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ARTICLES Are herbs safe? Health Canada doesn't think so. There is a considerable amount of misinformation being propagated these days regarding the potential toxicity of herbs. This subject, like so many others, is prone to extreme positions. On the one hand we have pseudo- "experts," such as the bureaucrats at Health Canada, claiming that most herbs are dangerous and the Canadian public must be protected from them at all cost (show me the body count!). Then there are the pro-natural zealots promoting the belief that everything that is "natural" is safe (poison hemlock is a "natural," and potentially lethal herb). The truth, as always, lies somewhere in the middle. Many plants do contain toxic constituents. Included among these are some that are traditionally used for foods and/or for therapeutic purposes. Even carrots and potatoes contain substances that are toxic in large quantities. The important factor here is the degree of risk. As far as I am aware, no-one has ever been fatally poisoned by consuming too many carrots or potatoes (please correct me if I'm wrong). In general, the toxicity of the average herb is fairly similar to that of the average vegetable. Herbs are also consumed much less regularly and in considerably smaller quantities than most foods. There are several important reasons why the risks associated with consumption of herbs are very small compared to those associated with other substances such as pharmaceutical drugs. They are as follows: (1) The proportion of potentially toxic constituents found in the majority of herbs (if at all) is quite small. (2) Herbs are very chemically complex. They contain thousands of biologically active compounds. Herbs that contain potentially toxic constituents often contain other compounds that neutralize or help protect body cells from the harmful effects of more toxic constituents. (3) The toxins found in herbs are found throughout the plant kingdom. We have had millions of years of exposure to these substances. As a result, the human body has been able to evolve chemical pathways that can detoxify or break them down. In contrast, the majority of pharmaceutical products, pollutants, food additives, agricultural chemicals and other toxins produced by humans are synthetic and often bear little chemical resemblance to naturally occurring substances with which the human body is familiar. Nevertheless, like anything that you put into your body, it is important that herbs are treated with respect. As a general rule, the more potent the herb, the greater the risk of toxicity. Most herbs, if used correctly, pose very little risk of harm. If it is necessary to use an herb for an extended period of time, it's a good idea to take periodic breaks. This will reduce the risk that any toxins found in minute quantities in the herb will be able to build up in your tissues. This possibility can be further reduced by periodically changing the herbs that you are using. It is very important to take invest the necessary time and effort to learn about the herbs that you are using. Get yourself a couple of good herb books. You simply can not rely on information provided on product labels. At the present time in Canada, it is illegal for manufacturers and distributors of herbal products to include relevant information on the labels of their products. Ideally, the label of every herbal product should contain the following information:  The purpose of the product (i.e. what it is used for).The correct dosage.Any relevant dosage and/or duration restrictions.Any relevant contraindications.
Unfortunately, the inclusion of any of this information on herbal product labels is illegal in Canada, unless the product is regulated as a drug. Even for the rare products that are being inappropriately regulated as drugs, the amount of information permitted on the label is still grossly insufficient. The general attitude of the Health Protection Branch (HPB, the government body that regulates herbs in Canada) is that the inclusion of this kind of information is dangerous to the health of Canadians. They would rather consumers buy a product in total ignorance, or remove it from the marketplace. Apparently it is the opinion of the HPB that Canadians are incapable of following instructions written on labels. The issue of herbal toxicity is further complicated by a preponderance of seemingly related pseudo-scientific literature. Very little toxicity research has been conducted on actual herbs. Instead, most "herbal" research has been conducted on the toxicity of single isolated constituents of herbs fed to rats in very large quantities. In most cases the dosages used were so large that it would be impossible to consume similar quantities of these constituents from the herbs themselves, even if someone did want to spend a significant part of their day eating them by the kilo. In short, due the unrealistic research protocols used, it is virtually impossible to draw any meaningful conclusions from these studies that can be applied in the real world. This is the kind of "research" that the bureaucrats at HPB use (if any at all) to justify their policy decisions. The situation is so out of balance that herbs have literally been banned in ridiculous circumstances. For example, one herb was banned because someone developed a health problem while taking a herbal combination that contained the herb. In addition to the other herbs in the formulation, this person was also taking a number of pharmaceuticals. In this case there was no available research on the herb in question to indicate any potential harmful side-effects. Somehow, without investigating the case in detail, government officials were able to conclude that it was this particular herb that caused the health problem. On the other hand, manufacturers of pharmaceutical drugs that have caused serious health problems in tens of thousands of individuals (possibly with fatal results), have been given a couple of years to provide studies proving the safety of their product (sometimes with public money to help finance these studies). Pretty bizarre, eh? The current political situation in Canada is extremely oppressive and literally getting worse on a daily basis. The HPB currently holds a position of absolute power that allows them to dictate official policy regarding the regulation of herbs in Canada. They are ramming their far-fetched dogmas down the throats of the Canadian public. Current policies threaten to wipe out most of the herbal industry and your access to herbs along with it, probably within a year or two at most. It may not be affecting you at the moment because many of the banned herbs and other products (this is not just an herbal issue) are still available in retail outlets due largely to a lack of HPB inspectors to adequately inspect retailers across the country. However, they are currently stepping up enforcement (they've supposedly hired at least 150 more inspectors) and in the next couple of months the selection of products on the shelves of your local natural food and supplements stores will likely become increasingly more sparse. There is, however, a positive side to all of this. Largely due to the extreme adversity of the present political climate, we finally have a situation where the majority of the groups and organizations that are concerned about these issues are putting aside there differences and working together for the good of all Canadians. The end result has been the formation of the Canadian Coalition for Health Freedom (CCHF). This is a coalition of consumer, practitioner and industry groups and associations that is developing a political action campaign that will be launched later this month (March 1997) to coincide with the current federal election campaign. The goal of the CCHF is to put pressure on the Canadian government to legislate changes to the Food and Drugs Act that will protect the right of Canadians to have access to natural health products and to bring about the creation of a new regulatory process that will ensure that consumers, practitioners and industry members have an active role in the regulation of these products. If you want to continue to have access to herbs and other natural health products, it is important that you act now, before it is too late. In the coming weeks you will be hearing a lot more about the CCHF. Information will be provided to Canadians through the Coalitions various member associations. You too can help. The majority of Canadians want continued access to natural health products. If you are one of them, it is important that your voice be heard. This article was originally published in Common Ground Magazine, March 1997. Back to List of Articles |
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