herebal use

"mlb" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I'm kind of new to the use of herbs and the effect they actually have.
I was just wondering if their was anyone out there using them and if
they can give me some feedback on them whether postive or negative.

There are many books available on the therapeutic uses of herbaceous plants,
but not all are authoritative. Many contain absolute nonsense like, "Ginseng
strengthens the immune system," or "Blue-green algae restore balance to the
body." Such meaningless blanket statements are not really useful to one
trying to use herbs medicinally.

But the real problem with turning to herbal medication is obtaining a
supply. Unless you grow your own, or stick with the common culinary herbs
you can buy at your supermarket, you have to trust your vendor completely to
sell you what you think you are buying. If you buy a carton of milk, or a
bottle of aspirins, you are assured that you are getting exactly what the
labels on their containers claim...no less and no unlabeled additives...as
regulated by the FDA. But herbs, sold as "nutritional supplements," are
entirely unregulated. If you purchase a bottle of capsules of, say,
"Feverfew," you have no assurance how much of the actual herb those capsules
contain, if any. You also have no way of knowing what ELSE is in those
capsules as filler. Neither the FDA no anyone else prevents the herb sellers
from filling their capsules with common weeds and selling them under many
labels at absurdly high prices. If you think this is not done, you are quite
naive.

So your quest for medicinal herbs is going to be difficult, both in finding
reliable information, and in finding reliable product.

Good Luck.

--Rich

As far as herbal "products", consumerslab.com ( which bills themselves
as an independent testing lab) can be useful. Unfortunately they are
currently only "rating" about 15 different herbals & their
manufacturers, but it's a start.

There is a "membership fee" for their complete reports, but you can
still get the names of at least a few brands that passed (or didn't)
their tests for "purity" & containing what their label purports they
contain, plus basic information on the herbs (or vitamins or...)
themselves. Purchasing herbs out of glass jars would be more
problematic.

"Rich Shewmaker" <[email hidden]> wrote in
news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

But the real problem with turning to herbal medication is obtaining a
supply. Unless you grow your own, or stick with the common culinary
herbs you can buy at your supermarket, you have to trust your vendor
completely to sell you what you think you are buying. If you buy a
carton of milk, or a bottle of aspirins, you are assured that you are
getting exactly what the labels on their containers claim...no less
and no unlabeled additives...as regulated by the FDA. But herbs, sold
as "nutritional supplements," are entirely unregulated. If you
purchase a bottle of capsules of, say, "Feverfew," you have no
assurance how much of the actual herb those capsules contain, if any.
You also have no way of knowing what ELSE is in those capsules as
filler. Neither the FDA no anyone else prevents the herb sellers from
filling their capsules with common weeds and selling them under many
labels at absurdly high prices. If you think this is not done, you are
quite naive.

If I were, for some reason, to decide that I ought to be taking, say,
feverfew, my first inclination would be to find a German supplier, since
Germany has meaningful (and strict) regulations for herbals. My
understanding is that Australia also at least in theory does a good job of
regulating "supplements," though the Pan scandal makes me wonder how well
the practice comes up to the theory. What do others think of this idea?
What other countries take herbals seriously enough to regulate them
properly?

"Eric Bohlman" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"Rich Shewmaker" <[email hidden]> wrote in
news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

But the real problem with turning to herbal medication is obtaining a
supply. Unless you grow your own, or stick with the common culinary
herbs you can buy at your supermarket, you have to trust your vendor
completely to sell you what you think you are buying. If you buy a
carton of milk, or a bottle of aspirins, you are assured that you are
getting exactly what the labels on their containers claim...no less
and no unlabeled additives...as regulated by the FDA. But herbs, sold
as "nutritional supplements," are entirely unregulated. If you
purchase a bottle of capsules of, say, "Feverfew," you have no
assurance how much of the actual herb those capsules contain, if any.
You also have no way of knowing what ELSE is in those capsules as
filler. Neither the FDA no anyone else prevents the herb sellers from
filling their capsules with common weeds and selling them under many
labels at absurdly high prices. If you think this is not done, you are
quite naive.

If I were, for some reason, to decide that I ought to be taking, say,
feverfew, my first inclination would be to find a German supplier, since
Germany has meaningful (and strict) regulations for herbals. My
understanding is that Australia also at least in theory does a good job of
regulating "supplements," though the Pan scandal makes me wonder how well
the practice comes up to the theory. What do others think of this idea?
What other countries take herbals seriously enough to regulate them
properly?

Strong belief that the Pan fiasco was a total setup , drug companies making
a huge push worldwide to gain control of the VERY lucrative alternative
health business .
You want the very best herbal products check out Neways .

---

Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
Version: 6.0.592 / Virus Database: 375 - Release Date: 18/02/2004

In article said:

Strong belief that the Pan fiasco was a total setup , drug companies making
a huge push worldwide to gain control of the VERY lucrative alternative
health business .

Yeah sure, those evil drug companies sneaked in during the dead of
night and messed up Pan's machinery to make it dirty and unreliable.

Quoted message said:

You want the very best herbal products check out Neways .

Oh, you mean those guys who publish all the [censored] about "toxins in the
home?" (The very same "toxins" that are present in their own
products.)

-- David Wright :: alphabeta at prodigy.net
These are my opinions only, but they're almost always correct.
"If I have not seen as far as others, it is because giants
were standing on my shoulders." (Hal Abelson, MIT)

Quoted message said:

"Rich Shewmaker" <[email hidden]> wrote in
news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

But the real problem with turning to herbal medication is obtaining a
supply. Unless you grow your own, or stick with the common culinary
herbs you can buy at your supermarket, you have to trust your vendor
completely to sell you what you think you are buying. If you buy a
carton of milk, or a bottle of aspirins, you are assured that you are
getting exactly what the labels on their containers claim...no less
and no unlabeled additives...as regulated by the FDA. But herbs, sold
as "nutritional supplements," are entirely unregulated. If you
purchase a bottle of capsules of, say, "Feverfew," you have no
assurance how much of the actual herb those capsules contain, if any.
You also have no way of knowing what ELSE is in those capsules as
filler. Neither the FDA no anyone else prevents the herb sellers from
filling their capsules with common weeds and selling them under many
labels at absurdly high prices. If you think this is not done, you are
quite naive.

If I were, for some reason, to decide that I ought to be taking, say,
feverfew, my first inclination would be to find a German supplier, since
Germany has meaningful (and strict) regulations for herbals. My
understanding is that Australia also at least in theory does a good job of
regulating "supplements," though the Pan scandal makes me wonder how well
the practice comes up to the theory. What do others think of this idea?
What other countries take herbals seriously enough to regulate them
properly?

From what I gather from discussing this with a licensed Acupuncturist is that
its more a matter of the company than the country. Austrailian GMP is,
according to him, a pretty good standard, but it is the integrity of the
companies that is crucial.

Some companies will document that their herbs tested clean and will also notify
when certain batches are destroyed due to contamination or if certain herbs are
newly banned. Furthermore, companies vary in how well they properly indentify
species of plants, manufacturing standards, and of course, truth in labeling.

There are some really reputable companies that operate in the USA. While few
produce standardized extracts, they do produce consistent batches that meet the
Australian GMP standards and are properly labeled. Since I won't advertise in
this non-commercial formula, I'll be glad to email my personal recommendations
to those who inquire.