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Medicinal herbs increase chemotherapy toxicity
Medical expert of the article
Last reviewed: 02.07.2025
Alternative treatments are still used by some people, and the belief in the effectiveness of medicinal herbs is much higher than in traditional drugs. It is worth noting that traditional medicine has recipes for treating even cancerous tumors, and many people willingly use them in addition to the main treatment. Scientists decided to find out how traditional treatment is combined with medicinal herbs and came to the conclusion that this can pose a danger to the lives of cancer patients. Most often, "grandmother's" recipes include milk thistle, ginger, fish oil, licorice, astragalus, etc., but as it turned out, all these herbs and products affect the course of treatment and can change the effect of drugs.
The study was conducted at the Peter McCallum Cancer Center (Australia). In total, specialists studied the interaction of 10 plants and products with traditional treatment for cancer patients. The most popular products were selected for the work - reishi mushroom, coenzyme Q10, turmeric, astragalus, fish oil, ginger, green tea, milk thistle, lactobacilli, licorice. As a result, it was found that small concentrations of substances contained in these plants and products are safe for health, but in various dietary supplements the concentration is quite high and this can be dangerous to health.
During the work, the scientists found that all the studied products can either enhance or reduce the effect of chemotherapy, and they can also affect the treatment process during radiation therapy. The scientists noted that the simultaneous use of dietary supplements with the above-mentioned plants or products can make the treatment process more toxic to the body or reduce the effectiveness of the administered drugs. Also, according to experts, each type of cancer has its own characteristics and a universal drug in nature, most likely, does not exist. The scientists also emphasized that herbal remedies are not always safe and before starting treatment with alternative means, you must consult with your doctor.
Another interesting discovery was the study by Canadian scientists, who claim that antipyretic drugs help the spread of infection throughout the body and this fact affects the number of fatalities. As the scientists explained, antipyretics disrupt the natural mechanism of suppressing infection in the body.
The scientists came to this conclusion after a thorough study of several scientific papers, and they also built a mathematical model that displays the effect of antipyretics on the human body during acute respiratory infections or flu. As the calculation results showed, lowering the temperature with various drugs during flu increases the likelihood of recurrence of the disease (especially during the period of seasonal diseases), and also increases the number of fatal outcomes.
Experts explained that temperature is the body's protective reaction to viruses and infections, thus our immune system suppresses the reproduction of viruses, and a decrease in temperature to 37 0 C sharply reduces the body's ability to resist.
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