Explore Natural Remedy Safety
Every Natural Remedy Safety topic in one list: poisoning and urgent help, safety basics, interactions, life stages, conditions, side effects, remedy types, quality, labels, surgery, claims, talking with a professional and sources.
Content last updated . This page has not been medically reviewed.
Urgent help
| Page | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Poisoning: what to do first | Call first; do not induce vomiting |
| Poison help by country | US, Canada, UK, Australia, Spain |
| Plant and mushroom poisoning | Never rely on a photo or app |
| Pet and animal poisoning | Animal poison lines |
Understanding the risk
| Page | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Natural does not mean safe | The two main concerns |
| How supplements are regulated | What FDA does and does not do |
| How interactions work | Documented, reported, preliminary, theoretical |
| Interactions by drug class | Blood thinners, antidepressants and more |
| St. John's wort interactions | The best-documented herb-drug interaction |
| Grapefruit and medicines | FDA guidance |
People and situations
| Page | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Pregnancy and breastfeeding | NIH cautions |
| Children and teens | Different metabolism; hidden drugs |
| Older adults | More medicines; swallowing problems |
| Existing conditions | Liver, bleeding, heart, cancer, diabetes |
| Liver safety | Kava, curcumin, black cohosh |
| Supplements before surgery | Tell your team |
Products, labels and claims
| Page | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Product quality and contamination | Hidden drugs; third-party testing |
| Unsafe products and warnings | Tianeptine, kratom |
| Reading supplement labels | Supplement Facts and claims |
| Amounts and duplicate ingredients | Stacking products |
| Evaluating safety claims | A checklist |
Taking action
| Page | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Side effects and reporting | Stop, contact your provider, report |
| Safety by remedy type | Safety page for each remedy section |
| Talking with a health professional | Printable checklist |
| Research and safety sources | What we use and could not open |
Names are in standard scientific form and were checked against NCBI Taxonomy and the GBIF checklist on October 22, 2026. Plain names show as links when a guide has been published, and as dashed labels when a guide is in preparation. Each mushroom has one guide, even when it appears in more than one group.
Poisoning & Urgent Help
What to do first if someone may have swallowed, touched or breathed something harmful. Poison center numbers by country.
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Poisoning: What to Do First
Poisoning: what to do first. Call your emergency number if the person has collapsed, has a seizure, trouble breathing or cannot be woken; otherwise call poison help. Do not make the person vomit.
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Poison Help by Country
Poison help numbers by country: US 1-800-222-1222, Canada 1-844-POISON-X, UK 999, Australia 13 11 26, Spain 91 562 04 20, checked against official sources, and what we could not verify.
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Plant & Mushroom Poisoning
Plant and mushroom poisoning: why a photo or phone app cannot tell you a wild mushroom or plant is safe, what a 2023 study of three apps found, and what to do after a possible exposure.
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Pet & Animal Poisoning
Pet and animal poisoning: animal poison lines are separate from human poison centers and some charge a fee. ASPCA and Pet Poison Helpline numbers and what is not covered here.
Safety Basics
Why natural does not mean safe, and how supplements are regulated.
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Natural Does Not Mean Safe
Natural does not mean safe: the two main safety concerns for herbs and supplements (drug interactions and contamination), rare liver injury, emergency visits, and what to do.
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How Supplements Are Regulated
How dietary supplements are regulated in the United States: FDA does not approve supplements before sale, companies are responsible for safety, FDA acts after a product is on the market, and what label claims mean.
Medicine & Supplement Interactions
Documented, reported and theoretical interactions, by drug class. No interaction checker.
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How Interactions Work
How medicine and supplement interactions work: decreased or increased effects, documented vs reported vs preliminary vs theoretical, narrow-range medicines, over-the-counter drugs, and why we have no interaction checker.
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Interactions by Drug Class
Supplement interactions by drug class: blood thinners, antidepressants, transplant, HIV and cancer drugs, statins, diabetes, sedatives, corticosteroids, with documented, reported and preliminary labels and sources.
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St. John's Wort Interactions
St. John's wort interactions: NIH says clearly shown dangerous interactions with many medicines, including antidepressants, transplant, HIV and birth control medicines, plus pregnancy cautions.
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Grapefruit & Medication Interactions
Grapefruit and medication interactions: FDA says grapefruit juice and grapefruit can affect how some statins, blood pressure medicines and transplant drugs work. Ask your pharmacist.
Life Stages
Pregnancy, breastfeeding, children, teens and older adults.
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Pregnancy & Breastfeeding
Pregnancy and breastfeeding and natural remedies: many supplements are untested in pregnancy; NIH cautions for St. John's wort, ginkgo, licorice, black and blue cohosh, turmeric, garlic, ginseng and kava.
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Children & Teens
Children, teens and natural remedies: children metabolize substances differently, many supplements are untested in children, hidden drugs in weight-loss and bodybuilding products, storage and poisoning prevention.
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Older Adults
Older adults and natural remedies: more medicines means more interaction risk, narrow-range drugs, swallowing problems with large pills, and what we could not verify.
Existing Health Conditions
Liver, kidney, heart, cancer and HIV treatment, diabetes and more.
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Existing Conditions
Natural remedies and existing health conditions: liver disease, bleeding, heart and blood pressure, hormone-sensitive conditions, autoimmune disorders, cancer and HIV treatment, diabetes, and what we could not verify for kidney disease.
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Liver Safety & Supplements
Liver safety and supplements: NIH says rare but sometimes severe liver injury is reported; kava, bioavailable curcumin and black cohosh are examples; symptoms to act on.
Side Effects & Reporting
What to do if something goes wrong, and how to report it.
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Side Effects, Allergic Reactions & Reporting
Side effects, allergic reactions and reporting for natural remedies: stop and contact your provider, when to call emergency services, and how to report a problem to the FDA safety reporting portal.
Safety by Remedy Type
Entry points to the safety page for each type of remedy.
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Safety by Remedy Type
Natural remedy safety by remedy type: links to the safety page for herbs, adaptogens, mushrooms, essential oils, herbal teas, natural ingredients, functional foods and supplements, with the main cautions for each.
Quality & Contamination
Hidden drugs, unapproved ingredients and what third-party testing means.
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Product Quality & Contamination
Product quality and contamination: hidden prescription drugs found in supplements, wrong-herb products, standardized does not mean guaranteed, third-party testing, and where to check.
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Unsafe Products & Warnings
Unsafe products and warnings: tianeptine sold as a supplement, kratom, weight-loss, sexual-enhancement and bodybuilding products with hidden drugs, and what FDA and NIH say.
Labels & Amounts
The Supplement Facts panel, amounts, and duplicate ingredients.
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Reading Supplement Labels
Reading supplement labels: the Supplement Facts panel, other ingredients, claims and the FDA disclaimer, the NIH Dietary Supplement Label Database, and what a label cannot tell you.
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Amounts & Duplicate Ingredients
Amounts and duplicate ingredients: how products with the same effect can add up, the FDA example of several blood-thinning products, and how to check your own list.
Surgery & Procedures
Telling your surgical and anesthesia team.
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Supplements Before Surgery
Supplements before surgery and procedures: NIH and FDA say some supplements can affect anesthesia, bleeding, heart rate and blood pressure; tell your surgeon and anesthesia team; do not stop prescribed medicines on your own.
Evaluating Safety Claims
How to judge "safe", "natural" and "tested" claims.
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Evaluating Safety Claims
Evaluating safety claims: a checklist for judging safe, natural, clinically tested and detox claims, using NIH guidance on supplement claims, journal articles and product differences.
Talking With a Professional
A printable checklist to bring to a visit.
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Talking With a Health Professional
A printable checklist for talking with your doctor, pharmacist or surgeon about herbs, supplements and natural remedies: what to bring, what to say and what to ask. Use your browser's print command.
Research & Safety Sources
The official sources we use, and which we could not open.
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Research & Safety Sources
Research and safety sources for natural remedies: what NCCIH, FDA, poison centers, MedlinePlus, ODS, LactMed and LiverTox are for, and which ones we could and could not open from our system.
About the PubMed counts: they come from a text search of PubMed (NCBI E-utilities) for the scientific and common names plus the "randomized controlled trial" publication type. They include studies of extracts, blends and non-health uses, and a trial can find no effect. A count shows how much human research has been indexed, not whether something works.