If you are currently taking medications for depression, HIV, heart disease, cancer, or epilepsy, you should avoid using herbal medicines in your treatment, a new scientific review suggests.
The study, published last month in the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology, found that combining common herbal supplements with cancer treatments, antidepressants, statins and other drugs can lead to serious complications. I’m warning you. St. John’s wort, cranberries, goji juice, green tea, sage, flaxseed, ginkgo biloba, and ginseng can all cause adverse effects.
The study, led by Dr. Charles Awotwe of Stellenbosch University in Tygerberg, South Africa, found dozens of cases in which alternative treatments diluted or increased the efficacy of drugs or caused other potentially harmful side effects. The following cases were investigated.
“Taking herbal and prescription medicines is a common practice, especially for patients with high blood pressure, diabetes, cancer, stroke and depression,” Awaltwe told The Telegraph, commenting on the real-life implications of his research. did.
“Evaluation of herbs with clinically relevant herbal drug interactions and subsequent mechanistic studies published to alert both clinicians and patients of the need to avoid the combination of certain herbal medicines with certain prescription drugs.” “It needs to be done,” he said.
Overall, almost 30% of the patient cases investigated in this study had serious complications when combining herbal supplements and drug therapy.
Among the concerning cases are cancer patients whose medicines no longer worked after taking ginseng, HIV-infected people whose blood virus levels rose dramatically after taking ginkgo biloba supplements, and transplant patients who took chamomile. In some cases, patients have rejected kidneys. Taking St. John’s wort can also cause internal bleeding in patients taking blood-thinning medications.
The study authors warned that the risks are especially acute for middle-aged and older patients. In general, combining herbal and drug treatments can lead to “life-threatening adverse drug events, prolonged hospitalization, and loss of life,” according to the researchers.
“If you are taking any herbal remedies, you should disclose this to your doctor,” Dr. Awaltwe said, according to the Guardian. “The potential interactions and their consequences could be extremely detrimental to patient health.”
Commenting on the study, Dr Sotiris Antonio of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society said: ‘If you are taking herbal medicines, tell your doctor or pharmacist to make sure they are safe to take them. “It is used in conjunction with statins and warfarin, and there are no interactions that could increase the risk of side effects,” the Daily Mail reports.
Dr. Edzard Ernst, Emeritus Professor of Complementary Medicine at the University of Exeter, also commented on the study, saying it demonstrated that natural treatments can still have significant biological effects.
“They can be harmful to many patients who use herbal remedies,” Ernst said. “Therefore, it is important to warn consumers about the risks and ask them to think twice before self-treating with herbal remedies.”
Previous studies have shown that natural supplements and multivitamins have little, if any, effect in slowing the progression of cognitive decline in chronic diseases such as heart disease and cancer. A 2013 review of 27 clinical trials conducted by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force led three prominent doctors to publish an editorial arguing that taking vitamins and minerals is a waste of money.
“The message is simple: Most supplements do not prevent chronic disease or death. Their use is unwarranted and should be avoided,” doctors wrote at the time, according to Scientific America.
“Supplementing a well-nourished adult diet with (most) mineral and vitamin supplements has no clear benefit and may even be harmful,” the researchers warned.
Patients need to be more aware of the potential negative effects of such supplements, especially when combined with medicines, scientists warn.
A spokesperson for the UK Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Authority said: “There’s a reason why prescription-only medicines require prescription only. Medicines are powerful and their use requires monitoring of treatment and side effects. “They need to be supervised by a medical professional so they can deal with it.” The agency revealed.
“If you are taking medication and also taking herbal medicines, please read the patient information provided and contact your health care professional if you have further questions.”
