Your Questions About Cascara Sagrada

Mark asks…

Can I take Cascara Sagrada with metphormin?

admin answers:

Your best (and safest) bet would be to ask a pharmacist if there are any interactions listed between the drugs and supplements you're taking. Doctors and pharmacists both have access to a database of drug and supplement interactions and they can tell you quickly if you can safely take them together or not…. Anyone here will just have a best guess from searching on the internet (which isn't always accurate, as we all know)
Being a laxative, I don't imagine there would be a problem with the Cascara except that some people may not absorb all of what they take in when they take a laxative… But I don't have access to that database to verify one way or the other. Good luck and I hope I helped!

Donna asks…

If Cascara Sagrada is banned, why is it still for sale?

admin answers:

Well, it's a little confusing and convoluted to explain. It's sort of banned, and it's sort of not. The FDA banned it as an additive in new products, but not in products already on the market. So you can't make a new product, marketed as a laxative with either aloe or cascara sagrada added in, unless your company conducts all the testing required for new drug certification. In the case of the cascara, that means carcinogenic testing- which none of the old companies wanted to do or submit. And FDA ruling only apply to prescription and over the counter medications. They don't regulate nutritional suppliments or herbal medicines. So you can certainly still purchase it at stores that sell those. It's the same with all the herbal remedies. The rules that apply to those are different than those applied to "drugs" as defined by the FDA. It's classed as a nutritional supplement or herbal medicine, so they don't regulate or control it. That means the supplement you buy is only controlled by the company that produces it, and if you chose to buy it and use it, it's at your own risk. I can't say I like the idea myself. In the case of the cascara, it's a laxative that has been used safely for a long time, just like sienna and psyllum. The trouble is it is a stimulant sort of laxative and if it's not aged properly it can be some pretty harsh stuff. I think the big problem was the companies that produce it just didn't want to submit to FDA restrictions and as it was in the herbal category they really didn't have to. The FDA banned it for new drugs but obviously they didn't think it was all that dangerous because they didn't require old preparations that contained it to be pulled from shelves. I know this is all confusing, but it's really more a result of the companies defying the FDA requests for info, and the FDA taking the only action they had left open to them. In the eyes of the FDA they relegated the companies to "patent" or "crank" remedy status, restricted to sales in the herbal remedy market, rather than mainstream drug company status, and restricted them from making new product formulations.

James asks…

Will green tea or Cascara Sagrada cure constapation?

admin answers:

Probably neither one will cure it permanently, but Cascara Sagrada will sure alleviate the symptoms at least temporarily! I don't think green tea will do anything about it, but it is good for you.