Toxic Metals Pop Up in Online Ayurvedic Supplements

I am too young to remember the public outcry against mercury-laden thermometers popular in every home decades before the Thermo Scan made it possible to take your temperature inside the ear safely and accurately; but I do remember learning about the dangers of mercury. Online retailers of "natural" supplements will most likely be scaling back on ancient Indian Ayurvedic medicines that are supposed to keep a healthy balance between the body and the mind. Loosely translated as "wisdom for living," Ayurveda is an Indian tradition dating back 3,000-5,000 years using spirituality as a backdrop for healing the body from the inside out. Mainly used in India, Sri Lanka and Nepal, Ayurveda has long been celebrated as the most continually practiced system of medicine throughout the globe. Focusing on a balance between a person's mind and body as well as striking harmony with the nature around the body, Ayurveda strengthens life's energies instead of tackling symptoms individually like western medicine tends to perform. Like western medicine, however, Ayurveda is practiced with subsets specific to different functions of the mind and body. There are two types of Ayurveda that are usually performed, that of using just herbs to cure the body and one using herbs in conjunction with gems, minerals, and metals, known as rasa shastra. In August-October of 2005, the Boston University School of Medicine ordered 193 randomly purchased online supplements from five different search engines, 60 percent from American companies and the rest from Indian retailers to test their levels of toxicity for lead, mercury, and arsenic. According to the Journal of the American Medical Association where the study was published, over 20 percent of the herbal remedies tested held high levels of toxins. The authors note, "Metals may be present due to the practice of rasa shastra." The herbs for rasa shastra were more inclined to have lead and mercury in them than those that were designated for the strictly herbal form of Ayurvedic medicine. Dr. Robert B. Saper, who led the study at Boston University, wasn't surprised that over 41 percent of the herbs containing dangerous levels of metals were intended for rasa shastra purposes. Saper and his team wrote, "Several Indian-manufactured rasa shastra medicines could result in lead and/or mercury ingestions 100 to 10,000 times greater than acceptable limits." One in five of all U.S. and Indian manufactured supplements contained metals. Of the U.S. originated brands, 95 percent contained an above-average level of metal that exceeds daily intake values approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Of these, 75 percent were purported to have Good Manufacturing Practices, an FDA safety regulation. Since 1978 there have been more than 80 documented cases of lead poisoning across the globe, and more cases of nervous disorders, brain and blood diseases as a result from exposure to lead. Even though most herbal remedies are intended for adult use, 4 percent of the 193 tested were marketed for children and that's hard to swallow. The good news is that most of the manufacturers under the American Herbal Products Association (AHPA) had less supplements with a risk of containing metals. The president of the AHPA, Michael McGuffin, is confident that his company lets their members know that there are high levels of metals in plants and within the soil that shouldn't be ignored by the manufacturer. So how do you trust the internet to give you safe, effective, healthy alternatives to drug stores and pharmacies? Check out the FDA's Online Consumer Guide to acquiring safe online medications, only use approved AHPA www.apha.org sites with regularly updated health information, and contact your local online distributor. McGuffin suggests that buyers call their manufacturers, "Ask tough questions. If you call a company and ask what their limits are for lead, and the representative says they don't know, that's a red flag." The FDA may have to look into a better way to regulate their Good Manufacturing Processes and should be stricter in approving businesses, especially those with an internet base. If consumers aren't careful, they could be swallowing mercury with their morning orange juice or serving arsenic up with dinner.