Ayurvedic Products warning
I have mixed feelings about posting this. Most ayurvedic products I've used are wonderful and I am happy to be able to purchase them here. My feeling is that the ayurvedic system is not well understood by health authorities here, so I feel this may be a bit of a blow to the practice of ayurveda in the west.
Any thoughts?
Janaki
Health Canada warns consumers not to use some Ayurvedic medicinal products
14/07/2005 1:01:00 PM
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OTTAWA (CP) - Canadians should not use some Ayurvedic medicinal products because they contain high levels of heavy metals such as lead, mercury and or arsenic, Health Canada warned Thursday.
The department is also going to remove the products from the market and prevent further importation.
Ayurvedic medicinal products are used in traditional Indian healing and are often imported from India.
According to the principles of Ayurvedic medicine, heavy metals may be used because of their reputed therapeutic properties.
However, improper manufacturing processes may result in dangerously high levels of heavy metals remaining in the final product.
Heavy metals pose a particular health risk because they may accumulate in vital organs.
Children are most susceptible to the toxic effects of heavy metal poisoning.
Arsenic poisoning can cause nausea, abdominal pain, vomiting, muscle cramps, heart abnormalities, liver damage, anemia and reduced motor nerve function.
Lead poisoning can cause weight loss, insomnia, dizziness, swelling of the brain and paralysis. Mercury poisoning can cause tremors, insomnia, memory loss, slowed sensory and motor nerve function, and reduced mental function.
The following is a list of the unapproved Ayurvedic medicinal products found on the Canadian market, which have been analysed by Health Canada and found to contain high levels of lead, mercury and or arsenic:
-Karela tablets, produced by Shriji Herbal Products, India.
-Karela capsules, produced by Himalaya Drug Co, India.
-Karela capsules, produced by Charantia, UK (specifically batch No. 12011).
-Maha Sudarshan Churna powder, produced by Zandu Pharmaceuticals, Mumbai, India.
-Maha Sudarshan Churna powder, D & K Pharmacy, Bhavnagar, India.
-Maha Sudarshan Churna powder, produced by Chhatrisha, Lalpur, India.
-Maha Sudarshan Churna powder, produced by Dabur India Ltd, New Delhi, India.
-SAFI liquid, produced by Hamdard-WAKF-Pakistan.
-SAFI liquid, produced by Hamdard-WAKF-India.
-Yograj Guggul tablets, produced by Zandu Pharmaceuticals, Mumbai, India.
-Sudarshan tablets, produced by Zandu Pharmaceuticals, Mumbai, India.
-Shilajit capsules, produced by Dabur India Ltd, New Delhi, India.
Health Canada is also advising Canadians not to use any other Karela, Safi, Maha Sudarshan Churna, Yograj Guggul, Sudarshan or Shilajit products unless they have market authorization.
Canadians should only use Ayurvedic medicinal products that have been authorized for sale by Health Canada. Authorized natural health products will either bear an eight-digit drug identification number (DIN), a natural product number (NPN) or a homeopathic drug number (DIN-HM).
The warning follows a Health Canada advisory in March 3 after the department reviewed a study in the Journal of the American Medical Association that found potentially harmful levels of lead, mercury and or arsenic in 14 commercially available Ayurvedic medicinal products sold in the Boston area.