Is it safe to take herbs?
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Many new patients come to us and say, "My doctor told me not to take herbs!" Or, my doctor told me that "We don’t know what's in herbs and they may not be safe."
This is one of the most common concerns among new patients of our clinic. Here is my response taken from a recent e-mail exchange with one of our patients:
This concern about herbal medicines is common among MD's, and is understandable. It is true when most doctors say that they "don't know what's in them." And, understandably, people are often skeptical and concerned about those things that they do not understand.
However, we do know exactly what is in them. We make all of our herbal formulas ourselves and control every ingredient. Many doctors are concerned because they assume that all herbal remedies are formulated, processed and packaged in China, and that ingredients may be contaminated or mislabeled. Especially in light of the spate of recent news headlines involving product safety hazards from China, any apprehension on the part of the medical community seems quite reasonable.
However, our clinic does not use any such pre-packaged herbal products. We import only raw, unprocessed substances and then do all of the preparations onsite at our clinic.
The concern over the "safety of herbs" from our clinic would be akin to a nutritionist telling you to "never eat in restaurants." After all, we don't know what they put in the food! Technically, this is true. When you go to a restaurant, you do not know every detail of kitchen procedure, or every detail of how each ingredient was farmed or processed. For the most part, we simply have to go on the reputation of the restaurant and eat what they prepare without knowing all the details, thus entering into a kind of "good faith" agreement.
All of the practitioners of our clinics are licensed and regulated by the Texas State Board of Medical Examiners. This is the same agency that licenses and regulates your all of the doctors and surgeons in Texas. Preparing and prescribing herbal medicines is within the scope of our practice, and thus sanctioned by the Medical Board. If they did not consider this practice to be safe, or if they felt that it presented clear hazards, they would not continue to sanction its practice.
This is not to say that all herbs are safe. There have been confirmed cases of dietary supplements and herbal products being contaminated or dangerous. We do not personally endorse all forms of “Herbal Medicine,” nor do we stand behind every kind of herbal supplement. But we do stand by the quality of the products that we provide and recommend to our patients, as they are under our direct control during processing.
Always be sure to keep us informed of any updates or changes in your prescription medications, so that we can be sure to monitor any drug/herb interactions closely. And also let us know if you are self prescribing any additional over-the-counter herbs or supplements, so that we can evaluate the interactions between all of your herbs.