Buyer beward: tips on use of herbal supplements

Published: Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2009 1:08 a.m. MST
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With rising herbal medicine sales paralleling a faltering economy, here are some tips from the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine on these dietary supplements:

• Know that herbal medicines aren't as strictly regulated as conventional medicines and that evidence on their safety and effectiveness is often lacking.

• Do your homework. Find out what scientific evidence exists about the product you're considering. A good resource is www.pubmed.gov, an online service from the National Library of Medicine and National Institutes of Health that contains summaries from published research.

• Tell your doctor or other health-care provider any time you plan to use an alternative treatment; recognize that these products can sometimes interfere with other drugs and may even cause dangerous side effects.

• Find out if your health insurance plan covers alternative medicines; many don't.

• Check out the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine's Web site, www.nccam.nih.gov, which contains helpful information for evaluating these products.

Recent comments

"safe natural remedies" that have neither been proven safe or...

... | Jan. 14, 2009 at 7:22 p.m.

To summarize: Most prescription drugs will kill you, herbal...

Anonymous | Jan. 14, 2009 at 3:19 p.m.

To summarize: most herbal supplements are snake oil.

... | Jan. 14, 2009 at 10:24 a.m.

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