herbal supplements
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Fitango EducationHealth Topics
Herbal Supplements
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Overview
An herb is a plant or plant part used for
its scent, flavor or therapeutic properties. Herbal medicine products are dietary supplements that
people take to improve their health. Many herbs have been used for a long time
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Overview
for claimed health benefits. They are sold as tablets, capsules, powders, teas,
extracts and fresh or dried plants. However, some can cause health problems,
some are not effective and some may interact with other drugs you are taking.
To use an herbal product as safely as
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Overview
possible:
-- Consult your doctor first
-- Do not take a bigger dose than the label
recommends
-- Take it under the guidance of a trained
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Overview
medical professional
-- Be especially cautious if you are pregnant
or nursing
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Additional Information
Standardization is
a process that manufacturers may use to ensure batch-to-batch consistency of
their products. In some cases, standardization involves identifying specific
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Additional Information
chemicals (also known as markers) that can be used to manufacture a consistent
product. The standardization process can also provide a measure of quality
control.
Dietary supplements are not required to be
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Additional Information
standardized in the United States. In fact, no legal or regulatory definition
exists for standardization in the United States as it applies to botanical
dietary supplements. Because of this, the term "standardization" may
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Additional Information
mean many different things. Some manufacturers use the term standardization
incorrectly to refer to uniform manufacturing
practices; following a recipe is not sufficient for a product to be called
standardized. Therefore, the presence of the word "standardized" on a
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Additional Information
supplement label does not necessarily indicate product quality.
Ideally, the chemical markers chosen for
standardization would also be the constituents that are responsible for a
botanical's effect in the body. In this way, each lot of
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Additional Information
the product would have a consistent health effect. However, the components
responsible for the effects of most botanicals have not been identified or
clearly defined. For example, the sennosides in
the botanical senna are
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Additional Information
known to be responsible for the laxativeeffect
of the plant, but many compounds may
be responsible for valerian's relaxing
effect.
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Safety of Supplements
Many people believe that products labeled
"natural" are safe and good for them. This is not necessarily true
because the safety of a botanical depends on many things, such as its chemical
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Safety of Supplements
makeup, how it works in the body, how it is prepared, and the dose used.
The action of botanicals range from mild to
powerful (potent). A botanical with mild action may have subtle effects. Chamomile and peppermint,
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Safety of Supplements
both mild botanicals, are usually taken as teas to aid digestion and
are generally considered safe for self-administration.
Some mild botanicals may have to be taken for weeks or months before their full
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Safety of Supplements
effects are achieved. For example, valerian may be effective as a sleep aid
after 14 days of use but it is rarely effective after just one dose. In
contrast a powerful botanical produces a fast result. Kava,
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Safety of Supplements
as one example, is reported to have an immediate and powerful action affecting
anxiety and muscle relaxation.
The dose and form of a botanical
preparation also play important roles in its safety. Teas, tinctures, and
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Safety of Supplements
extracts have different strengths. The same amount of a botanical may be
contained in a cup of tea, a few teaspoons of tincture, or an even smaller
quantity of an extract. Also, different preparations vary in the relative
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Safety of Supplements
amounts and concentrations of chemical removed from the whole botanical. For
example, peppermint tea is generally considered safe to drink but peppermint
oil is much more concentrated and can be toxic if
used incorrectly. It is important to follow the manufacturer's suggested
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Safety of Supplements
directions for using a botanical and not exceed the recommended dose without
the advice of a health
care provider.
