Speakers from Canada, England, Germany and the United States will discuss what's been confirmed about eight of the world's most widely used herbs at the university's Friday Center, according to conference co-chair Dr. Lenore Arab. Those herbs are garlic, ginseng, ginko biloba, comfrey, saw palmetto, feverfew, echinacea and St. John's wort. Right now, the public has stopped asking, and even if they were, most health professionals do not feel that they are in a position to give advice.
People are self-medicating without any guidance.
They might be taking extremely high, possibly dangerous, doses because they think more is better, or they may be getting so little that they're simply wasting their money. As an example, she cited comfrey, which can cause liver damage and even liver failure. Banned in Canada and Europe, the herb is still widely available in U.S. health food stores. Some 400 scientists, nutritionists and others are expected to attend the conference, Arab said. Other participants will include Drs.