_____ From: Ed Bobrow [mailto:[log in to unmask]] Sent: Monday, April 05, 2004 7:53 AM To: General List Subject: FW: Consumer World Update - April 5 Twelve supplements you should avoid The 12 supplement ingredients in this table have been linked to serious adverse events or, in the case of glandular supplements, to strong theoretical risks. They're all readily available on the Web, where our shoppers bought them both individually and in multi-ingredient “combination products.” We think it's wise to avoid all of them. But the strength of that warning varies with the strength of the evidence and the size of the risk. So we've divided the dirty dozen into three categories: definitely hazardous, very likely hazardous, and likely hazardous. DEFINITELY HAZARDOUS Documented organ failure and known carcinogenic properties Aristolochic acid (Aristolochia, birthwort, snakeroot, snakeweed, sangree root, sangrel, serpentary, serpentaria; asarum canadense, wild ginger) VäxaPMS-Ease, Shanghai Chinese Herbal Company Cardioflex (Guan Xin Su He Wan), Min Shan Brand Long Dan Xie Gan Wan Potenthuman carcinogen; kidney failure, sometimes requiring transplant; deaths reported. FDAwarning to consumers and industry and import alert, in April 2001. Banned in 7 European countries and Egypt, Japan, and Venezuela. VERY LIKELY HAZARDOUS Banned in other countries, FDA warning, or adverse effects in studies Comfrey (Symphytum officinale, ass ear, black root, blackwort, bruisewort, consolidae radix, consound, gum plant, healing herb, knitback, knitbone, salsify, slippery root, symphytum radix, wallwort) AmericanHealth & Herbs Ministry Asthma Formula 1040 Tincture Abnormalliver function or damage, often irreversible; deaths reported. FDAadvised industry to remove from market in July 2001. Androstenedione (4-androstene-3, 17-dione, andro, androstene) ASTSports Science Andro100, SDI-Labs D-Bol Methadrostenol, Young Again Nutrients Androstene Dione Increased cancer risk, decrease in HDL cholesterol. FDAwarned 23 companies to stop manufacturing, marketing, and distributing in March 2004. Banned by athletic associations. Chaparral(Larrea divaricata, creosote bush, greasewood, hediondilla, jarilla, larreastat) ArizonaNaturals Chaparral tablets, American Health & Herbs Ministry Bowel & Liver Cleanser Tincture, Larreacorp Ltd. Larreastat Abnormalliver function or damage, often irreversible; deaths reported. FDAwarning to consumers in December 1992. Germander (Teucrium chamaedrys, wall germander, wild germander) Nature'sWonderland Germander Herb Powder Abnormalliver function or damage, often irreversible; deaths reported. Bannedin France and Germany. Kava (Piper methysticum, ava, awa, gea, gi, intoxicating pepper, kao, kavain, kawa-pfeffer, kew, long pepper, malohu, maluk, meruk, milik, rauschpfeffer, sakau, tonga, wurzelstock, yagona, yangona) NutriBioticMetaRest, Ancient Herbs Relaxit, BlueBerry Matrix Herbal Stress Relief and Relaxation Enhancement Tablet Abnormalliver function or damage, occasionally irreversible; deaths reported. FDAwarning to consumers in March 2002. Banned in Canada, Germany, Singapore, South Africa, and Switzerland. LIKELY HAZARDOUS Adverse-event reports or theoretical risks Bitter orange(Citrus aurantium, green orange, kijitsu, neroli oil, Seville orange, shangzhou zhiqiao, sour orange, zhi oiao, zhi xhi) XenadrineEFX, Metabolife Ultra, NOW Diet Support Highblood pressure; increased risk of heart arrythmias, heart attack, stroke. None Organ/glandular extracts (brain/adrenal/pituitary/ placenta/other gland “substance” or “concentrate”) Healthgenesis.com Brain Concentrate capsules, Plymouth Bell Labs Multigland-F Aspen GroupGlan-Fem Plus Theoretical risk of mad cow disease, particularly from brain extracts. FDAbanned high-risk bovine materials from older cows in foods and supplements in January 2004. (High-risk parts from cows under 30 months still permitted.) Banned in France and Switzerland. Lobelia(Lobelia inflata, asthma weed, bladderpod, emetic herb, gagroot, lobelie, indian tobacco, pukeweed, vomit wort, wild tobacco) Nature’s WayLobelia Herb respiratory tonic, Nature’s Way Breathe-Aid, American Health & Herbs Ministry Asthma Formula 1040 Tincture Breathing difficulty, rapid heartbeat, low blood pressure, diarrhea, dizziness, tremors; possible deaths reported. Bannedin Bangladesh and Italy. Pennyroyaloil (Hedeoma pulegioides, lurk-in-the-ditch, mosquito plant, piliolerial, pudding grass, pulegium, run-by-the-ground, squaw balm, squawmint, stinking balm, tickweed) Nature’sAnswer Pennyroyal Herb Extract, Nature’s Wonderland Pennyroyal Herb capsules, American Health & Herbs Ministry Pennyroyal Tincture Liverand kidney failure, nerve damage, convulsions, abdominal tenderness, burning of the throat; deaths reported. None Scullcap(Scutellaria lateriflora, blue pimpernel, helmet flower, hoodwort, mad weed, mad-dog herb, mad-dog weed, quaker bonnet, scutelluria, skullcap) SolaraySkullcap Capsules, American Health & Herbs Ministry Appetite Stimulant Formula Tincture Abnormalliver function or damage. None Yohimbe (Pausinystalia yohimbe, johimbi, yohimbehe, yohimbine) TwinlabYohimbe Fuel, Nature’s Purest Herbal Niagara, K-Max Power-for-Men Pure Yohimbe Bark Extract Changein blood pressure, heart arrythmias, respiratory depression, heart attack; deaths reported. None According to product labels. Sources: Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database 2004 and Consumers Union's medical and research consultants. Copyright © 2000-2003 Consumers Union of U.S., Inc. No reproduction, in whole or in part, without written permission. -- Edwin E. Bobrow New York, NY 10028-0134 Phone: 212-249-7001 Fax: 212-249-7256 E-Mail: [log in to unmask] - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn