How safe and effective are natural highs while taking prescription or over-the-counter drugs?
A. Supplements can be powerful – or why bother taking them at all? So, you should familiarize yourself with the possible interactions that they may have with drugs and other herbs or supplements, all described in the book. For example, while St John’s wort is an excellent mood enhancer, it should not be taken with certain drugs because it makes them less potent (just as grapefruit juice does with many drugs). Some of these are: coumadin, a blood thinner, immunosuppressant drugs taken by transplant patients, protease inhibitors for HIV, and possibly even oral contraceptives. On the other hand, herbs are remarkably safe: while prescription medications were responsible for 100,000 deaths in one year, it is only since 1993, with deaths due to misuse of ephedra, that there was a single fatality reported from medicinal herbs. We need to maintain perspective here. Q. How does your book differ from other natural health and healing books that promote the use of herbs, supplements and non-pharma
