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livingontheland - [Livingontheland] Herbal Remedies (imported Ayurvedic) Found to Contain Toxic Heavy Metals

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  • From: "Tradingpost" <tradingpost@gilanet.com>
  • To: livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: [Livingontheland] Herbal Remedies (imported Ayurvedic) Found to Contain Toxic Heavy Metals
  • Date: Tue, 21 Dec 2004 12:08:50 -0700


Herbal Remedies Found to Contain Toxic Heavy Metals
http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?chanID=sa003&articleID=0006CF30-606B-11BF-A06B83414B7F0000

Some herbal remedies may do more harm than good. Researchers writing today in
the Journal of the American Medical Association report that 20 percent of
herbal medicine products sampled contained dangerous levels of heavy metals.

Unlike prescription drugs, herbal medicine products can be sold as dietary
supplements, which are not required to undergo rigorous testing before
entering the marketplace. Indeed, the Dietary Supplement Health and Education
Act (DSHEA) does not require proof of safety or efficacy. Robert B. Saper,
now at Boston University's School of Medicine, and his colleagues purchased
imported Ayurvedic herbal medicine products from stores near Boston's city
hall and had them tested for metal contamination. They discovered that a
fifth of the 70 samples tested contained lead, mercury or arsenic, or some
combination of all three, in significant quantities. If taken as directed,
the products would expose a person to more of the metals than is deemed safe
by the Environmental Protection Agency.


"Although the prevalence of heavy metal-containing Ayurvedic [herbal medicine
products] is unknown, the number of individuals at potential risk is
substantial," the team writes. "Our findings support calls for reform of
DSHEA that would require mandatory testing of all imported dietary
supplements for toxic heavy metals." --Sarah Graham





  • [Livingontheland] Herbal Remedies (imported Ayurvedic) Found to Contain Toxic Heavy Metals, Tradingpost, 12/21/2004

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