How to Take Herbs Safely and Effectively!
If you don't understand how to take herbs safely and effectively, you are wasting your money and may not get their full health benefits.
Learn how to take herbs safely in this article. Are you taking your herbs properly and in the proper dosage? Are you taking the right herb for your health challenge? Did you research the company to see whether the product was properly tested for dirt, mouse feces, heavy metals, and contamination in the US, not just the product of origin, such as China or India?
The only way products are safe is if they are tested by a 3rd party lab in the US.
You cannot visually tell by looking at the product material! It takes a microscope to see ground mouse feces, dirt, ground-up leaves that may be the same color as the herb, and other contamination.
Organic means it’s safe. Right? No organic does not mean the product is safe to consume.
Organic means the herb product was grown without pesticides, and the soil was free of pesticides. It means it was grown with organic fertilizers rather than chemicals. It still can contain contamination! There are soil samples taken, but not all the growing fields are tested.
Testing Herbal Products Matters!
It is the testing of that plant matter in a US lab that tests that bulk herb for dirt, mouse feces, heavy metals naturally found in the soil or contamination introduced through picking, drying, and storing the herb matter. Lab testing in countries like India and China leaves a lot to be desired. Their facilities can be filthy. Often, the inspections are infrequent and sloppy. The standards in those countries are pretty low.
https://www.lachmanconsultants.com/2025/05/two-chinese-testing-labs-come-under-serious-fda-scrutiny/
https://www.fda.gov/food/hfp-constituent-updates/fda-adds-firms-import-alert-due-pfas-clams
Even US labs are not consistent with the tests they perform on herbs and teas. Teas are tested less than herb products. Some companies just use the testing that was done in the original country. It is extremely expensive to test each incoming bulk product delivery.
How can you know for sure what testing was performed on your herb product?
Research companies online. Call the telephone number on the bottle or look up the company website and ask the questions below. If they refuse to answer them, don’t buy their products. In conversation, listen carefully to see if they give you direct answers or misleading, vague answers.
Some companies state that the product is tested by a 3rd party lab for heavy metals, dirt, and other contamination. It tests to see if it is the real herb or a fake product. The medicinal properties of the bulk product are also tested, such as the beta-glutans in the mushroom sample. Ask to be given the lab results. Ask them the questions below:
Where is your company based?
Where do you buy your bulk herb product from?
Was the product tested to make sure it is the right species of herb?
Not all oregano species contain medicinal value; some are ornamental only.
Ask if it has been tested to ensure that it contains the beneficial medicinal properties, such as the berberine alkaloid content in the Goldenseal product you have purchased?
Is the product tested for mold, mildew, bacteria, and E. coli?
Is it tested for lead and other heavy metals?
How often is your bulk herb material tested?
Is the product tested by an unbiased 3rd party?
Where and how is it processed and packaged?
Herbs and supplements come in different forms: Which form of the supplement is best for you?
Herbs and supplements come in different forms: Which form of the supplement is best for you?
Tea, bulk product, liquid, extract, capsules, or pills. This is very confusing to inexperienced shoppers.
Determine which form of the supplement would best suit your lifestyle and your health needs.
Do you have sensitive taste buds, then perhaps taking the herb in capsules is a better way to go.
If you have trouble taking capsules, then a liquid form might be the way to go. The herb will not benefit you if the bottle is never opened.
More in-depth Tips to Take Herbs and Supplements More Effectively.
Herbs come in different forms: bulk, tablets, caps, extracts, liquid, and teas. If you have problems swallowing tablets or caps, make sure you order extracts or liquids. Liquid products can be added to grape juice, prune juice, or smoothies in some cases. Extracts are stronger, and you need a smaller dose. Some herbs, such as goldenseal, neem, and Andrographis are intensely bitter! Many herbal liquid formulas do not taste good.
Extracts are stronger, so you need to take less. Liquids such as liquid Kyolic garlic are effective for mouth infections and get the herb into the system more rapidly than capsules. If you have oral problems such as an infection in your mouth, liquids are the most potent way to address the infection. Some people absorb liquids better than powder.
Note that most teas are not generally as strong or as safe as other herb product forms. Tea quality is a problem, too. Many teas are cut with less expensive herbs or fillers. Some of the tea bags are made of questionable material. Most teas are not tested by 3rd party labs or tested at all for heavy metals, bacteria, bugs, or dirt. Just because tea is cheap does not mean it is safe. This is very important when buying tea from India or China. Any tea can be contaminated during the many steps in the process from picking to storing the tea herb. So, consider this question carefully before you buy. An herbal formula that sits on the shelf will not do anything for your health.
Spice, herbs, and tea products may contain contamination, lead, and heavy metals when coming from China, India, and Mexico, for example.
Some herbs are adulterated with cheaper herbs or are not even the herb you think you are buying. A good example is goldenseal, which can be mixed with cheaper herbs. Often, it is not goldenseal root that is the most medicinal part of the plant, but the rest of the plant.
The lab tests to make sure that the plant species is correct and the right part of the plant is in the product. Herbs most potent properties may be contained either in the leaves, the stems, the root or in the whole plant. Different parts of the herb may be utilized in different ways such as how dandelion flowers and roots are utilized.
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3821942/
https://www.sadakafirm.com/blog/tea-bag-containing-deadly-pesticides/
A majority of the spices come from China and India, so beware. Many spices are tested only in the country of origin, and their testing is highly questionable. I buy my garlic, for example, that is grown and produced in the United States, despite it costing more.
Spices are not tested as extensively as herbal supplements and may not be tested once imported into the US. They are under different manufacturing rules and regulations. Their benefits are often not as strong as in a supplement.
If you are pregnant or nursing, never take supplements or vitamins without consulting your holistic doctor. Some herbs can inhibit getting pregnant or cause problems during pregnancy.
The dosage on the bottle of herbs is just a legal suggestion. The FDA will not allow herb companies to give specific dosage instructions or to state what you should take the herb for. Then it would be considered a drug, and that supplement would be taken off the shelves by the FDA. So, the herb companies cannot say much without losing their business. You must research that independently!
The dosage for that herb depends on the herb, the dosage in each capsule, the severity of the health problem, and individual needs.
That is why consulting a holistic doctor is needed to help you know how much and how often to take the herbal supplement. Always start with the suggested dosage or even half the dosage of the herb product so you can test your sensitivity to that product. If you are really sensitive to products, start with just one cap and slowly increase the dosage over a week
If you have a mild cold, you will take less product than if you have strep throat. If it is a child, you must know if that herb can be given to a child. The dose given to that child depends on the weight of that child as well as other factors such as age. You may not be able to give it to a baby at all.
Children are often too young or cannot swallow pills or capsules. You might use homeopathic medicine or liquid Kyolic garlic with them. Garlic can be rubbed into the feet of a child who is sick.
Always taste what you give them first; if it tastes bitter, such as Goldenseal root extract, they may throw it back up or spit it out.
Grape juice is great for hiding the taste of unpleasant herbs. This method works with the elderly as well as anyone who cannot handle capsules or tablets.
It is best if you have never taken herbs or a specific herb to take the minimum dosage first to see how you react to it. Every person reacts differently.
If you are extremely sensitive to products and foods, start with one tablet or capsule, or even half of one. Take them with food unless directed not to on the bottle label. Keep a food diary of your reactions for the first month.
Important.....Never take herbs and prescription drugs together at the same time.
Visit your holistic doctor to help you set up an effective herb program!
Taking herbs and medications, even OTC medications, can lead to dangerous results. Herbs and drugs often conflict with each other in your stomach.
Herbs can potentiate the effects of some drugs or lessen the effects of others. You could suffer an overdose by taking heart medications and Hawthorne berries at the same time.
Herbal blood thinners and prescription blood thinners can cause severe complications!
Drugs for depression and other psychiatric health problems, combined with herbs such as ginkgo or St. John’s Wort, can really be dangerous.
Many herbs naturally lower the blood pressure, so if you are taking drugs as well for high blood pressure, that can lower your blood pressure to dangerous levels. This applies to drugs that lower your blood sugar as well.
If you are bound and determined to take herbs and drugs together, make sure they are taken at least 4 to 6 hours apart or more. Again, I advise you NOT to unless under the supervision of a doctor.
Carefully study the herbs and their effects and contraindications before you take them!
Monitor your blood sugar and blood pressure every day if you have those health problems.
Again, it is very dangerous to take herbs and drugs together without a doctor’s supervision.
Cathryn Freer, the Herbladyisin signing off.