Herbal Medicine Dangers
Reported August 27, 2008
(Ivanhoe Newswire) — Ordering herbal medicines on the Internet may put your health at risk.
In a recent study, researchers found one fifth of Ayurvedic medicines — a form of medicine that relies heavily on herbal products — manufactured in the United States and India that were purchased on the Internet contain lead, mercury or arsenic.
Of the products containing metals, 75 percent came from websites that claimed Good Manufacturing Practices or testing for heavy metals.
This study highlights the need for Congress to revisit the way dietary supplements are regulated in the U.S., lead author Robert Saper, M.D., director of integrative medicine in the Family Medicine Department at Boston University School of Medicine, was quoted as saying. We suggest strictly enforced, government mandated daily dose limits for toxic metals in all dietary supplements and requirements that all manufacturers demonstrate compliance through independent third-party testing.
SOURCE: The Journal of the American Medical Association, 2008;300