Herbal remedies, heart drugs a dangerous combo

Taking both of these do sound like a really bad idea! I believe that if you are going to take prescription drugs and over-the-counter drugs you should NOT be taking herbal remedies, because of the fact that most people do not use both at the same time, they, until recently had not been tested together so people did not know the potential side effects. "'These products are not by themselves dangerous,' says the lead author, Dr. Arshad Jahangir" proving that neither drug is unhealthy or unsafe just that together they can be a potentially lethal combination.

The article goes on to discuss how certain Herbal Remedies (ginseng, ginkgo, garlic, black cohosh, St. John's wort, hawthorn, saw palmetto, and echinacea) can significantly dilute or strengthen heart medications, neither side effect is good. Dilution would cause the body to not get the full dose that is required. Strengthening would cause the body to over-react, as there is too much of the substance within the bodies organs. I now can see how this would affect a person, Herbal Remedies are typically stronger than prescription drugs because of the fact that the doses are not as easily measured, and often times as the article says the drugs are not created to work with herbal solutions. With that being said the CDC urges people to consult their Doctor before taking Herbal Remedies while on prescription medications.

Living in America I have the liberty to say what I think, so I am going to take this opportunity to share my thoughts on Herbal Remedies, Prescription drugs, and how the combination is a dangerous idea. When I first read this article it shocked me that people would even think to do such a thing, but it was then that I realized other people may not realize that Herbal Remedies are usually used as part of a religious practice, there are religions that do not believe in Drugs that are made in a lab (legal or not) since these "medications" do not abide by their practices and beliefs, their only other option is to create holistic or herbal remedies. This is strictly my opinion but I do not believe that a herbal supplement will give the body what it needs to become healthy once again. I do however believe that if Holistic, or Herbal remedies, rather, are used faithfully over an extended period of time. They can prevent disease. But I don't believe that they are as successful at treating disease as prescription drugs are.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/02/01/moh.healthmag.remedies.avoid/index.html