Scaremongering on Herbs

[talon]

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE60P6EU20100126

OK, the article only listed three herbs: ginger, chamomile, and ephedra. Ginger and chamomile, contrary to the article, have extensive research and testing done for pregnant women [1] and have proven to be both effective and without any side effects to the unborn. Ephedra is commonly (and erroneously) used to induce miscarriage or to (erroneously) control weight gain. The articles doesn't say how many used ephedra, but I'm guessing it will be a low number because ephedra exaggerates the discomforts of pregnancy and will be discontinued rather quickly.

I truly dislike this sort of fear-mongering article that offers no substantive information, no hint of genuine research by the author, and cherry-picking the most negative statements from the one paper the author did skim. This kind of "journalism" is worse than the sensationalist yellow journalism of newspaper history because it is deliberately misleading and comes with an agenda: pregnant women must suffer.

The facts are easily available, and since herbal medicine and pharmacology is gaining new legitimacy, partly through a name change from "herbal medicine" and "herbal pharmacology" to "phytotherapy". There are universities now offering medical degrees in phytotherapy. What all people fail to realize is that the vast majority of medicine derives from herbs. Plants are the primary source for the chemicals used in creating drugs. I think a lot of these authors forget that, since pills, syrups, suppositories, and serums don't look like tinctures, decoctions, or powders.

As I am a phytotherapist, I can speak to this subject with professional authority. I dislike this kind of sloppy journalism especially when it is aimed at reducing health care for pregnant women and increasing their discomfort and compromising their health at a time when they need to maintain peak health.

I fully endorse the hint that ephedra is bad for pregnant women - I think it's an herb that must be monitored regardless of the person taking it. There are a lot of medicinal herbs that need monitoring when administered to a patient, and there are contraindications, drug interactions, allergies, and dosages to consider. A trained, licensed phytotherapist can assist a doctor in these treatments in the same way a pharmacist can assist a doctor in the use of allopathic drugs. Like a pharmacist, a true phytotherapist is not a doctor and does not diagnose or supervise treatment. A phytotherapist knows herbal medicines, can compound any medication a doctor prescribes from raw sources, and can monitor and educate patients on the uses of these simples and compounds.

The problem arises when people self-diagnose and self-treat without any real understanding of what they are doing.

The blessing of self-administered herbal therapies is that most people take beverage or culinary level doses instead of medicinal level ones and so avoid both the healing properties of herbs and the side effects, thus rendering it predominantly harmless.

[1] Here's a short and far from comprehensive list of the research done. Most of the research is in journals you'll have to pay to read online, but should be available to read for free in libraries (particularly medical libraries), hence no links. And there are a few websites at the end from people who are actively conducting research into phytotherapy (formerly known as herbal medicine).

Ali BH, Blunden G, Tanira MO, Nemmar A. Some phytochemical, pharmacological and toxicological properties of ginger (Zingiber officinale Roscoe): a review of recent research. Food Chem Toxicol. 2008;46(2):409-20.

Blumenthal M, Goldberg A, Brinckmann J. Herbal Medicine: Expanded Commission E Monographs. Boston, Mass: Integrative Medicine Communications; 2000;153-159.

Bone ME, Wilkinson DJ, Young JR, McNeil J, Charlton S. Ginger root--a new antiemetic. The effect of ginger root on postoperative nausea and vomiting after major gynaecological surgery. Anaesthesia. 1990;45(8):669-71.

Ernst E, Pittler MH. Efficacy of ginger for nausea and vomiting: a systematic review of randomized clinical trials. B J Anaesth. 2000;84(3):367-371.

Fischer-Rasmussen W, Kjaer SK, Dahl C, Asping U. Ginger treatment of hyperemesis gravidarum. Eur J Obstet Gynecol Reprod Biol. 1991 Jan 4;38(1):19-24.

Heck AM, DeWitt BA, Lukes AL. Potential interactions between alternative therapies and warfarin. Am J Health Syst Pharm. 2000;57(13):1221-1227.

Langner E, Greifenberg S, Gruenwald J. Ginger: history and use. Adv Ther. 1998;15(1):25-44.

Portnoi G, Chng LA, Karimi-Tabesh L, et al. Prospective comparative study of the safety and effectiveness of ginger for the treatment of nausea and vomiting in pregnancy. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2003;189(5):1374-1377.

Sripramote M, Lekhyananda N. A randomized comparison of ginger and vitamin B6 in the treatment of nausea and vomiting of pregnancy. J Med Assoc Thai. 2003;86(9):846-853.

Vutyavanich T, Kraisarin T, Ruangsri R. Ginger for nausea and vomiting in pregnancy: randomized, double-masked, placebo-controlled trial. Obstet Gynecol. 2001;97(4):577-582.

Willetts KE, Ekangaki A, Eden JA. Effect of a ginger extract on pregnancy-induced nausea: a randomised controlled trial. Aust N Z J Obstet Gynaecol. 2003;43(2):139-144.

Rivera, J. O., M. Ortiz, M. E. Lawson, and K. M. Verma. "Evaluation of the Use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine in the Largest United States-Mexico Border City." Pharmacotherapy 22 (February 2002): 256-264

Tyler, V. E. Herbs of Choice - The Therapeutic Use of Phytomedicinals, Binghamton, New York: Pharmaceutical Products Press, 1994.

Foster, S. Chamomile, Botanical Series, No. 307. Austin, Texas, American Botanical Council, 1991.

ESCOP. Proposal for a European Monograph on the Medicinal Use of Matricariae Flos (Chamomile Flowers). Brussels, ESCOP, 1990.

Tyler, V. and S. Foster. "Herbs and Phytomedicinal Products." In Handbook of Nonprescription Drugs, 11th ed. Washington, D.C.: American Pharmaceutical Association, 1996.

Barnes, J., L.A. Anderson, and J. D. Phillipson. Herbal Medicines: A Guide for Health-Care Professionals. 3rd ed. London: The Pharmaceutical Press, 2007.

Reuter, H.D. 1995. Allium sativum and Allium ursinum: Part 2 Pharmacology and Medicinal Application. Phytomedicine 2(1):73-91


http://www.herbsguide.net/

http://www.emedicinal.com/

http://www.medherb.com/

http://www.naturalmedicinesofnc.org/

http://www.bastyr.edu/development/garden/herbgarden.asp

http://www.herbnet.com/

http://www.swsbm.com/homepage/

http://www.herbal-medicine.org/

http://www.merck.com/mmhe/sec25/ch310/ch310a.html

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginformation.html

http://www.amfoundation.org/

http://nccam.nih.gov/