hi everyone,

Why is it that a lot of people seem to blame herbs for problems when far
more problems are often caused by allopathic medicine?  The problem is not
the herbs - it is people using them incorrectly without the proper
guidance.  We wouldn't recommend that people decide on their own doses of
regular medicine and the same goes for herbal medicines.

Barbara mentioned chamomile tea causing a problem in a breastfed baby.  A
very common side effect is nausea and in general two cups per day of any
herb tea should be plenty.  It is possible that the chamomile in itself was
not the problem but the way it was brewed as Barbara said the tea was
strongly brewed.  When brewing herb teas it is important not to let the
herbs draw for more than five to ten minutes, depending on the tea, as
after this period of time the toxic properties of the plant start to be
drawn out as well.  Do you think that this mother could have been leaving
the tea to draw too long and rather than the chamomile itself upseting the
baby it could have been these compounds that caused the problem?

Breastfeeding mothers do need to be careful which herbs they use as many
affect lactation.  The norishing teas help boost milk supply while some
suppress milk supply. Sage is one such herb so should be used very
sparingly by lactating women.

Love, Judy. (Who does know about herbs and has studied and used them for
medicinal purposes a lot!).
--
Judy Grundy
email: [log in to unmask]
WWW: http://www.cs.waikato.ac.nz/~jgrundy/judy.html