Online Herbal Products Not Safe

from the yeah,-real-shocker dept

This shouldn't be a huge surprise to most people, but a new study of supposedly "herbal remedies" available online turned up the fact that many are dangerous to your health. Despite claims to be "all natural", many contain aristolochic acid, which has been linked to cancer and kidney failure. Of course, this comes just a month after a study found that many of those pills were "contaminated with fecal matter".
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  • identicon
    TAD, 15 Oct 2003 @ 4:27pm

    No Subject Given

    It'll be a shame if the FDA uses this as an excuse to ban all herbal supplements. Most supplements from reputable vendors (Solaray, others) are safe...

    I rely on a supplement - Peppermint Oil (is that herbal?) to help with an uncomfortable digestive ailment. I will be very upset if this is taken away from me...

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    dorpus, 15 Oct 2003 @ 6:49pm

    Herbal Mass Murder Methods

    The English Yew, a common ornamental garden plant, contains one of the most powerful plant toxins in the world. Yew is known as the “tree of death,” dedicated to the gods of death. Yew leaf extracts were frequently used for murder and suicide; Caesar wrote about Catuvolcus, one of the kings of Eburones, who chose death from Taxus baccata rather than be taken prisoner. Yew contains a cardio-depressant called taxine, which causes sudden death 1-3 hours after ingestion. A single cup of herbal tea will kill an adult human.
    Now, if such herbal tea packets were placed at the local Starbucks, could we instigate a yuppie holocaust?

    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      dorpus, 15 Oct 2003 @ 7:05pm

      Re: Herbal Mass Murder Methods

      Another powerful hallucinogen, jimsonweed, is described in most texts as merely causing hallucinations and convulsions. The lesser known medical fact is that it causes specific hallucinations of little green men, and may be responsible for the legend of the leprechaun; the plant's hallucinogenic properties were first discovered (by Westerners) when a British soldier camped in rural Virginia during the American Revolution decided to have a salad.

      From http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/838/10287

      Some teens, after reading an article about these effects, craved the side effect of these seeds. Now several are in the hospital with strong hallucinations. One of them is in critical condition. One thought the ambulance that came to get him was an alien space craft. That is no laughing matter. This kid really thought he and his friends were being abducted by little green men. A girl, who tried the seeds last summer, thought her Mother was running over little kids with her car.



      link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    herbie, 16 Oct 2003 @ 5:04am

    In other news.....

    Some stadard pharmaceutical products were today described as having dangerous side-effects........

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Jeff, 16 Oct 2003 @ 7:13am

    supplements

    You have to keep in mind that herbal remedies pose a threat to big money pharmaceutical companies. Any kind of bad publicity they can give them they will.

    I don't doubt that a lot of the herbal remedies are bogus, but there are some that are not. There are some that improved my health dramatically after conventional pharmaceuticals failed.

    You'll see a surge in these herbal remedies in the near future, especially w/ the ever increasing health problems caused by candida albicans. The pharmaceutical companies will smear any claim that candida is a problem and call it quackery, but that is just because there is a lot of money to be lost.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Anonymous Coward, 16 Oct 2003 @ 8:13am

      Re: supplements

      My father got arsenic poisining from "mineral supplements". While there is some debate that he may already have had some arsenic build-up in his system from his childhood helping gramps (who was an exterminator), the fact remains that the supplements had arsenic in them. He lost touch at the end of his hands and feet for a few years before recovering.

      link to this | view in chronology ]

      • identicon
        Jeff McHugh, 5 Nov 2003 @ 11:18am

        Re: supplements

        Well I never said I support supplements w/ arsenic in them.
        I support supplement from reputable dealers. I get mine from Metagenics.

        link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      dorpus, 16 Oct 2003 @ 10:28am

      Re: supplements

      I'm just curious, what is the basis for your claim that pharmaceutical companies somehow deny that the fungus candida albicans cause health problems? What health problems do you claim they cause?

      link to this | view in chronology ]

      • identicon
        Jeff McHugh, 5 Nov 2003 @ 11:04am

        Re: supplements

        Sorry. I just now saw your post....

        An overgrowth of candida can cause food allergies, chronic fatigue, multiple chemical sensitivity, and fibromyalgia....among other things. I would even link it to obesity because of the intense food cravings that it causes. Candida thrives on sugar. They're is a lot of information out there. Check out http://www.doctorfungus.org

        link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Jeff, 3 Nov 2003 @ 1:40pm

      Re: supplements

      You have to keep in mind that herbal remedies pose a threat to big money pharmaceutical companies. Any kind of bad publicity they can give them they will.

      I don't doubt that a lot of the herbal remedies are bogus, but there are some that are not. There are some that improved my health dramatically after conventional pharmaceuticals failed.

      You'll see a surge in these herbal remedies in the near future, especially w/ the ever increasing health problems caused by candida albicans. The pharmaceutical companies will smear any claim that candida is a problem and call it quackery, but that is just because there is a lot of money to be lost.

      link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    jackjames, 18 Feb 2009 @ 1:52am

    Supplements from Foods

    Hello everyone, I'm a newbie to website design and being a this site. I'm stopping by a few sites to pick up tips and get answers from people who know a lot more about this that I do! A Canadian company, Naturally Nova Scotia, makes supplements from foods instead of synthetics. The have vitamin C from fruit, herbal tinctures, green drinks, vitamin D3, and others. Supplements from Foods

    link to this | view in chronology ]


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