The perfect recipe for herbal teaching sheets
The perfect recipe for herbal teaching sheets
Stress safe and effective use of herbs
What should a teaching sheet on an herbal supplement look like? Patient Education Management asked several experts to determine what consumers need to know. The following information should be included:
• Common and botanical name of herb.
Several herbs in the same family may have a common name, yet only one may have the active ingredient for treatment of a particular condition. Therefore, consumers should know the Latin binomial for the herb so they can identify it on the label, says Shirley Kindrick, PhD, RD, LD, program director for comprehensive weight management at The Ohio State University Medical Center in Columbus.
• Description of herb and its use.
To be effective, the herbs must be used for the right ailment. For example, echinacea is used to treat cold symptoms, says Debbie Scholtz, PharmD, assistant professor of pharmacy practice at the University of Tennessee-Memphis College of Pharmacy.
• The active ingredient.
Although this information is not available for all herbs, researchers have determined the active compound for some of them. For example, ginseng usually is standardized to contain 7% of the active compound. Therefore, this is a standard to look for on the label, says Kindrick.
• Recommended guidelines for dosing.
People not only need to know how much of an herb to take, but how long to take it. For example, echinacea should not be used for more than six weeks, says Scholtz.
People also should know the best form in which to take the herb, says Kindrick. For example, if an herb is not water-soluble, it will have no value if consumed as a tea, and not all manufacturers package herbs appropriately.
• When an herb should not be used.
Echinacea is related to the daisy family, so if a person were allergic to daisies, they would not want to take this herb, says Kindrick. Also, an herb might counteract the effectiveness of prescribed medication.
• Risks and possible side effects.
List on the information sheet any adverse reactions people might experience, recommends Jill Ellis, PhD, director of science and quality assurance at the National Nutritional Foods Association in New Port Beach, CA. (To learn where to find information on herbs, see resource list on p. 29.)
• Information from available research.
Include what researchers have discovered about the herb. For example, 98% of the literature supports the role of echinacea in reducing flu and cold symptoms, says Ellis.
• What to do for an overdose.
Poison control centers do not always know the antidote for an overdose of an herb, so this information should be listed on the sheet. It usually can be obtained directly from the manufacturer, says Ellis.
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