Safety with Herbs
First, let me say that this section is not for the attorneys of this world; it’s for you and me. It is my attempt to nudge you in the direction of healthy attitudes toward herb use. In my research, over and over again, I’ve run across an appallingly cavalier attitude toward herbs. Many people put herbs in their mouths and on their skin without a single thought to their side effects or their interactions with other herbs, prescription drugs, and over-the-counter remedies. They don’t bother to look into an herb’s background or track record, but rather take the herb in response to the latest news report, or worse yet, magazine ad. What I offer to you here is a reality check, something to think about before you begin experimenting with the herbs in this book.
Principle Number One:
Just because it’s natural doesn’t mean you can be as stupid as you want with it. Some herbs are poisonous. Even those that aren’t can make you quite miserable if you use them badly. A few years ago, kava was the flavor of the month. Health food magazines, television health reporters, and of course vitamin and herb stores were touting it as a near-magical stress-buster. People started taking it by the handful. Then the reports of liver failure started floating in. The numbers weren’t huge, but a few otherwise healthy people damaged their liver to the point of needing a liver transplant. The FDA jumped in and issued an advisory. Herbalists replied, citing all the people using kava who don’t need liver transplants. The debate continues to rage. Google “kava, liver,” and you’ll get an overview of the arguments, both rational and irrational. Yet one fact is not really in dispute: you can be stupid with kava. You can be stupid with any herb.
The point is this: You wouldn’t pull bottles from a pharmacist’s shelves and try two of these, four of those and a small handful of that. Yet you’d be surprised at how many people do something very similar with herbs. Herbs work in the body using the same mechanisms of action as drugs do. They interact like drugs do. They have safe and unsafe doses like drugs do. And they can do you a world of hurt if misused, just like drugs do. “Natural” does not mean “harmless.” If you don’t know where the line is between “safe” and “stupid” for any given herb, don’t use it.
Principle Number Two:
Just because it looks like the herb in question doesn’t mean it is the herb in question. Plants are trickier than you might think to identify in the wild. For example, comfrey and foxglove—the plants themselves as they grow in the wild—look quite alike. Moreover, the range for comfrey and the range for foxglove overlap considerably; the two can grow side-by-side. What would happen then if you decide to harvest your own comfrey and end up with foxglove by accident? Brew some comfrey tea, and it will probably clear your sinuses. Brew some foxglove tea, and it could very easily stop your heart.
Each species of herb has enough variety that only a fool tries to make an identification based on pictures in a book. If you don’t have the benefit of training with a reputable herbalist, don’t go collecting in the wild.
Similarly, if you want to try growing your own herbs, the wisest course is to get some training from an experienced herbalist. You want to be sure you know which of the plants you planted is the herb and which is a weed. You’ll need help sorting through nurseries and seed companies, to learn which have good seeds and cuttings and which don’t. Besides, without the right care and harvesting, herbs can lose potency and effectiveness. In short, if you want to start your herb use with the seed or the plant, get some hands-on training.
Principle Number Three:
Not all herb companies are reputable: Let the buyer beware. So you’ve decided not to go harvesting in the woods on your own and are now standing in your local herb shop surrounded by hundreds of bottles and dozens of different brands. How do you know what you’re looking for?
Even herbs purchased in health food stores can be problematic. Packages of herbs from the Far East, South America, and Eastern Europe usually contain the herb stated on the label. Sometimes, though, they contain something completely different. Stories of mislabeled herbs can even be found in the U.S. and Europe, where labeling laws are stricter. The unfortunate fact is this: Though mislabeling is uncommon, all it takes is one mislabeled bottle to spoil your day completely.
Even if the packaging company has harvested the right herb and packaged it in a bottle with the right label, the herb still may not be healthy or effective. Offering herbs for sale involves far more than picking leaves and stuffing them into bottles. Potency can decline quickly with poor growing practices or sloppy handling. Label information varies widely from product to product. The “recommended daily dose” can be a very arbitrary thing (or not mentioned at all) on some of the poorer quality brands. Some herbs have been found to be contaminated with metals, prescription drugs, micro-organisms, and other unhealthy ingredients.
How do you know you are getting good quality herbs? Here are a few general principles: First, countries with low levels of regulation tend to turn out the least consistent quality. The Far East, South America, and Eastern Europe are typically less reliable because of lax regulation. The U.S. has truth in labeling laws—the herb in the bottle must legally be the herb named on the label—but it has very little regulation of herb quality. Potency, therefore, is an iffy thing for some U.S. companies. Some U.S. companies turn out great herbs, some very poor herbs. It takes a bit of sleuthing to figure out which is which. European countries, most notably German and the U.K., will, in general, have tighter regulations than North and South American countries. Consequently, in general, the quality of their herbs tends to be higher.
Other indications of quality include in-house testing. A reputable company should do batch checks, and they should have strict quality control policies. If you’re looking for reputable companies, check out their Web site. Those who do in-house testing tend to feature it prominently on their site.
You can also look for quality assurance seals from independent third-party certification programs on the label. One such seal is the NSF International seal. The NSF (formerly the National Sanitation Foundation) inspects both the herb itself and the manufacturing process. Those products that pass inspection are allowed to bear the NSF seal. What the seal means is that not only is the herb inside the bottle the herb on the label, but no additional herbs are present that aren’t on the label. The NSF seal says nothing about potency, however, just purity of product and accuracy of labeling.
American Herbal Products Association (AHPA) members agree to abide by a code of ethics. That code includes ethical business practices, protection of endangered species of herbs, truth in labeling, disclosure of added constituents, and warnings about safety issues involved in herb use. The association relies on members to regulate themselves, but members who are found to be out of compliance can be expelled from the association.
The United States Pharmacopeia seal
Used with the permission of the United States Pharmacopeia
The USP seal says a little more than that of the NSF or AHPA. “USP” stands for “United States Pharmacopeia.” USP is an independent, self-sustaining, nonprofit, science-based public health organization. The USP seal on a bottle of herbs says that the label on the bottle actually contains what it claims on the label. It also says that the product doesn’t contain harmful levels of specified contaminants, that the binders or capsules containing the herb will break down and release in the body, and that the company making the herbs uses good manufacturing processes. In other words, if a bottle of herbs bears the USP seal, that means that the herb is pure, uncontaminated, and potent. The seal also says that the shelf life dates are reliable and that the suggested doses on the label are reasonable. The tests and standards used by USP are recognized by the FDA. In other words, the USP seal is probably your best indication of quality in American-made herbal supplements.
Let’s say that you are back in the herb shop and faced again with a choice of which herb to buy. None of the bottles