Dr. Oz and the Lemon Balm Fiasco

Natural Remedies Deserve More Respect Than Dr. Oz Gives Them

You hear and read a lot about natural and herbal cures these days. Dr. Oz raves them on his show, including lemon balm for cold sores, passionflower, valerian and lemon balm for anxiety, and sage as an expectorant to help calm your cough.
You read about herbal and natural treatments in women's magazines, and they are all over the internet. One might think that natural cures are a new thing, but only a new trend. Herbal remedies date back to the the Middle Ages, and the Chinese were using it as far back as 500 B.C.
The things that Dr Oz and everyone else seems to not write or talk about is that just because herbs are natural, they are still medicine, and thus should be treated with care and respect. You have to know how, and when to use the herbs, and whether or not there is a contraindication with prescribed medication. You should know which method should be used, and the correct dosage.
Let's take Valerian for anxiety as our first example. Valerian (Valeriana officinalis) is a good choice as an herb for anxiety. It is considered an herbal nervine. A nervine works to calm the nervous system. Other nervines would include passionflower, lemon balm and to a lesser degree chamomile. Valerian is in fact nature's Valium. With that said, Valerian is an herb to be used with care. A person who is taking Valium or any other sleep inducing, or anxiety medication should not combine herb and drug. It could actually cause an overdose. Combining nervines should only be done by an herbal practitioner. Dr. Oz never states any cautions on valerian, lemon balm or other herbs he speaks about.
So, now we will move onto lemon balm. Dr Oz has spoken about lemon balm on a couple different occasions for anxiety, but has never stated how to really use it correctly. In March of 2011, he actually told his audience to take “lemon balm oil” for anxiety, when in fact he should have stated lemon balm tincture. He gave a woman on the set “lemon balm oil” and in reality, he gave her too much and led the audience to believe it was okay to just keep adding more to your glass. This is in fact not true. A tincture is an herbal medicine, and should be used as medicine. You can overdose on herbs. More, does not equal better results.
Just last month, he stated lemon balm ointment is great for cold sores. While he is correct about this, and lemon balm for anxiety, he never discussed that people taking drugs for thyroid conditions should stay clear of lemon balm completely. No tea, tincture, oil, or ointment. Lemon balm can inhibit the absorption of the thyroid medications Synthroid, and Levothyroxine.
Herbs are a wonderful way to heal many illnesses naturally. Herbs have been used for thousands of years, but one must know the ins and outs of the herbs being recommended to them. If not, you could be doing more harm than good to your body.