TCM HERBS, LEAD
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Lead in Herbs & Herbal Products
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Man's Treasure: for
support of normal male
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Golden Book Pill: to
support normal Yin/Yang
balance (over 50)
The Truth About Chinese
Bitters
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With Respect to Dr. Oz,
The Whole Truth About
Corydalis
All About Chinese
Herbs
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Herbs
How Chinese Herbs are
Made
Impurities in Herbs
California Proposition 65
By Joel Harvey, L.Ac.
If you're reading this, you probably heard that lead was found in food or
herbs or water, or a consumer product. Modern detection equipment has
revealed trace amounts of lead in plants and water, as well as the large
amounts already found in petroleum, paint, toys, furniture, drugs,
crayons, glass, and many other household items. Hearing these reports,
we grow concerned and afraid. But is our fear really justified?
Find
Famous Chinese
Herbal
Supplements
Yin Chiao
We all have a right to be warned, and must be warned about health
hazards in our environment, but is the trace lead found in plants, animals,
food, and water the same hazard as the gross amounts of lead found in
gasoline, plumbing, and paint? Is this trace lead in the environment really
something to be alarmed about?
My area of interest is medicinal herbs, which I prescribe, and which
sometimes contain trace amounts of lead. When my patient's hear of this,
they all wonder, are these herbs really safe? I assure them that these
herbs have been used safely for many generations, and that they have
always contained trace lead, and likely contain less now than ever
before. These herbs have never been shown, or even suspected, of
causing any disease associated with lead poisoning. I could also tell them
that the compounds of lead found in herbal medicines are less likely than
free lead to bind with molecules in our body, and are thus slower to be
absorbed.
Unfortunately for all of us, facts such as these are missing from both
government and media sources, which tend to provoke hysteria rather
than educate. As a result, many people have become as mistrustful of
herbs as they are of pharmaceuticals. Fanning the flames of mistrust are
California Proposition 65 warnings appearing on many herbal medicines.
In California, many people have become
accustomed to these ubiquitous Prop 65
signs, labels, and brochures warning of
dangers lurking in their food and
household products. Prop. 65 labels
warn that products contain various
substances that cause cancer, birth
defects or other reproductive harm. In
the case of herbal medicines, trace amounts of lead is almost always the
reason.
But are these warnings really accurate? For example, labels warn that
lead causes cancer, but what evidence supports such a conclusion.
Apparently, the warning is based on evidence that high doses of lead
have been shown to cause kidney cancer in laboratory animals bred to
be susceptible to cancer. However, where is the evidence that such
1 of 4
Locate a product
or formula:
Zong Gan Ling
Gan Mao Ling
Allergy Pills
Sinus Support Pills
Stomach Pills for
INDIGESTION*/NAUSEA*
Herbs for WOMEN
Free & Easy for
DAILY STRESS
Two Immortals pills
for MENOPAUSE*
Women's Precious
Pills for MENSTRUAL
HEALTH*
Shou Wu pills for
YOUTHFUL HAIR*
Rhubarb Pills for
OCCASIONAL
CONSTIPATION*
Jade Shield for
IMMUNE SUPPORT*
Complexion Pills
for HEALTHY SKIN*
3/4/15 12:39 PM
Lead in Herbs & Herbal Products
http://www.drshen.com/lead-in-herbs.htm
exposure causes cancer in humans? The one study of workers, exposed
to high concentrations of lead, showed no increase in the incidence of
kidney cancer. Is this really evidence enough to make people fearful of
herbal medicines?
After surveying all the science available, Kyle Steenland, PhD and Paolo
Boffetta, MD, in their article Lead and Cancer in Humans: Where Are We
Now (The American Journal of Industrial Medicine, September 2000, vol.
38, issue 3, pages 295 - 299), conclude that the evidence that lead
causes cancer in humans is weak.
Now Available
from
BayTree Publications
Dr. Shen's Handbook:
A Patient's Guide to
Chinese Medicine
FREE SHIPPING
$18.95
1
Add to cart
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This doesn't mean that lead is safe for us. Far from it, lead is toxic to
humans because it can replace other metals in our body such as calcium,
zinc, and iron, creating abnormal molecules in our enzymes which then
fail to carry out normal body functions. Lead poisoning, also known as
painter's colic or plumbism, can result in damage to the kidneys, heart,
and nervous system. This is not new information. In ancient Rome, many
ills were attributed to lead, which was used in medicine, jewelry, wine,
plumbing, and make-up. As early as 250 BC, Nicander of Coloform wrote
about lead-induced anemia. The Roman remedy for lead poisoning was
documented to be mallow or walnut juice with wine. Lead has been with
us since the beginning of civilization. Lead is an element found in all the
earth's soils, rivers, lakes, and oceans. Lead is also found in the air as a
component of dust. Lead levels vary from ½ per million (ppm) to about 10
ppm in soils sampled far from industrial pollution. Lead exists in anything
eaten, including all food, beverages, drugs, and supplements.
There is no doubt that some environmental lead comes from industrial
pollution. Over 300 million tons of lead, mined in the twentieth century,
has returned to our environment via leaded paint, leaded fuels, leaded
"tin" cans, and leaded plumbing. However it's incorrect to single out
pollution alone for the presence of lead. Even without any human activity,
lead would still exist everywhere, as it does in the ancient igneous rocks
formed from our planet's natural volcanic activity. Our bodies always
contain some lead, normally about .05 ppm. Healthy human bones
contain 20-40 ppm of this element.
Good Sleep &
Worry Free pills for
OCCASIONAL
SLEEPLESSNESS*
Man's Treasure for
MALE QI*
Herbal Soaps,
Herbal Lotions,
and Herbal Skin
Care Products
> Find Out More
E-mail
Consultations
Consultations for
Chinese Herbal
Products.
> Find Out More
Chinese Herbs
Discover what Chinese
sages have known for
centuries.
> 3 Amazing Chinese
Herbal Products for
Colds. Made in the
USA
The typical American diet is said to contain 15 – 25 micrograms or more
of lead daily, mainly originating in fruits and vegetables. Other exposures
to the air, water, and industry can result in up to 200 millionths of a gram
consumed daily. Typical doses of herbal medicine can add 3 to 15
millionths of a gram per day.
Though these figures might sound high, they are actually quite low. The
amount of lead in our bodies today is actually the lowest in recorded
history. Thirty or more years ago, when lead was in gasoline and paint,
we absorbed five to ten times as much as we do today, yet still there is no
evidence, despite today's warnings, that our grandparents suffered any
ailments whatsoever because of their exposure to lead. If lead really did
cause cancer, might not the decline in lead exposure result in a similar
decline in cancer rates? On the contrary, while lead exposure has
declined precipitously, most cancer rates have risen. Is it possible that
fears of lead may have been inflated, and that lead may not be the
environmental bogey man we have presumed it to be.
No one doubts that lead is bad for you at toxic levers, but at what levels?
Herbal practitioners know that lead can actually be good for you in certain
instances. Lead has a long history of cautious use as medicine. The
Chinese herbal formula "Lead Special Pill" harnesses the "weight" of lead
to settle the lungs in certain cases of asthma. The formula is prescribed
at precise doses for periods of no longer than two weeks, and is not given
2 of 4
3/4/15 12:39 PM
Lead in Herbs & Herbal Products
http://www.drshen.com/lead-in-herbs.htm
to children or pregnant women. It has been in use safely since the year
1040.
That lead can be medicine is not an apology for lead in the environment.
Eight thousand years of observation has shown us that lead is mostly not
good for you, so there is absolutely no reason to introduce it into the
environment, no excuse for putting lead paint on children's toys. Laws
have solved this problem to a great degree, drastically reducing the lead
in our surroundings.
Removing lead from our plants, animals, earth and water is much more
difficult. Eons of volcanoes and chimney smoke have dusted our planet
with trace amounts of lead. The latest detection technology shows that
both the ocean's foam and the organic greens you purchased at the
health food store, probably contain lead. A chocolate bar may contain
more lead than ten doses of herbal medicine.
If this is so, why are there no warning labels on a chocolate bar? The
curious reason is, of course, money. The chocolate industry had the
millions of dollars needed to go to court and prove that all the lead in
chocolate occurs there naturally, so it cannot be considered a
contaminant. Unfortunately, few of the small herb companies sued under
proposition 65 had the resources to prove that all the lead occurring in all
the herbs in all their products was also natural. That's the only reason
why you'll find lead warnings on herbal medicines, but not on candy.
But is chocolate or herbs really a health problem deserving of warning?
There's a lot of evidence that a lot of people have eaten a lot of chocolate
and taken a lot of herbs without succumbing to mortal disease. Are
California proposition 65 warning labels overly alarming? We know that
reduced lead pollution has already
reduced the amount lead in our bodies.
The same process is already reducing
the amount of lead in plants, and today's
plant medicines probably have less lead
in them than they might have a
generation ago.
There is, and always has been, lead in
every herbal medicine. This is why many governments throughout the
world have created appropriate standards for lead in herbal medicines.
For example, Japan allows 20 parts per million (ppm) for total metals in
herbal medicines. The World Health Organization allows 10 ppm for lead.
The Australian TGA allows 5 ppm for lead in a product. Germany allows 5
ppm as well. The US Pharmacopoeia has no standards for herbs, but
allows 3 ppm in drugs.
Most Chinese herbal products test at an average of 1-3 ppm, which is
considered safe and incidental by all international standards for medicine.
However, California's Proposition 65 requires warning at only 1/2 ppm in
food, and in California, herbal medicines are considered food rather than
drugs. Prop 65 allows the sale of these products, however it requires a
warning.
Though they might be technically correct, whether or not these warnings
are actually educational or even informative is another matter. Certainly
warnings create fear among consumers; fears that become associated
not only with lead, but the product, the brand, and by association, all of
herbal medicine. We believe that this fear of herbs, based on
misinformation, is bad for everyone except the pharmaceutical industry,
which by the way, is allowed six times as much lead in their products -
3 of 4
3/4/15 12:39 PM
Lead in Herbs & Herbal Products
http://www.drshen.com/lead-in-herbs.htm
without posting any lead warning.
Fear also causes people to lose their perspective. The next time you find
yourself worried about trace lead in herbal medicine, please remember
the 200,000 people who actually die every year from taking over-thecounter, non-prescription drugs.
*These statements have not been evaluated by the US Food and Drug Administration. These products
are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
Home | Dr. Shen's Herbs | Chinese Herbal Store
©Copyright 2013 by Shen Herbal Pharmacy. All rights reserved. Web Design by Atelier Dos.
4 of 4
3/4/15 12:39 PM
http://www.drshen.com/lead-in-herbs.htm
View
Cart
Home
Locate a product or formula:
Dr. Shen's Chinese Herb Products
Chinese Herb Store
Testimonials & Reviews
Guide to TCM
Lead in Herbs and Herbal Products
Find
Chinese Herbs
Dr. Shen's Chinese
Herbs
Shen Clinic Products
Health Concerns Brand
Bulk Chinese Herbs
(Whole Herbs & Herbal
Extracts)
Plum Flower Brand
Imported Chinese Herbs
Seven Forest Brand
Chinese Herbs for
Practitioners
Spring Wind Herbs
Topical Chinese Herbs
Chinese Herbs for
Common Conditions
Man's Treasure: for
support of normal male
reproductive Qi
Golden Book Pill: to
support normal Yin/Yang
balance (over 50)
The Truth About Chinese
Bitters
Cold Remedy Reviews
With Respect to Dr. Oz,
The Whole Truth About
Corydalis
All About Chinese
Herbs
Where to Get Chinese
Herbs
How Chinese Herbs are
Made
Impurities in Herbs
California Proposition 65
By Joel Harvey, L.Ac.
If you're reading this, you probably heard that lead was found in food or
herbs or water, or a consumer product. Modern detection equipment has
revealed trace amounts of lead in plants and water, as well as the large
amounts already found in petroleum, paint, toys, furniture, drugs,
crayons, glass, and many other household items. Hearing these reports,
we grow concerned and afraid. But is our fear really justified?
Find
Famous Chinese
Herbal
Supplements
Yin Chiao
We all have a right to be warned, and must be warned about health
hazards in our environment, but is the trace lead found in plants, animals,
food, and water the same hazard as the gross amounts of lead found in
gasoline, plumbing, and paint? Is this trace lead in the environment really
something to be alarmed about?
My area of interest is medicinal herbs, which I prescribe, and which
sometimes contain trace amounts of lead. When my patient's hear of this,
they all wonder, are these herbs really safe? I assure them that these
herbs have been used safely for many generations, and that they have
always contained trace lead, and likely contain less now than ever
before. These herbs have never been shown, or even suspected, of
causing any disease associated with lead poisoning. I could also tell them
that the compounds of lead found in herbal medicines are less likely than
free lead to bind with molecules in our body, and are thus slower to be
absorbed.
Unfortunately for all of us, facts such as these are missing from both
government and media sources, which tend to provoke hysteria rather
than educate. As a result, many people have become as mistrustful of
herbs as they are of pharmaceuticals. Fanning the flames of mistrust are
California Proposition 65 warnings appearing on many herbal medicines.
In California, many people have become
accustomed to these ubiquitous Prop 65
signs, labels, and brochures warning of
dangers lurking in their food and
household products. Prop. 65 labels
warn that products contain various
substances that cause cancer, birth
defects or other reproductive harm. In
the case of herbal medicines, trace amounts of lead is almost always the
reason.
But are these warnings really accurate? For example, labels warn that
lead causes cancer, but what evidence supports such a conclusion.
Apparently, the warning is based on evidence that high doses of lead
have been shown to cause kidney cancer in laboratory animals bred to
be susceptible to cancer. However, where is the evidence that such
1 of 4
Locate a product
or formula:
Zong Gan Ling
Gan Mao Ling
Allergy Pills
Sinus Support Pills
Stomach Pills for
INDIGESTION*/NAUSEA*
Herbs for WOMEN
Free & Easy for
DAILY STRESS
Two Immortals pills
for MENOPAUSE*
Women's Precious
Pills for MENSTRUAL
HEALTH*
Shou Wu pills for
YOUTHFUL HAIR*
Rhubarb Pills for
OCCASIONAL
CONSTIPATION*
Jade Shield for
IMMUNE SUPPORT*
Complexion Pills
for HEALTHY SKIN*
3/4/15 12:39 PM
Lead in Herbs & Herbal Products
http://www.drshen.com/lead-in-herbs.htm
exposure causes cancer in humans? The one study of workers, exposed
to high concentrations of lead, showed no increase in the incidence of
kidney cancer. Is this really evidence enough to make people fearful of
herbal medicines?
After surveying all the science available, Kyle Steenland, PhD and Paolo
Boffetta, MD, in their article Lead and Cancer in Humans: Where Are We
Now (The American Journal of Industrial Medicine, September 2000, vol.
38, issue 3, pages 295 - 299), conclude that the evidence that lead
causes cancer in humans is weak.
Now Available
from
BayTree Publications
Dr. Shen's Handbook:
A Patient's Guide to
Chinese Medicine
FREE SHIPPING
$18.95
1
Add to cart
View Cart
This doesn't mean that lead is safe for us. Far from it, lead is toxic to
humans because it can replace other metals in our body such as calcium,
zinc, and iron, creating abnormal molecules in our enzymes which then
fail to carry out normal body functions. Lead poisoning, also known as
painter's colic or plumbism, can result in damage to the kidneys, heart,
and nervous system. This is not new information. In ancient Rome, many
ills were attributed to lead, which was used in medicine, jewelry, wine,
plumbing, and make-up. As early as 250 BC, Nicander of Coloform wrote
about lead-induced anemia. The Roman remedy for lead poisoning was
documented to be mallow or walnut juice with wine. Lead has been with
us since the beginning of civilization. Lead is an element found in all the
earth's soils, rivers, lakes, and oceans. Lead is also found in the air as a
component of dust. Lead levels vary from ½ per million (ppm) to about 10
ppm in soils sampled far from industrial pollution. Lead exists in anything
eaten, including all food, beverages, drugs, and supplements.
There is no doubt that some environmental lead comes from industrial
pollution. Over 300 million tons of lead, mined in the twentieth century,
has returned to our environment via leaded paint, leaded fuels, leaded
"tin" cans, and leaded plumbing. However it's incorrect to single out
pollution alone for the presence of lead. Even without any human activity,
lead would still exist everywhere, as it does in the ancient igneous rocks
formed from our planet's natural volcanic activity. Our bodies always
contain some lead, normally about .05 ppm. Healthy human bones
contain 20-40 ppm of this element.
Good Sleep &
Worry Free pills for
OCCASIONAL
SLEEPLESSNESS*
Man's Treasure for
MALE QI*
Herbal Soaps,
Herbal Lotions,
and Herbal Skin
Care Products
> Find Out More
Consultations
Consultations for
Chinese Herbal
Products.
> Find Out More
Chinese Herbs
Discover what Chinese
sages have known for
centuries.
> 3 Amazing Chinese
Herbal Products for
Colds. Made in the
USA
The typical American diet is said to contain 15 – 25 micrograms or more
of lead daily, mainly originating in fruits and vegetables. Other exposures
to the air, water, and industry can result in up to 200 millionths of a gram
consumed daily. Typical doses of herbal medicine can add 3 to 15
millionths of a gram per day.
Though these figures might sound high, they are actually quite low. The
amount of lead in our bodies today is actually the lowest in recorded
history. Thirty or more years ago, when lead was in gasoline and paint,
we absorbed five to ten times as much as we do today, yet still there is no
evidence, despite today's warnings, that our grandparents suffered any
ailments whatsoever because of their exposure to lead. If lead really did
cause cancer, might not the decline in lead exposure result in a similar
decline in cancer rates? On the contrary, while lead exposure has
declined precipitously, most cancer rates have risen. Is it possible that
fears of lead may have been inflated, and that lead may not be the
environmental bogey man we have presumed it to be.
No one doubts that lead is bad for you at toxic levers, but at what levels?
Herbal practitioners know that lead can actually be good for you in certain
instances. Lead has a long history of cautious use as medicine. The
Chinese herbal formula "Lead Special Pill" harnesses the "weight" of lead
to settle the lungs in certain cases of asthma. The formula is prescribed
at precise doses for periods of no longer than two weeks, and is not given
2 of 4
3/4/15 12:39 PM
Lead in Herbs & Herbal Products
http://www.drshen.com/lead-in-herbs.htm
to children or pregnant women. It has been in use safely since the year
1040.
That lead can be medicine is not an apology for lead in the environment.
Eight thousand years of observation has shown us that lead is mostly not
good for you, so there is absolutely no reason to introduce it into the
environment, no excuse for putting lead paint on children's toys. Laws
have solved this problem to a great degree, drastically reducing the lead
in our surroundings.
Removing lead from our plants, animals, earth and water is much more
difficult. Eons of volcanoes and chimney smoke have dusted our planet
with trace amounts of lead. The latest detection technology shows that
both the ocean's foam and the organic greens you purchased at the
health food store, probably contain lead. A chocolate bar may contain
more lead than ten doses of herbal medicine.
If this is so, why are there no warning labels on a chocolate bar? The
curious reason is, of course, money. The chocolate industry had the
millions of dollars needed to go to court and prove that all the lead in
chocolate occurs there naturally, so it cannot be considered a
contaminant. Unfortunately, few of the small herb companies sued under
proposition 65 had the resources to prove that all the lead occurring in all
the herbs in all their products was also natural. That's the only reason
why you'll find lead warnings on herbal medicines, but not on candy.
But is chocolate or herbs really a health problem deserving of warning?
There's a lot of evidence that a lot of people have eaten a lot of chocolate
and taken a lot of herbs without succumbing to mortal disease. Are
California proposition 65 warning labels overly alarming? We know that
reduced lead pollution has already
reduced the amount lead in our bodies.
The same process is already reducing
the amount of lead in plants, and today's
plant medicines probably have less lead
in them than they might have a
generation ago.
There is, and always has been, lead in
every herbal medicine. This is why many governments throughout the
world have created appropriate standards for lead in herbal medicines.
For example, Japan allows 20 parts per million (ppm) for total metals in
herbal medicines. The World Health Organization allows 10 ppm for lead.
The Australian TGA allows 5 ppm for lead in a product. Germany allows 5
ppm as well. The US Pharmacopoeia has no standards for herbs, but
allows 3 ppm in drugs.
Most Chinese herbal products test at an average of 1-3 ppm, which is
considered safe and incidental by all international standards for medicine.
However, California's Proposition 65 requires warning at only 1/2 ppm in
food, and in California, herbal medicines are considered food rather than
drugs. Prop 65 allows the sale of these products, however it requires a
warning.
Though they might be technically correct, whether or not these warnings
are actually educational or even informative is another matter. Certainly
warnings create fear among consumers; fears that become associated
not only with lead, but the product, the brand, and by association, all of
herbal medicine. We believe that this fear of herbs, based on
misinformation, is bad for everyone except the pharmaceutical industry,
which by the way, is allowed six times as much lead in their products -
3 of 4
3/4/15 12:39 PM
Lead in Herbs & Herbal Products
http://www.drshen.com/lead-in-herbs.htm
without posting any lead warning.
Fear also causes people to lose their perspective. The next time you find
yourself worried about trace lead in herbal medicine, please remember
the 200,000 people who actually die every year from taking over-thecounter, non-prescription drugs.
*These statements have not been evaluated by the US Food and Drug Administration. These products
are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
Home | Dr. Shen's Herbs | Chinese Herbal Store
©Copyright 2013 by Shen Herbal Pharmacy. All rights reserved. Web Design by Atelier Dos.
4 of 4
3/4/15 12:39 PM
