Herb Cautions

Be Careful Before Taking Herbs 

Along with their perceived benefits and advantages, herbal drugs and medications are also know to cause low to moderate adverse effects, under very rare and some specific conditions. One of the greatest advantages of using herbs for providing good health and care is their relative safety and absence of harmful ingredients. Although these herbs are safe for treating many illnesses and disease symptoms, there are few herbs that could cause some sort of side effects at certain known dosages. Safe and sound use of herbs require some advanced knowledge, not only of what to use and the overall quantity to use, but also of what one should not consume.

Perceived toxicity and bad elements are not only the factors, to consider and assess while choosing a particular herb. You’ll need to know which herbs to use, at what levels and for which condition; more often we misuse most of the herbs and their wonderful qualities as a result of paucity of relevant knowledge. Some of the well-known herbs are currently grown at an alarmingly increasing rate, as a result of an excessive demand for those herbs. To increase the yield and harvest, people tend to use an exorbitant level of chemical fertilizers, and the chemical residues are always a big concern while consuming herbal drugs and medicines. Thus, you may also need to know, if the herbs you’re using are organic, commercial or certified.

Educate yourself about these herbs and ask your herb supplier some probing questions to guarantee that you’re getting only the highest quality herbs in the market. This could often create the biggest difference in the products you make at your home. If you’re looking for cheaper herbs, bear in mind that you may never get the quality you always wanted, but may end up in buying something whose quality is always doubtful.

Common Herbs To Be Aware of 

The overall subject of which herbs are safe and which are not, is always a big debate and often ends up confusing. To help you out, here are some of the herbs that could cause some sort of mild to moderate side effects: 

• St. John's Wort is the most well-known herb that mimics the function of monoamine oxidase (MAO) inhibitor. MAO is generally used as antidepressant to treat depression in people. When you take this herb along with synthetic MAO inhibitors, you may observe a steep spike in the blood pressure that can cause seizures and strokes. Never mix this herb along with synthetic MAO inhibitors and if at all you’re using both, provide sufficient gap between successive dosages.
• During pregnancy and lactation, you may avoid some type of herbs like alfalfa, aloe vera, angelica root, buckthorn bark, burdock root, ginger, ginseng, goldenseal, helonius root, motherwort, mugwort, myrrh, Oregon grape, rhubarb and vetiver. In essence, it is better off to avoid, anything that causes an increase in menstrual flow and those substances that induce abortion.

You may also need to be on your guard, while purchasing commercially available and over the counter herbal drugs that are sold in pre-packaged forms. You may not be getting what you’re paying for these drugs. Most of the commercial drugs that are sold in the market contain inert fillers and very cheap quality additives which are very low in potency and effectiveness. As a result, you’ll need to take enough caution while purchasing herbs and their derivatives. The best alternative for anyone would be to create their own herbal medicine by using authenticated, fully organic and residue free ingredients.