The news is chock full of buzz and commentary about the recent reports on supplements sold by large chain stores. The report states there were little to none of many of the herbs and ingredients which were listed on the products.

Here is what I have to say about it all:

There are many bad herbal products out there. Adulteration and additives not listed on the labels is commonplace.

The best way to avoid bad herb products is to buy from small farms and companies who either grow the herbs themselves, get them from reputable farms, know their growers, and who are themselves trained herbalists.

Large chain stores are not in business because they want their customers to be healthier, they are in business to make money.

Small herb companies run by trained herbalists are in business because they want to practice the craft of herbal medicine, because they want to provide high quality alternatives to western medicine, because they want to carry on traditional ways of healing and being healthy. These companies are not going to cut corners.

Here are some, but not all, of my favorite and most trusted herb companies:

For tinctures:
Herbalist and Alchemist
Washington NJ
www.herbalist-alchemist.org

HerbPharm
Williams, OR
www.herb-pharm.com

For dried herbs:

Healing Spirits Herb Farm
www.healingspiritsherbfarm.com

Jeans Greens (she buys her herbs from the reputable company, Pacific Botanicals)
www.jeansgreens.com

For growing herbs, buy organic seeds from:
Horizon Herbs
Williams OR
www.horizonherbs.com

There are many other companies with high quality products, and I will be posting more soon. Reading material on these websites will give you a lot of additional information as well!

I will be posting more information soon on this topic.

Please also read David Winston’s response to this news at fb.me/1NavDK7zn
David has interesting information on how these products were tested, and while most indeed were almost entirely bogus, some testing methods may have not been the most appropriate.

The take-home message is the same: Buy from small herb companies run by herbalists!