> A colleague of mine just shared an article she found in "Nutrition and
> Complementary Care" a publication from the American Dietetic Association.
>  The article is entitled "Maternal Use of Herbal Supplements".  It is
> written by Jerald Foote MS RD and Bruce Rengers PhD, RD.  They take issue
> with the fact that many women think of herbs as a "safe and natural
> alternative to conventional medicines" and not as "drugs with
> pharmacological and toxicological potential".  The article goes on to
> list, in table form, all the herbs considered not appropriate for use
> during pregnancy and lactation.   Of concern to me and why I bring this
> information to the list is that they list the herb Fenugreek here.  They
> state "Warfarin, a known teratogenic drug, could be compared to herbal
> medicines containing a similar active constituent.  Some examples would
> include fenugreek, chamomile, angelica, licorice, passionflower and
> meadowsweet."  This article states it is a reprint with adaptations from
> "The Perinatal Nutrition Report" Spring 1998, Vol 5, 1;1-2.  What do you
> all think of this?  I recommend Fenugreek frequently so I would
> appreciate a way to respond to this article.
>(Ilene Fabisch)

I think one must take into consideration that herbs are used as a whole and
not, like regular medications in an isolated form. The effect of herbal
remedies is mostly more mild and less agressive then isolated drugs. The
other components in herbal remedies do have a changing or smoothing effect
on the main working agent in the herb. I don't mean to say that herbs are
always save (for they most certainly are not), just trying to put things
into perspective. I think that LC's who want to work with herbal remedies
should study this as they do study working with regular drugs: by seeking
information, references and advices by experts, in this case certified
herbal therapists, certified homeopathy therapists (sorry, don't know the
correct English name for this profession) and thelike. As we all know is not
the contents alone what defines the result, it is also a question of in
which form it is taken by whom, when, in what quantaties and why.
Gonneke van Veldhuizen, IBCLC, Maaseik, Belgium

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