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News & Views
Dangerous 'Herbal' Tea: Don’t Be Fooled By Misleading Headlines
Date: 12/11/10
Keywords: Anti-Depressant, Alternative medicine, Chinese Medicine, Herbs, Obesity, sibutramine, Weight Loss
Recently, weight watchers have been warned not to take the slimming aids, Paiyouji tea or Pai You Guo Slim capsules, which are both available from online sources.
The reason?
The UK The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) found that these two ‘herbal remedies’ contain the anti- obesity drug, sibutramine.
Recently, weight watchers have been warned not to take the slimming aids, Paiyouji tea or Pai You Guo Slim capsules, which are both available from online sources.
The reason?
The UK The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) found that these two ‘herbal remedies’ contain the anti- obesity drug, sibutramine.
Yes, you heard that right: ‘herbal medicine’ and ‘diet drug’ were both used to describe these products.
Not herbal and not natural
Perhaps I should first mention that the anti obesity drug sibutramine has been banned in the UK and rest of Europe since January 2010. This followed fears that it increased the risk of heart attack and stroke. Consequently, it was also withdrawn from the US market in October 2010.
Sibutramine was originally developed as an antidepressant, but observations during early depression trials showed that weight loss also occurred, particularly in obese depressed patients. This led to its redevelopment as an anti-obesity drug and its subsequent introduction for combating obesity, in the UK, in 2001.
So there you have it, sibutramine is a hardcore pharmaceutical drug... it’s not a dangerous herbal compound — which is what the recent misleading media headlines and reports made it out to be.
What’s even more infuriating, is this little gem, spoken by Richard Woodfield, head of herbal policy at the MHRA who said: "People need to be aware that Payouji tea and Pai You Guo Slim Capsules are unlicensed herbal medicines and therefore have not met assured standards."
No Richard, it’s not a herbal medicine! It may be unlicensed and it may have dangerous side-effects, but it certainly is not an all-natural herbal product!
How is the public supposed to follow advice from a government agency who cannot even get the basics right?
This handy definition is just for Richard and his mates at the MHRA... and anyone else that may be confused by the recent misleading media reports
Herbal medicine, sometimes referred to as Herbalism, Botanical medicine or Herbology, is the use of plants, for their therapeutic value. Herb plants produce and contain a variety of natural compounds that can be used to prevent or treat disease or promote health and well-being. They do not contain synthetic substances courtesy of Big Pharma!
Bad Medicine
However, maybe they can be forgiven a little for getting the product description so wrong, as the unscrupulous manufacturers of Paiyouji tea did not even make the effort to list sibutramine as an ingredient in their concoction... Thanks a million guys for making our job a lot more difficult in trying to protect the good name of natural medicine!
If you read the label, you will see all kinds of wonderful things on the ingredients list, like:
It all sounds great, but why did they have to be so sneaky and add a dangerous pharmaceutical to the list... and then hide it?
Do these guys realise they have put lives at risk? Come on, it’s just as bad as Big Pharma withholding negative trial outcomes and information on the damaging side effects of certain drugs from the public (Avandia immediately springs to mind).
We are better than that!
Here’s a few handy tips for anyone who feels left in the dark after this episode — Richard, you can listen too:
Related Articles
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Sources:
'Unsafe' drug found in herbal tea, published online 20.10.10, bbc.co.uk
Drugs in Context: Sibutramine, published online, thepharmyard.com/shop/samples/csf_samplepages.pdf
More potent statins 'could save thousands, published online 09.11.10, telegraph.co.uk
Back to topThe reason?
The UK The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) found that these two ‘herbal remedies’ contain the anti- obesity drug, sibutramine.
Yes, you heard that right: ‘herbal medicine’ and ‘diet drug’ were both used to describe these products.
Not herbal and not natural
Perhaps I should first mention that the anti obesity drug sibutramine has been banned in the UK and rest of Europe since January 2010. This followed fears that it increased the risk of heart attack and stroke. Consequently, it was also withdrawn from the US market in October 2010.
Sibutramine was originally developed as an antidepressant, but observations during early depression trials showed that weight loss also occurred, particularly in obese depressed patients. This led to its redevelopment as an anti-obesity drug and its subsequent introduction for combating obesity, in the UK, in 2001.
So there you have it, sibutramine is a hardcore pharmaceutical drug... it’s not a dangerous herbal compound — which is what the recent misleading media headlines and reports made it out to be.
What’s even more infuriating, is this little gem, spoken by Richard Woodfield, head of herbal policy at the MHRA who said: "People need to be aware that Payouji tea and Pai You Guo Slim Capsules are unlicensed herbal medicines and therefore have not met assured standards."
No Richard, it’s not a herbal medicine! It may be unlicensed and it may have dangerous side-effects, but it certainly is not an all-natural herbal product!
How is the public supposed to follow advice from a government agency who cannot even get the basics right?
This handy definition is just for Richard and his mates at the MHRA... and anyone else that may be confused by the recent misleading media reports
Herbal medicine, sometimes referred to as Herbalism, Botanical medicine or Herbology, is the use of plants, for their therapeutic value. Herb plants produce and contain a variety of natural compounds that can be used to prevent or treat disease or promote health and well-being. They do not contain synthetic substances courtesy of Big Pharma!
Bad Medicine
However, maybe they can be forgiven a little for getting the product description so wrong, as the unscrupulous manufacturers of Paiyouji tea did not even make the effort to list sibutramine as an ingredient in their concoction... Thanks a million guys for making our job a lot more difficult in trying to protect the good name of natural medicine!
If you read the label, you will see all kinds of wonderful things on the ingredients list, like:
- konjaku flour — dietary fibre which adds no calories to your diet and quickly satisfies the appetite,
- oligosaccharide — natural sweetener adding no calories to your diet and also cleanses the intestines, promotes good intestinal bacteria and enhances immunity,
- malt — rich in vitamin E, folic acid and minerals such as calcium, cuprum, iron, magnesium , phosphorus, potassium and zinc,
- chitin — a slimming agent that also enhances immunity, suppress ageing and helps with disease prevention
- extract from apple,
- vitamin C,
- vitamin E,
- vitamin B2.
It all sounds great, but why did they have to be so sneaky and add a dangerous pharmaceutical to the list... and then hide it?
Do these guys realise they have put lives at risk? Come on, it’s just as bad as Big Pharma withholding negative trial outcomes and information on the damaging side effects of certain drugs from the public (Avandia immediately springs to mind).
We are better than that!
Here’s a few handy tips for anyone who feels left in the dark after this episode — Richard, you can listen too:
- Always read the entire list of ingredients of any supplement or herbal preparation you are about to take and make sure you know what the effects of each of the ingredients are.
- If the name of an ingredient doesn’t look natural it probably isn’t. Which means you are about to take a concoction of pharmaceutical drugs and natural medicine. Chances almost certainly are that it will be untested, unlicensed and probably have a few nasty side effects.
- Do your homework. Read as much as you can about research claims from trusted sources. If something sounds too good to be true, it most probably is.
- Buy your herbal medicine and supplements from trusted sources, not from an online resource that operates from a remote village in China...
Related Articles
GM Food: Brace Yourself, Here Comes Enviropig!
Fructose: Putting Things in Perspective
EU Supplement Crackdown: Time is Ticking Away... Your Freedom to Choose is in Jeopardy
Hot Topics:
When Getting Your Five-A-Day Isn’t the Healthy Option...
Super Omega-3 Helps Combat ADHD and Depression
Big Pharma... Or Should That Be Big Bully?
Sources:
'Unsafe' drug found in herbal tea, published online 20.10.10, bbc.co.uk
Drugs in Context: Sibutramine, published online, thepharmyard.com/shop/samples/csf_samplepages.pdf
More potent statins 'could save thousands, published online 09.11.10, telegraph.co.uk
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