals at potential risk is substantial," the team writes. "Our findings support calls for reform of DSHEA that would require mandatory testing of all imported dietary supplements for toxic heavy metals." --Sarah Graham
mmmmmmmmm - lead!
Hey, where's the cadmium?
This stuff reminds me of the 'Seinfeld' episode when George turns purple from an herbal tea a "healer" gave him.
mmmmmmmmm - lead with cadmium icing!
Yeah and all of the FDA "Approved" meds have bad side effects too!
How about listing some of the products they used? LOL
As Scientific American has gone down the sewer of Political Correctness, making nasty comments in obituaries of conservatives, etc., they have also gotten wishy-washy. What is "significant quantities"... statistically significant over what? Medically significant? Horrid reporting...and since heavy metals are cumulative toxins, this is important.
I like a little radium myself...
Do you have that with red wine or white wine?
Maybe we should make a freerepublic herbal remedy with loads of heavy metals..
oh wait, the others beat us to it...
My, My... for most the medical history in this country (and everywhere else) a mixture of Opium and Mercury was prescribed for damned near everything.. In the early 1920's the AMA engineered the closing of ALL major herbal healing schools in the United States.. and since have extracted most of the safest remedy's from the same planets -AND- patented them..
The AMA is a business not a philantrophic organization.. as is the FDA and its sponsors(drug companys).. The incest is wide and deep.. and the inbreeding is dysfuntional economic. The AMA is a parasitic creature.. that feeds on the host.. and should be watched closely. The AMA is NOT your friend.. even if you DO have insurance..
Merlot, or even a hardy ale...
Excellent choices. I am presently enjoying a bit of shredded copper with a cold Budweiser.
The pharms will plant such stories to take our choices away.
Herbal medicine is even weirder than I thought. LOL! (I knew what you meant.)
yep and yep. The AMA was founded to put herbal meds out of business.
MAny of which are proven effective live pycnogenol and st john's wort.
I still have silver fillings. Maybe that explains my posting habits.
I think the FDA tried to regulate vitamins in the 70s
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