Some students are using herbal supplements more and more to enhance mood, increase immunity and treat diseases, but health experts warn against the potentially dangerous side effects of certain herbs.

Becky Hammitt, dietitian for the ISU Student Wellness Center, said these supplements should be taken with caution because they might not be as safe as commonly thought.

Herbs have been used for centuries to treat disease and infection when no other medicines existed, said Elisabeth Schafer, professor of food science and human nutrition.

“These herbs are now being studied scientifically,” she said, “and the research is showing that herbal supplements have very potent ingredients that can contribute to health.”

However, Schafer said students should be aware of several things before beginning to take herbal supplements, she said.

Herbal supplements are regulated under the Dietary Supplement Health Education Act, a bill signed into law in 1994, Schafer said. Under this law, there are three provisions a person taking supplements needs to know, she said.

First, herbal supplement manufacturers do not need to prove the supplements actually work. Manufacturers can claim an herb does something, and it doesn’t have to be true, she said.

Schafer said this should cause people to be skeptical of claims made on the labels of herbal supplements.

Second, herbs do not have to be proven safe. Consumers must know they are taking a supplement that may not be safe for them to take, Schafer said.

Third, herbal supplements do not have to be manufactured to specific standards, she said. This means if a label says a supplement contains five milligrams of a substance, it might not be true, she explained.

“All this is legal under law,” she said. “As a result, I’m not sure if it is safe to take them.”

Tim Cmelik, pharmacy manager at the ISU Student Health Center pharmacy, said herbs can be beneficial to health, and the number of students taking herbal supplements increases every year.

Some of the common herbs he said students take include garlic, ginger and ginseng. Garlic helps improve general health, the immune system, cholesterol and infections. In addition, garlic possibly may be cancer-fighting, he said.

Ginger is a natural cure for motion sickness, coughs and electrical-chemical heart conditions, Cmelik said.

Ginseng originally was used in the Orient to help lower cholesterol and blood pressure, he said.

Echinacea is an herb Hammitt said can help treat colds and chronic infections of the respiratory tract. Ginkgo biloba is an herb used to help memory and vascular disease, Hammitt said.

However, even these common herbs can have dangerous side effects, Cmelik said.

“Ginseng can induce nervousness and excitations, and garlic can inhibit blood clotting,” he said.

Hammitt said ginkgo biloba can cause allergic reaction, restlessness, diarrhea and headache.

Pregnant women should avoid the herb golden seal, which can cause over stimulation of the central nervous system and lead to respiratory failure, Cmelik said.

Ephedra is a dangerous herb found in many diet drugs, Hammitt said. Hypertension, seizures, insomnia and even death can result from taking this herb, she said.

Cmelik recommends that students do research on herbs before adding them to a diet. Talking to two or three reliable sources and understanding dangers associated with different herbs are ways to make sure it is safe to use, he said.

Hammitt said doctors should be consulted to make sure herbs will not interfere with any medications.

Schafer said there is an exciting future with herbal supplements, but “we have not come to the point where herbs are safe to consume,” she said.

“You just don’t know what you’re taking,” she said. “If you do take them, you are using your own body as a big experiment.”