tea anyone?

Thanks for the advice everyone - I gave Jess a small amount of weak pure
peppermint tea - well, you'd think we'd never burped her before! She's
belched like a bullfrog all morning and is much happier!

Lucy

For supplements, I must agree with you!

But to make chamomile or peppermint or whole-herb tea, there is no
regulating to be done - it's a plant.

and the supplements are just concentrated plants, opium poppies are just a
plant

I think what you really mean, is the strength in most teas is low, thus any
risks are low, but anything that has a beneficial effect has the potential
to have a negative effect.

However, my concern about giving a baby a herbal tea would be related to the
giving water aspect of it, rather than the herbs.

Anne

Engram writes:

: I don't disagree that herbs are good and have been used successfully for
: thousands of years to treat a variety of conditions. It's the fact that in
: the complementary medicine industry they can smack a label on something that
: says "chamomile tea" and they don't have to list all the ingredients that
: are actually in this "chamomile tea" that worries me. If you can buy a bag
: of what actually IS chamomile, that's great. But, like a lot of people, I
: tend to just get stuff from supermarkets and maybe health food stores and
: the stuff that's sold there is definitely not guaranteed to contain what it
: claims to contain or has a bunch of additives.

I find this a little bit incredible. When I go to whole foods, I simply buy
fennel or chamomile or whatever from their bulk herbs sections. They are
usually supplied by Frontier, the largest organic herb grower on the west
coast. I think it is pretty easy to find additive free herbs.

Larry

When thinking of herbs, there is a distinction to be made between an
extract and a flower. Not all flowers are safe, to be sure, but the
ones that are known to be safe have been known to be safe for longer
than widely used drugs have been approved by the FDA.

Supplements aren't concentrated plants. I think we may be talking
about two different things. While I'm no expert on opium, I'm pretty
sure there opium is extracted from the plant, thus making it much
stronger than nature intended.

Misti

Anne Rogers wrote:

For supplements, I must agree with you!

But to make chamomile or peppermint or whole-herb tea, there is no
regulating to be done - it's a plant.

and the supplements are just concentrated plants, opium poppies are just a
plant

I think what you really mean, is the strength in most teas is low, thus any
risks are low, but anything that has a beneficial effect has the potential
to have a negative effect.

However, my concern about giving a baby a herbal tea would be related to the
giving water aspect of it, rather than the herbs.

Anne

It's weird, I think, how someone would give Prevacid to their baby for
GERD, but have a thing about giving a known, safe tea.

Not all teas are safe for everyone. At least the Prevacid has been tested.
And if a baby is truly miserable with reflux, the medication is a godsend.

LOL - and teas that have been around, and used, for thousands of years
haven't been tested? Just because it isn't profitable for a
pharmaceutical company to market and package fennel tea as an
indigestion remedy surely doesn't mean it isn't as useful or effective
as OTC or Rx drugs.

Misti

wrote:
Engram writes:

: I don't disagree that herbs are good and have been used successfully for
: thousands of years to treat a variety of conditions. It's the fact that in
: the complementary medicine industry they can smack a label on something that
: says "chamomile tea" and they don't have to list all the ingredients that
: are actually in this "chamomile tea" that worries me. If you can buy a bag
: of what actually IS chamomile, that's great. But, like a lot of people, I
: tend to just get stuff from supermarkets and maybe health food stores and
: the stuff that's sold there is definitely not guaranteed to contain what it
: claims to contain or has a bunch of additives.

I find this a little bit incredible. When I go to whole foods, I simply buy
fennel or chamomile or whatever from their bulk herbs sections. They are
usually supplied by Frontier, the largest organic herb grower on the west
coast. I think it is pretty easy to find additive free herbs.

Ah Larry. Once again not looking at email addresses. The person you
are replying to is in Australia and likely doesn't live on the west
coast of that country let alone your country.

Cheryl
Who also lives in Australia, not on the west coast.

Brookben wrote:

When thinking of herbs, there is a distinction to be made between an
extract and a flower. Not all flowers are safe, to be sure, but the
ones that are known to be safe have been known to be safe for longer
than widely used drugs have been approved by the FDA.

Supplements aren't concentrated plants. I think we may be talking
about two different things. While I'm no expert on opium, I'm pretty
sure there opium is extracted from the plant, thus making it much
stronger than nature intended.

Sorry, I don't think that's right.

Herbs are unregulated and unapproved by the FDA for the simple reason
that they are plants. Each plant has a different mix of the active
chemicals, so each plant is a different drug. (Part of the reason
marijuana is unlikely ever to be legalized...)

Maybe this is what you meant, but, the herbal supplements and stuff to
watch out for are the ones that say "standardized", or anything that
indicates that it's just part of the chemicals of the plant. That's
when you get into unsafe territory.

Oh, and, here's my #1 warning about herbs:

Echinacea should only be taken occasionally, as needed. When used
daily, it SUPPRESSES the natural immune system. The vitamins with
Echinacea, and all those bottles that say to take it every day, BAD.
--
Cheri Stryker

mom to DS1 - 7 yrs, and DS2 - 6.5 months

"Brookben" wrote in message
LOL - and teas that have been around, and used, for thousands of years
haven't been tested? Just because it isn't profitable for a
pharmaceutical company to market and package fennel tea as an
indigestion remedy surely doesn't mean it isn't as useful or effective
as OTC or Rx drugs.

LOL, no they haven't. Not by the FDA (Federal Drug Administration). They
don't regularly test herbel medicines or teas. Sure they certainly could be
useful for different things, doesn't mean that they are safe for everyone to
use. And definitely people should use caution when giving these things to
babies. I think it's kind of ironic and funny that moms are so careful on
what they feed the babies these days because of allergies, but they don't
hesitate to give herbal things that could cause problems.
--
Sue (mom to three girls)

LOL, no they haven't. Not by the FDA (Federal Drug Administration). They
don't regularly test herbel medicines or teas. Sure they certainly could be
useful for different things, doesn't mean that they are safe for everyone to
use. And definitely people should use caution when giving these things to
babies. I think it's kind of ironic and funny that moms are so careful on
what they feed the babies these days because of allergies, but they don't
hesitate to give herbal things that could cause problems.
--
Sue (mom to three girls)

Seems like we have a different viewpoint on the integrity of the FDA.
There has been many causes for concern that the FDA isn't always
looking out for the wellbeing of the consumer. It is not a rarity for
a drug that has been passed through the FDA to kill people and then be
recalled.

And drugs *couldn't* cause problems? Be real. The drug fact sheet
alone listing potential or likely side effects could drive a mom to
anxiety.

Misti

"Brookben" wrote in message
Seems like we have a different viewpoint on the integrity of the FDA.
There has been many causes for concern that the FDA isn't always
looking out for the wellbeing of the consumer. It is not a rarity for
a drug that has been passed through the FDA to kill people and then be
recalled.

It's not a perfect system, I'll grant you that. But, it is better than no
testing at all as it is with herbal treatments.

And drugs *couldn't* cause problems? Be real. The drug fact sheet
alone listing potential or likely side effects could drive a mom to
anxiety.

Drugs can certainly cause problems, but so can herbal medicines. The
consumer has to weigh the risks and benefits of what they are taking and
make an informed decision. Not all side effects pertain to everyone. Each
person reacts differently, doesn't mean one should never take anything. All
I am saying is that just because something is natural, doesn't mean that it
is good for you, especially giving something to a baby.
--
Sue (mom to three girls)