A US-based doctor has made a case for pharmaceutical booklet labels for herbal remedies.
Writing for the Huffington Post, Dr Glenn D Braunstein, chairman of the department of medicine at Cedars-Sinai, said that alternative medicine is big business, but warned people to seek advice from their doctors or pharmacists before mixing them with traditional medicines.
He said while herbal remedies have a harmless reputation, certain supplements can hold hidden dangers.
Referring to common depression treatment, St. John's Wort, he said that "the list of potentially harmful interactions with other drugs - increased bleeding in women taking oral contraceptions, for example - reads like the fine print warning on prescription drug labels".
Dr Braunstein said that while keeping an open mind to treatment is fine, people need to be more aware of the dangers.
This is something that pharmaceutical booklet labels could help to address.
Indeed, the Canadian Medical Association Journal recently suggested that natural health products should be subject to the same regulations as clinical drugs.
Denny Bros Ltd, 11 January 2012
