Herbal / Prescription Interaction Awareness Month – July 2024

History of Herbal / Prescription Interaction Awareness Month

A dietary supplement is a manufactured product developed to improve one’s diet with additional nutrients. Dietary supplements date back to the mid-20th century. After clinicians began understanding how to isolate and synthesize particular nutrients, they searched for ways to address certain health issues. The preparations produced were very similar to the multivitamins we know today. A change in the overall diet of the American public happened alongside the rise of pre-packaged food, and people began to turn to dietary additives to meet their nutritional needs. Taking natural supplements has become popular, particularly among those in pursuit of improved health and fitness.

The 1994 Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act stated that dietary supplements are “a product (other than tobacco) intended to supplement the diet that bears or contains one or more of the following dietary ingredients: a vitamin; a mineral; an herb or other botanical; an amino acid; a dietary substance for use by man to supplement the diet by increasing the total dietary intake; or a concentrate, metabolite, constituent, extract, or combination of any ingredient described.” However, dietary supplements can be dangerous to consume in a number of situations.

Herbal/Prescription Interaction Awareness Month raises awareness about the potentially dangerous interactions between dietary supplements with prescription medicine. The month focuses on informing people, especially the elderly, about how dietary supplements should never be taken without consulting a healthcare provider to ensure that the product does not have a dangerous reaction when mixed with prescription medicine. For example, ingredients like ginseng, red sage, cranberry, garlic, and ginger can interact with specific prescription drugs, causing either dangerous symptoms or rendering them less effective.