A new NIH database provides great info on the effects and interactions of natural medicines
Posted 04.18.2008 at 12:18 pm
2 Comments
Belladonna: medicine or deadly poison? You decide.
Perhaps you’re the type of health nut who takes four or five different vitamin concoctions each morning to support weight loss, anti-aging, good digestion, clear skin and high energy. Or maybe you’re just curious about the medicinal effects of black tea, cranberry juice and licorice. Well, you’re in for a treat. The NIH has put together a very good database of the results of numerous studies about natural remedies, detailing the demonstrated effects on the human body, recommended doses and contraindications.
Many Americans believe that just because a capsule or tincture comes from a health food store and is filled with plant-derived ingredients, it’s safe. But “natural” doesn’t equal “good for you.” (Consider the effects of belladonna, which can be used to treat eye diseases—or as a lethal poison). Plants can contain potent chemicals that might interact with your prescription medications in unexpected ways.
Feeling blue and considering taking St. John’s wort? Do a little research before popping a pill. Turns out the “happy herb” can interact badly with SSRI antidepressants, birth control, antibiotics, chemotherapy drugs… and even Imodium.
Want to learn more about breakthroughs in electronics, medicine, nanotech, and more?
Subscribe to Popular Science today, for less than $1 per issue!
Subscribe to Popular Science today, for less than $1 per issue!
2 Comments
To comment, please Login.
138 years of Popular Science at your fingertips.
Innovation Challenges
Popular Science+ For iPad
Each issue has been completely reimagined for your iPad. See our amazing new vision for magazines that goes far beyond the printed page
Download Our App
Stay up to date on the latest news of the future of science and technology from your iPhone or Android phone with full articles, images and offline viewing
Follow Us On Twitter
Featuring every article from the magazine and website, plus links from around the Web. Also see our PopSci DIY feed
.jpg)
February 2012: The Future of Fun
Science is reinventing play, from extreme sports to gamification to ridiculous roller coasters to the playgrounds of tomorrow, and this issue is chock full of fun. Also, on a less fun note: Did global warming destroy my hometown?
Popular on Popsci
Most Viewed
Science
- Gallery: The Best Way to Unbuild a Dam
- This Week in the Future, February 6-10, 2012
- The Most Amazing Science Images of the Week, February 6-10, 2012
- Images of the Week, February 6-10, 2012
- A Smartphone That Detects Whether Its User Is Depressed
- Found: The Oldest Animal Ever on Planet Earth
- Video Microscopy Unveils the Tricks of Nature's Toughest Glue, Oozed By a Bacterium
- 3-D Laser Maps Show How Major Quakes Rend the Earth
- Doctors Grow Parkinsonian Human Brain Cells In Vitro, Shedding Light on the Genetics of the Disease
- An Oral History of Extreme Sports
Most Emailed
Science
- This Week in the Future, February 6-10, 2012
- The Most Amazing Science Images of the Week, February 6-10, 2012
- Images of the Week, February 6-10, 2012
- A Smartphone That Detects Whether Its User Is Depressed
- Found: The Oldest Animal Ever on Planet Earth
- Video Microscopy Unveils the Tricks of Nature's Toughest Glue, Oozed By a Bacterium
- 3-D Laser Maps Show How Major Quakes Rend the Earth
- Doctors Grow Parkinsonian Human Brain Cells In Vitro, Shedding Light on the Genetics of the Disease
- An Oral History of Extreme Sports
- 200,000-Year-Old Patch of Seagrass Is the World's Oldest Living Organism
Most Commented
Science
- Russian Scientists Drilling into "Alien" Antarctic Lake Vostok Fall Silent
- 10-Year-Old Accidentally Creates New Molecule in Science Class
- Should Scientists Be Held Legally Responsible for Their Results?
- Hilarious "Theory of Everything" Paper Provokes Kerfuffle
- FYI: Do Animals Dream?
- New Climate Change Culprit: Chilean Man Stealing Glaciers to Put In Cocktails
- The Best Way to Unbuild a Dam
- Zapping Testicles With Ultrasonic Pulses Shown To Be Effective Contraceptive
- MIT Scientist Offers $100,000 to Anyone Who Can Prove Quantum Computing Is Impossible
- Found: The Oldest Animal Ever on Planet Earth
Today on PopSci.com
Copyright © 2009 Popular Science
A Bonnier Corporation Company. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.
True, herbal medicines, just like many other substances, can have adverse health effects. Standard pharmaceutical drugs can have just as bad or worse effects as some botanicals. Natural medicines are generally well tolerated, however (after all, we evolved with nature).
I appreciate your information about interactions. It's something that just can't be over-documented.
Bodybuilders find it useful for several reasons:
1. It offsets the stress and fatigue associated with intensive training.
2. It helps in the retention of muscular protein.
3. It heightens mental alertness thus helping to offset mental fatigue.
-------------
johnsmith
Supplements from Foods
A Canadian company, Naturally Nova Scotia, makes supplements from foods instead of synthetics. The have vitamin C from fruit, herbal tinctures, green drinks, vitamin D3, and others.