Safety Concerns

Safety Concerns

There is evidence that using some Ayurveda medicine, especially those involving herbs, metals, minerals, or other materials involves potentially serious risks, including toxicity.
A study by Saper etc. published in 2004 in the Journal of the American Medical Association studied the chemistry of Ayurveda compounds and found significant levels of toxic heavy metals such as lead, mercury and arsenic in 20% of Ayurvedic preparations that were made in South Asia for sale around Boston and extrapolated the data to America.[66] The Journal found that, if taken according to the manufacturers' instructions, this 20% of remedies "could result in heavy metal intakes above published regulatory standards" Similar studies have been performed in India, and have confirmed the presence of heavy metals. The main concern of metal toxicity from misuse of Ayurvedic medicines are well known.
There is a technique of detoxification applied to heavy metals and toxic herbs called samskaras, which is similar to the Chinese pao zhi although the Ayurvedic technique is more complex and may involve prayers as well as physical pharmacy techniques.
Following the study conducted by Saper etc. the Government of India ruled that Ayurvedic products must specify their metallic content directly on the labels of the product. The harmful effects of Ayurveda are attributed in part to the adulterated raw material and lack of workers trained in traditional medicine. In a letter to the Indian Academy of Sciences, Patwardhan Bhushan—director of the Interdisciplinary School of Health Sciences, University of Pune—cites Saper etc. and states that contamination and carelessness during the modern manufacturing processes, quicker than the safer traditional methods of preparation, is to blame for the heavy level of toxicity in traditional medicine. The flawed output has resulted in decline of Ayurveda in India as well as abroad.