Herbal remedies, dietary supplements, and botanical medicines are part of the growing interest in alternative medicines and therapies that people are seeking today. When you walk into many large supermarkets you may see an aisle dedicated to natural medicines. Spend any time online researching health questions and you will be bombarded with advertisements for the “next big thing” in supplements that will claim to cure everything from earaches to diabetes to cancer.

I am a great believer in the efficacy and safety of natural products when used properly in a patient’s overall regimen. I also think it’s great that more and more people are interested in taking an active role in their own health plans, but as the old saying goes, “A little knowledge can be a dangerous thing,” especially when it comes to self-prescribing medicines. Here are three vital things every consumer should consider about botanicals and dietary supplements:

1) Just because a plant or herb is natural doesn’t make it safe for you to take, even if it is sold as an alternative medicine.

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