by colemama

Question by Anita: Why do people think that “natural herbs and supplements” are not drugs?
And why do they think just because something is all natural it means that it is safe? I’m sure as Socrates was drinking his glass of hemlock, he wasn’t under the diluted impression that it was going to be good for him.
Meatball7,
I am not inferring that pharmaceutical drugs and natural supplements are the same. They are definitely different. The big difference I see is that in order for a pharmaceutical drug to be sold, they have to pass rigorous trails and tests set through the FDA. Natural herbs do not, yet they can still make the claim that they will help cure a certain condition or disease. You are right about side effects of natural herbs being virtually unknown, but that is not because they don’t exist. It’s because no one is conducting tests to see what the side effects are, and even if they do have side effects, no one is mandating that they are listed on the bottle. Remember St John’s Wort, that wonderful all natural treatment for depression? Well it has been found to have side effects of cataracts, hypertension, sensitivity to sun, serotonin imbalance, and cause birth control pills to be ineffective.
I’d much rather have my little leaflet from the pharmacy to tell me which side effects to look for than to take something and have to figure it out on my own.
Carpanone Kid-
I certainly agree that there are some natural substances that can do a wonderful job to treat a condition. But how do I, the average consumer know which is ‘quality” and which is “con-man”?

Best answer:

Answer by Mickirs
because its a supplement not a drug

What do you think? Answer below!