Dear Dr. Lee,

I would like to treat my pets (and my own for that matter) minor ailments, aches and pains with herbs and natural remedies, but when I go to the health food store there are so many different choices that I get confused about what would be best to buy. Any advice?

S.C.

Dear S. C.

Well to start, I applaud you efforts to incorporate natural medicine into your lifestyle. There is a wide array of products available over the counter. These include, but are not limited to, fresh bulk herbs, dried herbs, tinctures (alcohol or glycerite herbal extracts), teas, pills, powders and so on. It’s no wonder you’re confused!

There are several things you should take into consideration when buying an herbal remedy over the counter. First, you should of course make sure that you know what the remedy does to the body have a good reason for seeking it out. I’d recommend buying a good herbal guide or two to help you in this endeavour. Western herbalists tend to use herbs individually, so you need to be careful of side effects. Chinese herbalists tend to use formulas developed and perfected over hundreds if not thousands of years which are designed with built in “safety valves” of herbs to counteract potential side effects. Second, quality control is very important in herbal medicine, just as it is in all other types of medicine. However, since FDA regulation does not tightly control the sale/production of herbal remedies, the consumer needs to be well informed to be sure they’re getting a good product. A trusted brand is important. Some examples of poor herbal quality include incorporating the wrong herb into a product (if the manufacturer doesn’t know their bulk herbs well, or what the plants actually look like fresh, this can happen). Using the wrong parts of the properly selected plant is potentially hazardous as well. For example when Kava was implicated in causing liver problems in people, the remedies being used contained the leaves and stems of Kava (which are cheaper to buy for the manufacturer), as opposed to just the root which is traditionally the part of the plant used. The leaves and stems it turns out contain higher concentrations of potentially toxic ingredients, whereas the root, which has been used for centuries by Native Polynesians, contains more of the desirable ingredients of the plant.

Another consideration is whether to use products which claim to concentrate the “active ingredient” of an herb vs. just using the whole herb. Our Western goal is always to locate the “silver bullet” part of the plant, isolate it and stick it in a pill. But for reasons we don’t understand fully, isolating a part of an herb from the other parts, often decreases the effectiveness of the “active ingredient”. That is why most herbalists will tell you that the active ingredient of an herb is the herb.

Herb/Drug interactions can’t be ignored either. They can be potentially harmful, so if your pet is on medications, be sure to discuss any supplements with your Veterinarian before starting him/her on herbs. Also let your practitioner know about herbs your pet is on prior to starting new medications or undergoing surgery, as complications may otherwise arise.

There are ethical considerations involved in choosing herbs as well. Was the herb wildcrafted (picked from the wild)? If so was it done ethically?
Unethical wildcrafting can result in serious depletion of supply. In fact many of the most popular herbs are now on an endangered species list. Also, where was the herb harvested? If the area was polluted, that will show up in the herb. If the herb was farmed, was it grown in close to natural conditions? If not its properties may be altered. This goes back to knowing and trusting you herb supplier.

With all of these different considerations and the wide range of available choices, I would recommend you consult with a Veterinarian who is experienced in herbal medicine prior to making your choices. After all, herbs are real medicine, and you want to make sure you’re using them to their full potential without doing any harm to your pet or the environment.

Maryellen Lee DVM, CVA