Journalist Andre Picard: Be wary of the word 'natural'

Health Canada estimates more than 70 per cent of Canadians take some sort of natural health product. But sometimes those products can cause serious, even life-threatening reactions.

Journalist Andre Picard, who writes a health and science column for the Globe and Mail, argues the word "natural"  gives people the wrong idea. After following the story of a 17-year-old girl, hospitalized after using a store-bought, "all-natural" supplement, Picard wants people to know that "natural" does not mean safe.

We have to be leery of this term 'natural.' People look at it innocuously: it's natural, therefore it's safe. And I think we need to treat all drugs with caution. Whether they're prescription drugs, non-prescription drugs, or so-called natural supplements, they all essentially have the same basis, but they can all have consequences.- Andre Picard, Globe and Mail

Picard argues that because all drugs and supplements can have side-effects, there's a double standard when it comes to regulation.

Prescription drugs are pretty strictly regulated, they have to be tested in various phases, in animals, in humans... with natural products the law is much more loosey-goosey.- Andre Picard

Picard feels that Canadians and Health Canada should consider any commercial medicine a drug, whether marketed as "natural" or not, and ultimately they should be subject to the same testing and regulation as prescription and over the counter medications. 

Click the PLAY button above to listen to the full interview.