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People are trying a lot of ways to save money in this down economy, including turning to herbal medication to save money. But how can you make sure you're taking something that's safe?
The Associated Press says sales of herbal medicines have gone up in the past year. The main reason is they're usually cheaper.
Eastside Natural Health Clinic Licensed Naturopathic Physician Uli Knorr said, "It makes sense that people may be looking for more low-cost methods of health care."
Knorr says traditional doctors may scoff at herbal medicine. "It's kind of unfortunate because there are, really, some good herbal medicines out there that have proven efficacy," he said.
Knorr says some people may think taking herbal medicine automatically means avoiding conventional pharmaceuticals, but that's not the case.
"Often they can be combined and in some cases they can even augment the efficacy of each other," he said.
Dr. Ina Amber said, "I believe one misconception that can be dangerous for the patient is to think you can substitute a pharmaceutical drug for an herb."
Some medical doctors, like Dr. Amber, will also prescribe herbal medicines, depending on the case. But the FDA doesn't regulate these medications, so she says you need to become a very savvy consumer.
"There are problems, or have been problems particularly in some of the herbs from China where they rinsed the herbs in water using lead pipes," she explained.
She says other herbs could be doctored with pharmaceuticals, so naturally you'd feel like they work just as well as regular medicine. But she says there are herbs, even from China, that are reputable. You just need to see if they're tested for heavy metals, pharmaceuticals and pesticides.
"Your practitioner may have that information. Hopefully they will, or they can contact the company," she said.
She says patients need to be clear with their traditional doctors or the naturopathic physicians what medications and herbs they're taking, because there can be some bad interactions.
E-mail: pnelson@ksl.com
