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Side Effects of Natural Supplements
Health risks vs. Health Benefits

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Ask A Healer Side Effects Series

Natural Supplement Side Effects and Cautions
Remedies that are natural may have side effects too

About Side Effects: In general, when there is an unwanted reaction or physiological change that happens after taking something for your health, that's called a side effect. We hear a lot more about side effects from prescription drugs than we will likely ever hear about natural supplements. In fact, if you close your eyes to block out all those smiling faces in the prescription drug commercials, you will literally hear a litany of potential side effects that usually includes death.

If you take herbal remedies, vitamins or minerals, you may be doing so with very little concern about side effects. That's with good reason since most whole plant herbal remedies and most vitamins and minerals, taken as directed, are safe. However, even though drugs may have more, and more serious side effects that natural substances, almost everything taken into the body or applied to the skin deserves caution in certain situations, at certain dosages or in combination with certain other substances (in particular, prescription drugs). I ALWAYS suggest checking with your doctor before adding a natural remedy, if you are under treatment for any medical condition.

A general note on taking supplements: If you are pregnant, breastfeeding or nursing and regardless of the condition or supplement referenced, you should check with your doctor before adding ANYTHING new to your health regimen, without exception.

by Ask a Healer

Side Effects by Natural Remedy:
Aloe Vera ====>> Acai Juice

Beta Glucans ====>> Blueberry / Bilberry

Ginger ====>> Goji Juice

Holy Basil ====>> Malva

Mangosteen Juice> Marshmallow

Miracle Mineral Supplement ====>> Noni Juice

Persimmon ====>> Pomegranate Juice ====>> Saffron Extract

Spirulina ====>> Tumeric ====>> Wolfberry

Important note: These pages are not intended to be an exhaustive list of all potential side effects. Please do your own research and I encourage you never to let a single website be the only source of information you depend on, no matter how good that website may be. Talk to your pharmacists, the owners at the local health food store, friends and family who may use the same natural supplements you are thinking of using, etc. Get a broad base of information.

Why these lists are not exhaustive:
In addition to drawing on my decades of personal experience with herbs, vitamins and minerals when writing a new article for the wellness library, I typically research a minimum of a dozen online and/or offline resources for a broad range of information. However, tracking down every known or potential side effect would take more time than I've personally got.

For example, when I google the search term side effects turmeric, I get 179,000 references. Even if I bracket the search term like so: "side effects turmeric", I still get over 100,000 references on google. If I search for side effects with aloe vera, duckduckgo pulls pages and pages of resources. Obviously, an exhaustive list of potential side effects for any given herb, vitamin or mineral is beyond the scope of one person on one website so I've focused on some of the more common and/or dangerous side effects.

Isoniazid Side Effects

Health Disclaimer: This information about side effects is not meant to be exhaustive. The health information on Ask a Healer is educational in nature and never presented as any type of substitute for any needed medical attention. Ask your doctor or pharmacists about undesirable reactions or changes while on medication but also be prepared to hear that the benefits outweight whatever potential discomfort you might have. I suggest persistence. If your side effects are bad enough to report to your doctor, your doctor should be willing to check into other drug options for you. Be wise with your health.