Amazing information from
 

The Essential
Herb-Drug-Vitamin Interaction Guide

by George Grossberg, M.D., and Barry Fox, Ph.D.

Do you use any of these herbs? If so, do you
know how they might interact with standard
medicines?


Published by Broadway Books - On sale April, 2007

Angelica is used to great loss of appetite and other forms of "stomach distress." But mixing it with aspirin and other pain killers can increase the risk you'll suffer from bruising or bleeding. And mixing it with Pepcid, Tagamet, Nexium, Rolaids Extra Strength, Maalox, Tums and other  medicines for stomach problems/excess acid can interfere with the medicine's action and ability to work.  

Bladderwrack is used to treat obesity, "clogged arteries" and other ailments. But it can cause blood sugar to fall too low if mixed with medicines such as acarbose (brand name Prandase), glipizide (Glucotrol), glyburide (DiaBeta), metformin (Glucophage), miglitol (Glyset), pioglitazone (Actos) and rosiglitazone (Avandia). 

Cat's claw is herb from Peru used to treat rheumatism, asthma, menstrual irregularity and other ailments. Although helpful, it interacts with a large number of drugs. There interactions can cause a variety of problems, including an increased risk of bruising or bleeding, an increased risk of suffering from excessively low blood sugar (hypotension), and a weakening of a drug's ability to suppress the immune system when necessary. 

Frangula has been used for hundreds of hears as a laxative. Mixing it with certain other herbs - including licorice, horsetail plant, black root, cascara sagrada and senna - raises the risk that your body's potassium stores will be depleted.

Kava kava is an enormously popular herb used to great insomnia, anxiety and many other ailments. Although very helpful, it may increase the risk that you'll develop liver damage if mixed with atorvastatin (Lipitor), naproxen (Aleve) and several other medicines - or with other herbs, including bishop's weed, borage, chaparral and uva ursi.

Parsley may interact with Bufferin, Advil or Motrin to cause easy bruising or bleeding. And if mixed with Tylenol with Codeine, Vicodin or certain other drugs it may cause or increase serotonin syndrome. The symptoms of serotonin syndrome include agitation, rapid heart rate, flushing and heavy sweating. If not treated, the syndrome can be fatal.

Red yeast rice, a Chinese remedy for elevated cholesterol, can interact with popular statin drugs such as atorvastatin (Lipitor) and simvastatin (Zocor). This interaction can raise the risk you'll suffer from the drugs adverse drug side effects.

St. John's wort may interact with a number of widely-used drugs including fluoxetine (Prozac), glipizide (Glucotrol), naproxen (Aleve) and carbamazepine (Carbatrol) to trigger a variety of problems. These include an increased risk of bruising and bleeding, poor absorption of the medicine, increased skin sensitivity to sunlight,  unplanned pregnancy, and symptoms of delirium or serotonin syndrome (agitation, rapid heart rate, flushing and heavy sweating).

Valerian, used for insomnia and anxiety, interacts with numerous drugs. It may also increase the effects - both good and bad - of herbs with sedative properties, including kava kava and St. John's wort.

And that's just the beginning of the story, for over 300 herbs interact
with standard medicines, lab tests, other supplements and foods.

Do you know how many popular herbs and supplements these medicines may interact with?

Allegra may interact with belladonna, corkwood, English lavender, grapefruit, henbane, kava kava, khat, sweet orange, valerian and wild cherry.

Aspirin may interact with ajava seeds, allspice, American ginseng, andrographis, angelica, anise, arnica, asa foetida, astragalus, bilberry, bishop's weed,  bladderwrack, bog bean, boldo, borage, borage seed oil, bromelain, buchu, calcium, carrageen, cat's claw, cayenne, clove, danshen, deer's tongue, devil's claw, dong quai, English hawthorn, evening primrose oil, fenugreek, feverfew, folic acid, garlic, German chamomile, ginger, ginkgo biloba, gossypol, grape seed, green tea, heartsease, horse chestnut, iron, kava kava, licorice, lovage, lungwort, meadowsweet, niacin, northern prickly ash, onion, parsley, ,passion flower, ,pau d/arco, pineapple, poplar, potassium, quinine, red clove, reishi mushroom, rue, safflower, saw palmetto, sea buckthorn, senega, stinging nettle, St. John's wort, sweet clover, sweet vernal grass, tonka bean, turmeric, uva-ursi, valerian, vitamin C, vitamin E, white willow, wintergreen,  yarrow and zinc.

Cholestyramine may interact with beta-carotene, calcium, folic acid, goto kola, iron, magnesium, niacin, vitamin A, vitamin B12, vitamin D, vitamin E, vitamin K and zinc.

Estrace may interact with acerola, alfalfa, anise, black cohosh, calcium, dong quai, red clover, senna, St. John's wort, vitamin C, wild cherry and wild yam.

Gaviscon Tablets may interact with aletris, angelica, birthwort, black mustard, blessed thistle, buckthorn, calamus, colombo, cubeb, dandelion, devil's claw, ginger, lesser galangal, ma-huang and yellow gentian.

Lipitor may interact with bitter melon, boneset, butterbur, chaparral, colt's foot, comfrey, echinacea, fenugreek, got kola, grapefruit, kava kava, maté, niacin, oats, pectin, red yeast rice, St. John's wort, wild cherry.

Prozac may interact with catnip, ergot, ginkgo biloba, goldenseal, gotu kola, kava kava, lemon balm, marijuana, nerve root, sassafras, stinging nettle, St. John's wort, and valerian.

Tylenol may interact with bitter melon, boneset, cabbage, chaparral, colt's foot, comfrey, echinacea, fenugreek, maté, vitamin C and watercress. 

Valium may interact with ashwagandha, bitter almond, California poppy, catnip, cedar leaf, cowslip, echinacea, elecampane, English lavender, evening primrose oil, German chamomile, ginkgo biloba, goldenseal, gotu kola, grapefruit, kava kava, lemon balm, linden, mate, never root, passion flower, poke, poppy, rauwolfia, sage, sassafras, scullcap, senega, stinging nettle, St. John's wort, valerian, wild carrot, wild cherry, wild lettuce, wormseed and yarrow.

And these are just a few of the numerous medicines
that interact with popular herbs and supplements!