Thewidelyusedherbalantidepressantkavaisdamagingtotheliver.Pregnantwomenshouldavoidmostherbalremediesbecauseofpesticidesandpreservativesrequiredinthegrowthandstorageoftheherbs.Mostayurvedicmedicinescontainunacceptablelevelsofleadandotherheavymetals.St.John’sWortcouldcomplicateanychronicmedicalcondition.Manypeopleseeherbalremediesas“natural“andthereforesafe,butinPrescriptionorPoison?Dr.AmitavaDasguptaexplainsthatoneofhisfirstpharmacologyprofessorstaughthimthat“medicine“isjustanotherwordfor“poison“andallmedicinesofanykindshouldbetreatedwithgreatcaution.Thisbook,writtenforthelaypersonbutbasedonsolidscienceandresearch,explainshowtoxicmanyalternativeremediescanbe,aloneorincombinationwithwidelyprescribeddrugtreatments.Heincludesdetailedinformationontheproperuseofalternativemedicinesandtheirhistoryofgoodresults,whilealsocautioningreadersinthiswake-upcallaboutthecasual,oftenuninformed,andsometimesdamaginguseofalternativeremedies.
