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Article: Beware the unknown brew: herbal teas and toxicity.
- Article from:
- FDA Consumer
- Article date:
- May 1, 1991
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1991 U.S. Government Printing Office. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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The old man of Vienna apparently found out what generations of herbal tea drinkers have discovered: that senna is a powerful laxative if taken in large amounts and that chamomile is a soothing relaxant that, among its many purported virtues, aids digestion.
Hopefully, though, the old man of Vienna was not allergic to ragweed. Because if he was, he might have had a reaction to chamomile tea--as did one 35-year-old American woman several years ago who when into anaphylactic shock after a few sips. Chamomile is a member of the same plant family as ragwee, asters and chrysanthemums, and people allergic to those plants had better be cautious of chamomile.
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