Herbal Supplements Safety

[Guest guest]

I have to admit that I am a Discovery Health and Science Channel

nut. And there's an autopsy show that comes on called Dr. G Medical

Examiner. She's pretty light-weight and doesn't show anything like

HBO's Autopsy, but she has some interesting information on there as

to causes of death.

 

Okay, before you all think I'm morbid. There was a case that kind of

blew my mind.

 

There was a woman who died in her 50s and no one could figure out how

she died and Dr. G did the autopsy. The shows going on and on and

still she can't figure out what happened. This lady was pretty

health conscious and active and in good shape. So after talking with

her husband more turns out that she had been having some severe mood

swings, losing her hair, heart palpitations, stuff that would

indicate a chemical imbalance. Unfortunately, her blood was too old

to test, so they had to just keep searching in other ways. Turns out

this lady was taking about 40 herbal supplements a day, spending

upwards of $200 a month. The one that she found stuck out was the

supplement DHEA because her husband was taking it and he admitted to

having some heart palpitations while on it, but quit when he quit

taking the supplement after she died. She found out that even with

the limited testing that had been done on the herb, in combination

with others it can cause heart palpitations and cardiac aerythmia

(sorry too lazy to get a dictionary right now)and the best she could

conclude was this woman had died of severe cardiac aerythmia caused

by taking so many different supplements and/or bad combination of

supplements together mainly she thinks the DHEA.

 

I guess it raised a red flag in me because I know people who take

many herbal supplements and frequently recommend them to me along

with the disclaimer - hey, they're natural and they're safe.

However, many pharmaceuticals are made from natural plants also and

if there are natural plants that can kill you, then some of the so-

called safe plants can kill us too taken in the wrong dossage. I

have read about people popping St. John's Wort like it's candy

thinking, it's safe, I can just simply take more of it.

 

I just wanted to pass that information on that in case there are

anyone taking tons of supplements and are experiencing strange

symptoms, you may want to look into how many and what supplements you

are taking.

 

It's funny that when you see drug advertisements on television they

give you every side effect under the sun, but when there's an herbal

supplement ad there are none given and oftentimes touted as 100%

safe. I have voiced my concerns to others who have shooed it away

saying that it's just a scam by the evil pharmaceutical companies to

discredit herbal supplements.

 

Just something to think about.

 

Michele Madison Robles

[Guest guest]

Hi Michele,

 

Good points. Herbs and meds often don't mix well at all. If people

are using meds, they should always check for contraindications

before using herbs. IMHO, too many supplements or herbs can be toxic

whether you're using meds or not. More isn't usually better.

 

Of 119 plant-derived pharmaceutical medicines, about 74 percent are

used in modern medicine in ways that correlated directly with their

traditional uses as plant medicines by native cultures.

 

The supplement DHEA has many excellent qualities, but isn't for

everyone -- especially those at risk for prostate or breast cancer.

Heart issues are implicated with DHEA. 7-Keto acts in the same way

as DHEA without the associated risks. It comes in handy for those in

need of increasing testosterone (sex drive) without stimulating

estrogen receptors.

 

Diltiazem is the only med contraindicated with DHEA. Clonidine,

Fluoxetine and Insulin actually increase the need for DHEA.

 

All things in moderation,

Michelle

[Guest guest]

Point taken Michelle.

 

Ien in the Kootenays

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