Some Natural Cures Sold on Internet Are Dangerous

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Ayurvedic medicine is a healing tradition from India that has ancient roots. A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) claims ayurvedic medicine available through the Internet contains toxic metals.

Researchers from Boston University found that over 20 percent of nearly 200 samples of various ayurvedic cures contained dangerous amounts of lead, arsenic and mercury. The presence of metals was either a result of sloppy manufacturing or the metals were added deliberately as part of the cure.

The authors are advocates of alternative medicine and include an ayurvedic practitioner as well as a lead poisoning expert from India.They hope their report can help separate the good from the bad,

Not everyone is pleased by the AMA report lightly. The Indian Ministry of Health and Family Welfare issued a press release last week that stated:

"It needs to be emphasized that as per the directions issued by Department of AYUSH, herbo-metallic compounds are not being officially exported because of heavy metal concerns and only purely herbal Ayurveda, Unani and Siddha medicines are being exported from India with effect from 1st January 2006 after certification of heavy metals below the permissible limit by the manufacturing unit."

The lead author on JAMA report, Robert Saper was one of the researchers who in 2004 revealed the fact that more than 20 percent of imported ayurvedic cures in Boston's South Asian grocery stories had illegal levels of toxic metals.