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Sensible Use of Herbal Preparations and Medications

Sensible Use of Herbal Preparations and Medications

Conscious use of herbal preparations and medicines

Today the RIVM and the Dutch Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority are releasing a report on the interaction between herbs and medicines. NPN, the trade association for food supplements, including herbal preparations has been in contact with RIVM and NVWA about these interactions for some time.

That herbs, as well as foods such as grapefruit, can interact with drugs has long been known. NPN therefore has a list of warning texts that it advises companies to include on the packaging. It has considered practical relevance. For example, products containing St. John's wort are required to state on the packaging that it may affect the action of medicines, and NPN recommends that products containing ginkgo biloba state that it interacts with anticoagulants. These herbs derive their effects from interacting with certain systems in the body, often the same ones that drugs interact with.

NPN wants to emphasize that the risks being talked about involve prescription drugs. The provision of information should be primarily with the dispensing of the drug. In addition, warnings on packaging are a good addition. If you take drugs, it is a good idea to also report the use of herbal preparations to your doctor.

Conversely, interactions are also known. For example, use of medications can cause important nutrients to be less absorbed into the body. For example, a drug for diabetics, metformin, inhibits the absorption of several vitamins. And cholesterol-lowering statins can cause a deficiency of co enzyme Q10, resulting in muscle pain. Supplementing those nutrients can provide health benefits for the patient. Important enough to pay attention to that as well.

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