Unregulated, ineffective...and maybe dangerous

Taking herbal supplements, we ve often observed, is rarely a great idea. Not only do they lack the efficacy of FDA-approved medications, but they re unregulated and can actually be dangerous. Patients suffering from chronic kidney disease, for instance, are particularly susceptible to a host of adverse effects from many approved pharmaceuticals. This is even more of a danger with herbal supplements, whose exact ingredients and dosages are often unknown. In fact, the National Kidney Foundation has identified 39 herbal supplements that have the potential to harm the kidneys, and a new study has found that 10 to 15 percent of chronic kidney disease patients use one or more of these potentially toxic supplements.

After analyzing ten years of data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, researchers led by Dr. Vanessa Grubbs of the University of California, San Francisco, found that individuals with chronic kidney disease were actually more likely than those without this condition to be taking supplements. Dr. Grubbs noted that it s too often the case that neither patient nor physician is aware of the potential harm of these supplements and the problem is complicated by the fact that only a fraction of those who have kidney disease actually know that they have this condition.

Both patients and healthcare providers need to be aware of these risks, says ACSH s Dr. Gilbert Ross. Too often, patients don t report their supplement use to their doctor, thinking they are not medicines. And doctors especially need to keep tabs on whether their patients are taking any kind of supplements the risks they pose are entirely preventable.