The interest in herbal remedies and the market for them has exploded in the last two decades. Herbal products in Canada and the United States, once relegated to the shelves of health food shops, are now in retail outlets everywhere, including independent pharmacies, chain pharmacies, discount department stores, supermarkets and even convenience stores. The authors of Tyler's Honest Herbal and Tyler's Herbs of Choice, from which the Illustrated Herbal Encyclopedia derives, feel strongly that herbs are nothing more than diluted drugs. Regardless of the regulatory or legal system in Canada and the United States which may treat them differently, whenever herbs are used to diagnose, cure, mitigate, treat or prevent disease, they are, by definition, drugs. They do not possess magical or mystical properties and must be administered in proper doses for appropriate periods of time to produce benefits.
Some herbs are safe and effective.
Some are neither. As is the case with drugs, taking some herbs may produce undesirable side effects. This Illustrated Encyclopedia, like the books it is based upon, is intended to bring scientific understanding of commonly sold herbs into the twenty-first century. It is designed to help consumers use herbs safely and effectively. It avoids unsubstantiated and exaggerated claims.