What are the risks of herbal or homeopathic remedies?

What are the risks of herbal or homeopathic remedies?

Herbal or homeopathic medications are not controlled by the Food and Drug Administration. So therefore their manufacture is not controlled or standardized. Some products that you can buy in a pharmacy, even though it's in a pharmacy doesn't mean that it's been tested and approved so that it has the same strength. Even from batch to batch or bottle to bottle you may get very differing concentrations of herbal products because over-the-counter products do not have that kind of quality control. And between companies, again, there is not a standardization. So some people may be sensitive to a medication that, when used from one company, has no effects, you switch to another company or another brand, and the dose is quite different and you might have significant effects from that. Many people think, “oh, herbal products are safe,” well, guess what, nicotine is an herbal product that comes from a plant called nicotiana tabacum. It's an herb! It's a natural plant. So just because something is called herbal does not mean it's not safe. Some herbal products, when taken in too large a quantity, also have side effects, just as pharmacologic agents. So a drug is anything when taken into the body has a change in physiology. Herbal products are still drugs and still need to be looked at carefully if you have side effects in which you question. Make sure you talk to your health care provider about those.