The nurse is preparing a presentation on alternative therapies for a c

The nurse is preparing a presentation on alternative therapies for a community group. The nurse should identify that herbal therapies are:

1. Approved by the Food and Drug Administration, under the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act
2. Sold as medicines in most stores because they lack major side effects
3. Allowed to be packaged as dietary supplements if they are without health claims
4. Consistent in their standards for concentrations of major ingredients and addi-tives

ANSWER

ANS: 3
The Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act passed in 1994 allows herbs to be sold as di-etary supplements if there are no health claims written on their labels. Herbal medicines have not undergone the same rigorous testing as pharmaceuticals have; therefore the majority have not re-ceived approval for use as drugs. Many herbal medicines are sold as foods or food supplements in health food stores and through private companies because they do not have FDA approval to be sold as a drug. When herbal medicines are developed, concentrations of the active ingredients have been found to vary considerably. Not all companies follow strict quality control and manu-facturing guidelines, which set standards for acceptable levels of pesticides, residual solvents, bacterial levels, and heavy metals.