Healthy Food Choices: Herbal Supplements

Herbal supplements are not regulated by the USDA and can sometimes conflict with certain medications. Learn more about herbal supplements and whether or not they're right for you in this video .

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Know USDA regulations
Check medicines that may conflict with herbal supplements
Consult your physician

About this Author

Alice Merritt is currently the Campus Dietitian at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. She has a masters degree from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in public health with a concentration on nutrition. Alice has worked as a registered dietician for four years, and believes that helping people reach their nutritional goals will lead to a long and healthy life.

ALICE MERRITT: Now I am going to talk to you about herbal supplements. One thing that is important to know about herbal supplements is they are not currently regulated by the USDA. So a lot of the claims that they make may not actually be proven through research. Also, a lot of herbal supplements can counteract with medications that you may already be taking. So if you are interested in taking herbal supplements, it is always a good idea to consult your physician before starting anything new. Some popular herbal supplements that people take are things like Echinacea, St. John's Wort. And one thing to know about St. John's Wort is it actually does interfere with the effectiveness of birth control pills. So it is important to investigate some of these things before starting to take herbal supplements. So, important things to remember about herbal supplements is, remember they are not regulated by the USDA so some of their claims may not actually be true. Also, it may not actually even have what it says it has in it. You never actually know what the contents of the herbal supplement are. They do sometimes interact with medications, so if you are on medications before starting herbal supplements, you always want to consult your physician. And so these are some important things to know about herbal supplements.

Healthy Food Choices: Herbal Supplements Video

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