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I Have A Small Brain And I Intend To Use It!

Carolyn Dean MD ND | Wednesday, June 2, 2010

That’s the best title I could think of to explain the recent “outing” of the possible health risks of herbal supplements. On May 26, 2010 a report released by the GAO (Government Accountability Office) said that a quarter of the American population is taking herbal supplements that may be laced with lead, mercury, arsenic and potentially dangerous levels of pesticides.

The report is out just in time for a key Senate hearing to approve a food safety bill so that the FDA can have more sweeping powers over food and food supplements.

In this study, 37 of 40 herbal products contained trace amounts of heavy metals, especially lead, mercury, cadmium and arsenic. But get this! Even though the content wasn’t enough to exceed safety limits the government justified its warning by saying the levels “raise questions about the sterility of the supplement ingredients and the plants where they’re produced.” They also warned that taking large amounts of these herbs could cause serious problems. I’ll get to that in a minute.

Here’s where the Small Brains come in and blast headlines like “Herbal Supplements Contain Dangerous Contaminants,” “Many Supplements Said to Contain Toxins” and “Herbal Supplements May Pose Health Risk.”

You can read the whole report yourself but my brain tells me that if you measure any plant in America you’re likely to find measureable levels of lead, mercury, cadmium, arsenic and pesticides. We have enough studies that show the increasing contamination of our environment. Any body of water tested shows heavy metal contamination. It’s likely that all plants are polluted. So, why not limit the use of heavy metals so nothing we ingest is contaminated? And why zero in on herbs and make them the bad guy?

Think about it. The amount of herbs used in capsule form is miniscule compared to eating several cups of fruit and vegetables a day. You could be eating a few pounds of fruits and vegetables a day and the headlines are screaming about the toxicity of one-sixteenth of a teaspoon of herbs.

Why this discrepancy? Well, dear reader, there seems to be an agenda against supplements. They are constantly being attacked and consumers are warned to stick to good old-fashioned prescription drugs and not mess around with dangerous herbs and supplements.

What’s my tip for today? If you use herbs, make sure they are organic. If you eat fruits and vegetables, make sure they are organic. Join a Community Supported Agriculture program (CSA). Better yet, grow your own. Oh, and be sure to have your soil tested at the local university, because, like the White House Lawn, it’s probably contaminated with lead!