Last week, I turned down coffee hour
at church because there was no decaf available. A member of my church-- a
practicing acupuncturist-- immediately inquired about why I didn't drink
caffeinated coffee, and I explained in passing that I have tachycardia (an
excessively rapid heart rate). "You can take digitalis for that, you
know," he advised me, then offered to bring me his own concoction to treat
my heart condition. I politely declined the offer several times when he almost
aggressively blurted, "Well, why won't you take it?"
"Because
I know plants," I told him flatly, "And I know that foxglove is a
poison, and I know that my cardiologist would have prescribed it if he thought
I needed it." He immediately closed his mouth and went back to minding his
own business. This mild altercation is just one example of the dangers of the
unlicensed and uniformed use of botanical medicine. Clouded by the idea that
"natural" means "safe" and that herbal medicines are
inherently trustworthy, there's no telling how many people have taken foxglove
supplements-- and died of toxic overdose.
The fact is that foxglove, also known as digitalis, is indeed
an effective medicinal herb. Special compounds in the plant, known digitalis
glycosides, are FDA-approved prescription drugs most often used to treat
congestive heart failure. According to Mayo Clinic, digoxin (digitalis
extract) control the strength and efficiency of the heart and helps to regulate
the rhythm of the heartbeat. Decades of scientific study enabled doctors to
determine an exact dose of digitalis that grants foxglove's medicinal benefits
without causing toxic overdose, and it is now a life-saving staple treatment
for heart disease.
However,
the fact that digitalis is an FDA-approved drug doesn't mean that it's safe or
effective to treat yourself using the herb. Absolutely any experienced gardener
knows that foxglove is a poison (which is why I, as a mom and a pet-owner,
don't grow it!). The dose of the active compounds in foxglove vary
significantly from plant to plant, so there's no way to know if the amount of
digitalis you take is going to be an ineffective dose, a medicinal dose, or a
poisonous dose. While nontoxic medicinal herbs like chamomile and peppermint
can be taken as needed, with their varying degrees of potency causing no
significant problem, foxglove is a plant too strong and too serious to take
without knowing exactly how much medicine (and exactly how much poison) is
going into your body.
Digitalis
poisoning is serious and often deadly. The National
Institutes of Health lists possible symptoms of digitalis overdose, which can
include nausea, vomiting, loss of vision, confusion, and irregular pulse. As
the compounds course through the body, they can eventually lead to loss of
consciousness, difficulty breathing, and death.
Fortunately,
science gives us a life-saving solution, so people with heart disease don't have to simply
take digitalis and cross their fingers, hoping that they won't die of overdose.
Drug manufacturers carefully measure levels of digoxin in each capsule or
tablet, so that patients and health care providers can be sure about the dose
of the medicinally active compounds. Digoxin, when prescribed by a licensed physician
and acquired through a licensed pharmacy, is a life-saving medication.
If you think you should take foxglove to self-treat a heart condition,
stop and consider what you're really doing. You are considering ingesting a
plant that is known to be poisonous, instead of turning to a safe,
guaranteed-potency extract of that plant available through your doctor and
pharmacist. If you have a heart condition that warrants the use of digitalis,
talk to your doctor about getting a prescription for digoxin. Your heart is too
precious to leave to a guessed dosage of a potentially deadly plant.
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