09-17-2006, 04:32 AM
I would question the worthiness of alternative medicine altogther. An herbal remedy can act just as a perscription drug that you are taking. You don't know how it has performed and the studies and FDA approval just aren't there.
This is just one site that poped up on the net, it is related to pediatrics, I know, but there are plenty more sources to check it out. It is from the journal of the AMERICAN ACADEMY OF PEDIATRICS, not an unreliable unknown source.
It is totally up to you to be informed on what you are choosing to do. Personally I would not fool around with my own liver, I have seen too closely what it can be like with liver disease.
"Many herbal products are benign in nature; however, some of these therapies have potentially harmful side effects as well as adverse interactions with other medications. The regulation of herbal products falls under control of the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994. According to this act, producers are required to ensure safety and appropriate labeling of a product. Manufacturers and distributors are not required to actually demonstrate safety or efficacy of the product before placing it on the market.8 The ambiguity of ensuring but not actually demonstrating safety potentially allows herbal products to enter the market without having to provide actual evidence of safety or efficacy. Regulation by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) occurs only after reports appear of adverse effects related to products already in the marketplace. Recent examples of potentially harmful products include herbal fen-phen that contained both ephedra, which has been linked to cardiovascular problems, and L-tryptophan, which has been linked to eosinophilia myalgia syndrome.9–11 More recently the FDA has begun to focus on the relationship between kava kava use and possible hepatotoxicity.12 In light of the current regulatory situation, parents may incorrectly assume these products are adequately regulated and therefore safe."
http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cg.../111/5/981
Having another Great day in Paradise, Wherever that Maybe!
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TheLanai
This is just one site that poped up on the net, it is related to pediatrics, I know, but there are plenty more sources to check it out. It is from the journal of the AMERICAN ACADEMY OF PEDIATRICS, not an unreliable unknown source.
It is totally up to you to be informed on what you are choosing to do. Personally I would not fool around with my own liver, I have seen too closely what it can be like with liver disease.
"Many herbal products are benign in nature; however, some of these therapies have potentially harmful side effects as well as adverse interactions with other medications. The regulation of herbal products falls under control of the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994. According to this act, producers are required to ensure safety and appropriate labeling of a product. Manufacturers and distributors are not required to actually demonstrate safety or efficacy of the product before placing it on the market.8 The ambiguity of ensuring but not actually demonstrating safety potentially allows herbal products to enter the market without having to provide actual evidence of safety or efficacy. Regulation by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) occurs only after reports appear of adverse effects related to products already in the marketplace. Recent examples of potentially harmful products include herbal fen-phen that contained both ephedra, which has been linked to cardiovascular problems, and L-tryptophan, which has been linked to eosinophilia myalgia syndrome.9–11 More recently the FDA has begun to focus on the relationship between kava kava use and possible hepatotoxicity.12 In light of the current regulatory situation, parents may incorrectly assume these products are adequately regulated and therefore safe."
http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cg.../111/5/981
Having another Great day in Paradise, Wherever that Maybe!
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TheLanai
Lucy
Having another Great day in Paradise, Wherever that Maybe!
Having another Great day in Paradise, Wherever that Maybe!