Herbal remedies have risks.

As alternative therapies take their place alongside traditional medicine, more choices are available to fitness enthusiasts for the promotion of optimum health and fitness. But certain warnings need to be made clear. Although the 20th century brought many advances in pharmaceutical technique, herbal treatments have not kept pace. Marketing hypes unproven remedies. Companies sell contaminated products. Many people may be self-treating with herbs without ruling out possible underlying illness.

Key to the problem is that herbal treatments are considered food supplement,s and therefore are not regulated by the FDA. The result is that concentration, quality, and possible contamination is not monitored. Recent reports include toxicity associated with several herbal preparations. A body-building supplement called RenewTrient caused dangerous neurological side effects; an internal cleansing product was contaminated with digitalis; the California Department of Health Services reported that 83 of 260 imported Chinese herbal medicines contained substances not listed on the label, including heavy metals and potentially toxic pharmaceuticals. You only have to recall Tryptophan, an amino acid marketed as a sleep aid which caused serious side effects, even some deaths. Tryptophan was eventually banned by the FDA in 1989.

If you want to try an herbal treatment, how can you know what you're getting? It is difficult for the consumer to protect himself from these kinds of problems. Clearly, legislation ought to hold herbal treatments to the same standard as other pharmaceuticals. Until that happens, be certain that you purchase preparations from well-established companies, and choose treatments that have been tested in clinical trials (like St. John's wort for the treatment of depression, as an example). It is also a good idea not to diagnose or treat yourself. Let your doctor rule out serious disease first. Many symptoms may seem simple--headaches, fatigue, constipation, to name a few--but they may be your only signal that a more serious disease is present.

(The New England Journal of Medicine, 1998, Vol. 339, No. 12, pp 839-41)