Foods to Avoid While Taking Herbal Medicine (2024)

FAQs

What foods should you avoid when taking herbal medicine? ›

Pork belly, flour, radish, mung beans and coffee

Foods rich in flour can also interfere with the absorption of herbal medicine as it can cause indigestion for those with a weak stomach. The recommended amount of radish that you can consume will vary on the type of herbs you are prescribed.

Always consult a healthcare provider before using herbal products. Many of these products can have serious interactions with heart medications, blood pressure medications, blood thinners and other medications. Many can also be dangerous for people who are pregnant or breastfeeding (chestfeeding).

Medicines can interact with whole fruit, fruit pulp or fruit extracts. Fruit of concern include orange, pomelo, pomegranate, cranberry, red/purple grape, apple, and grapefruit. Patients should be informed about the risk of interactions from consuming fruit.

In fact, some common herbs could cause toxic liver disease. Watch out for supplements that contain aloe vera, black cohosh, cascara, chaparral, comfrey, ephedra, or kava.

Over the counter drugs and supplements

Popular herbal remedies and supplements like St. John's Wort, ginseng and kava kava may also cause or increase unease.

In summary, patients should not try to mix drugs that have a narrow therapeutic range (digitalis, theophylline, lithium, and warfarin) with potassium lowering herbs (licorice, and aloe), herbal stimulants (ephedra, caffeine, guarana, green tea), and antiplatelet herbs (Ginkgo, bilberry leaf, ginger, black cohosh, and ...

Herbal medications can mistakenly be perceived as safe because they are natural products. They may produce negative effects such as allergic reactions, rashes, asthma, headaches, dizziness, agitation, dry mouth, seizures, fatigue, tachycardia, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea.

Does herbal medicine really work? ›

Used correctly, herbs can help treat a variety of conditions, and in some cases, may have fewer side effects than some conventional medications. Never assume that because herbs are "natural," they are safe. Some herbs may be inappropriate for people with certain medical conditions.

While there are more than one dozen herbal supplements that should be avoided, Giardina often tells her cardiac patients to avoid the four Gs: garlic, ginkgo, ginseng, and ginger—all of which can have devastating effects on cardiac patients.

Some vitamins that should not be taken together, or have dosage limitations, include vitamin C with vitamin B-12, vitamin A supplement with vitamin A-rich foods, folic acid (vitamin B9) and vitamin B12, and vitamin E with vitamin K.

Plausible cases of herb-drug interactions include: bleeding when warfarin is combined with ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba), garlic (Allium sativum), dong quai (Angelica sinensis), or danshen (Salvia miltiorrhiza); mild serotonin syndrome in patients who mix St John's wort (Hypericum perforatum) with serotonin-reuptake ...

Toxic contaminants may come from: Environments and conditions that the medicinal plants are grown or collected. The conditions under which they are dried and pro- cessed. The storage conditions and conditions during trans- port.

In summary, when utilizing Chinese medicine for any ailment, it's advised to steer clear of raw, cold, greasy, strongly scented fish, pungent, barbecued, roasted, and fried oily foods. Opting for lighter, blended meals is highly recommended during this period.

Nearly all herbal products are taken on an empty stomach, any time from 2 hours after eating until 30 minutes before eating. This allows better absorption of the extract since it does not have to compete with food in your gut.