AEGiS-GMHC: TREATMENT BRIEFS: The High Cost of Herbs

Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1994. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.

TREATMENT BRIEFS: The High Cost of Herbs

Gay Men's Health Crisis: Treatment Issues, Volume 8 no. 3 - May, 1994
David Gold

Researchers at the University of Alabama surveyed twenty health food stores and asked, "what do you recommend for AIDS?" and "what are the monthly costs of such products?" According to this study, the most commonly recommended products include ginseng (nine stores, at an average of $63.64 per month), goldenseal (three stores, $9.49), echinacea (two stores, $9.96), germanium (two stores, $146.87), aloe vera (two stores, $28.07), coenzyme Q (three stores, $27.32), shark cartilage (one store, $26.97), and garlic (one store, $11.85). Other recommendations included megavitamins (three stores), dietary changes (six stores) and support groups (four stores). Apparently, only four stores were unwilling or felt unqualified to recommend particular products or strategies.

The study appeared in abstract form in AIDS Weekly (Phillips et al., February 7, 1994:18). It concluded, "Many costly herbal products are widely available and freely recommended by herbal enthusiasts in the treatment of AIDS. Physicians caring for AIDS patients should become familiar with products available in the community and their potential side effects."

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