Are herbals safe?

Hello there - Here's an opinion coming from someone in a traditional, western-health field. The example of willow bark is classic! Another example is the poppy plant/opium/morphine. So are herbs safer than prescription/man-made medicines? The only true answer is - depends on which prescription and herb you're comparing. The most dangerous herbs have already been outlawed. The herbs proven most useful have already had their singular most active ingredient purified and standardized in medications - taking willow bark, poppy plant, and fish oils as prime examples. It is my opinion that most of the herbs available at US store counters therefore fits into the "hasn't been shown to cause significant harm" and one of these two other groups "little proof of effectiveness" or "a lot of proof that it is mildly-effective-or-mostly-ineffective-so-that-no-pharmaceutical-company-could-profit-from-identifying-and-purifying-its-active-ingredients" Problems for the herbal industry in the US includes: Companies that make herbal supplements in the US aren't required to prove that the pills in the bottle are actually the herb or part of the plant written on the label. Companies aren't required to prove their products are safe. Companies aren't required to prove their products are effective. The upside: Some companies do submit their products to 3rd parties for testing and standardization (like United States Pharmacopeia - USP - that tests herbal products). Anyway, herbs can be useful for a variety of things and as long as you are getting good herbs, they can work well in mild, non-severe cases. :)

True! There are things naturally grow for human benefits. Before, I am not convinced to drink herbal meds when I was sick. Yet , I was in our hometown that time and there was no hospital. I got higher fever, My father boiled something and let me drank it. Then I got relief.