Ongoing campaign: The dangers of mixing herbs with chemical drugs.

[Guest guest]

Dear Friends, The following TimesOnline article points out the

dangers of mixing herbs with chemical drugs. This is part of an ongoing campaign

by the drug mafia which is hurt by the growing interest in herbal medicine.

 

I suggest, when in doubt throw out the chemicals and take the herbals.

 

Be safe, be sure.

 

Regards,

Jagannath.

 

How herbal remedies can make taking medicines a waste of time

By Sam Lister, Health Correspondent

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/newspaper/0,,172-2119622,00.html

 

ONE in four medications may not work properly if taken with St John’s wort or

echinacea because they cause the drugs to be moved out of the body too quickly,

research suggests. A study by an American pharmacologist indicates that the

two herbal extracts, often taken for depression and to boost the immune system,

increase activity of an enzyme involved in the processing of many drugs.

NI_MPU('middle'); Metabolising medicines too slowly or too quickly can cause

drug toxicity and loss of therapeutic function. Drugs known to be affected

include oral contraceptives, blood-pressure pills and drugs to prevent the

rejection of transplanted organs. Detailing the latest research at a

conference in San Francisco yesterday, Christopher Gorski, of the Indiana

University School of Medicine, said that more attention to metabolic

considerations in the action of herbal medicines was needed. Dr Gorski found

that both St John’s wort and echinacea increased the activity

of a specific enzyme found in the liver and intestine. He identified the

enzyme, cytochrome P450 3A4, as the key to the accelerated metabolism by

analysing patients who had been taking St John’s wort before receiving

midazolam, a relaxant often given before minor surgical procedures. Analysis

indicated that the relaxant metabolised much more quickly in patients who had

been using the herbal preparation. The team found similar effects on the Pill,

which was also cleared from the body rapidly by the enzyme. When 12 women who

had not been taking St John’s wort added it to their drug regimen for two

months, more than half experienced increased breakthrough bleeding, a clinical

indication of decreased protection against pregnancy with the oral

contraceptive.