Natural - Safe or Deadly

Just because "it" is natural doesn't mean "it" can't kill or cripple you.

Homeopathic remedies work because they are strong medicines that impact the body.  Problems can occur when natural remedies are combined without consideration for the interaction of all those individual herbs.  Most everyone already knows that you must be careful when combining a prescription drug and an over-the-counter artificial or herbal remedy.

The big problem as I see it is that what is used all the time becomes so common that we don't even think of it as an herb or drug. Is taking a Tylenol every evening just part of your day? Do you take a Ginkgo capsule everyday when you pop your vitamin complex pill or pills? Do you even remember why you are taking the Policosanol?

Do you take your herbal supplements as directed? Do you know which ones should be consumed with food and which ones work best on an empty stomach? Do you just take one of each bottle and swallow a handful of pills with a glass of water or orange juice?

Now, throw into this mix your prescriptions.  Maybe you take a high blood pressure medication or a blood thinner.  Did you tell your doctor about your herbal supplements?  Do you know which of your herbal supplements can have a dramatic impact on your prescriptions?

Don't get discouraged.  It really is not that hard to make sure you are protecting your health while you are improving your health.

Sit down with paper and pen --- and all those bottles.  Read the directions.  List each item and the notations - with or without food, multiple times a day, same time every day.  Most important - list why you are taking that pill. Also make note of all the ingredients in that supplement.  You may be surprised to find that additional herbs have been added.  If that is so, it is because those herbs work well together.

Now you have a list to show your doctor or pharmacist of all your pills. Hopefully these people are knowledgeable enough to tell you what not to take with each pill.  Everyone knows you don't take garlic or ginkgo with a blood thinner.  But if you feel the need to take a daily garlic supplement talk about that with your doctor.  More frequent testing and perhaps a lower dosage can combine the two. Don't forget that cooking with fresh garlic is still using a powerful herb.

Now you can take your list and divide it up.  What goes with food on one side and no food on the other.  If a supplement directs you to take it twice a day -- don't take 2 in the morning and then forget it.  The directions were written with getting the most benefit in mind.

Coming up - where to store your supplements and easy travel even with 15 bottles of supplements.

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