Areas Of Caution When Using Herb Treatments And Herbal Remedies

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Areas Of Caution When Using Herb Treatments And Herbal Remedies


In turn, the difficulty in isolating the active ingredients in herbs has led to the development of a method known as herbal standardization.

With herbal standardization, an extract of a whole herb is first made (eg. through decoction), then concentrated until specific known ingredients in the extract reach pre-determined concentrations. These ingredients, however, may not be the active ingredients responsible for the effects of the herbs, but may merely be “tags” used for the purpose of standardization. The concentrated extracts are then made into tablets, capsules or bottled as liquid extracts, with the concentration of the “tag” ingredient(s) listed on the product labels. [3]

Such a process is still not perfect, since two batches of herbs with the same concentration of “tag” ingredients can still differ drastically in the unlisted or unidentified active components, which are the more crucial ingredients. Nonetheless, at least it allows for partial standardization and a certain level of reproducibility. [3]

Subsequently, naturopaths like Dr Steve Bratman or Syd Baumel recommended the use of standardized herbal extracts produced by reputable manufacturers, or even the actual herbal products tested in double-blind studies, where possible [3, 5].


Regulation of the herbal product industry

When it comes to the use of herbal remedies and treatments for ailments, there is also a concern that the current regulation of the herb industry is not yet at a desired standard.
Standardization via “tag” ingredients, instead of the active ingredients, allows for the possibility that unscrupulous manufacturers use inferior material that contains high concentrations of the “tag” ingredient in production, as such leading to herbal products of lower efficacy.
Studies have also shown that some herbal supplement products differ in their actual content from what is indicated on the labels – the dosage or percentage of active ingredients may vary from what the labels claim, even for major brands. [5]

Either way, this means that it should not come as a surprise if one brand of a particular herbal supplement product works better for you than another brand of the same herbal product. Subsequently, it is advised [5] that you rely on recommendations and company reputation when selecting a brand for herbal products.


Contamination

There are also instances where herbal products sold over the counter are found to contain dangerous contaminants not listed on the label. Again, this means that until the regulation of herbal treatment products in your area is tightened, it is very important to choose only reliable brands when using herbal products. [5]


Conclusion

After learning about the areas of caution when using herbal remedies and treatments, you might start becoming rather wary of using herbs to treat your ailments naturally.

Hence, at this point, we would like to remind you that much research have shown the effectiveness of herbal remedies for ailments – they can be as effective as conventional drugs, but without the problems of side effects.

As such, the above areas of caution should not deter you from using herbal treatments for your ailments. Instead, they should facilitate your herbal treatment process, as they are meant to guide you in using herbs more safely and effectively.


See next page for the references used.

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