While the jury is still out on whether the popular supplement echinacea fights the common cold, it does seem the innocent-sounding herb can pack drug-like side effects.
A 41-year-old man realized this while using echinacea for his flu-like symptoms, according to Canadian researchers.
Tender nodules formed under the skin of the man's legs 4 to 5 days after taking the herb. And although the bumps disappeared after several weeks, the man experienced three more episodes of the condition, called erythema nodosum, before being taken off the herb.
Erythema nodosum is a condition that affects the area beneath the skin and causes tender, bruise-like sores.
When the man stoped taking his echinacea, the episodes of erythema nodosum stopped completely, even when he was followed over a one year period.
Although the use of alternative medicines such as echinacea and other herbs has grown over the past decade, this case study demonstrates that many herbal remedies still generate side effects, just as traditional medical treatments do.
Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology February 2001;44:298-299
Just because your supplement is natural does not mean it may be safe for you to take. My position on most supplements is to try and avoid them and use lifestyle modifications to treat foundational causes.
While herbs are generally far safer than drugs and usually cost less (if one does not factor in third party insurance reimbursement), they rarely treat the cause of the symptom or disease.
In addition to that basic fact, one has to address the integrity of the company selling the supplements. There is a great variability in quality of raw ingredients that go into the supplements. Many companies are not of the highest integrity and sell supplements that are there in name only.
They have very little, if any, active ingredient. Generally, the lower the cost of the supplement the greater the likelihood this is happening. Even worse, the processing of the supplement could damage it in a way that could cause some potential toxicity.
These are just some of the additional factors that led me to my above recommendation. Fortunately, in my office I have the technical ability to check that the supplements I carry are of the highest quality possible in the industry.
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