Blood Cancers/Disorders: Precautions for Use of Dietary/Herbal Supplements (The James)

Blood Cancers/Disorders: Precautions for Use of Dietary/Herbal Supplements (The James)

 

Tell your health care team if you use any herbs, supplements, vitamins, minerals or other remedies. Bring all of these with you to each doctor’s appointment.

Many dietary/herbal supplements and other natural medicines or products may be dangerous if used during your cancer treatment. It is important to know that if a supplement or product is labeled as "natural," it does not mean it is safe or does not have harmful side effects. These supplements and products may interact with other medicines you take and can cause health problems such as bleeding, changes in your blood pressure or organ damage.

Limited information is available about some dietary/herbal supplements and natural medicines or products. Many of these products have not been tested in clinical studies in humans and the effects they may cause are unknown.

For these reasons, we recommend that you do not take dietary/ herbal supplements or other natural products during your cancer treatment. A supplement (pill or powder form) may cause problems with your cancer treatment, make your treatment less effect or increase your side effects. Foods with these substances are normally not harmful, if taken in limited amounts as part of your regular diet. If you want to use dietary/herbal supplements or products, it is very important to talk with your doctor or pharmacist before you take any of these products.

The following supplements or products may increase your risk of bleeding:

Alcohol

Dong Quai/Dang Gui

Nattokinase

Aloe

Evening Primrose

Pau d’arco

Astragalus/Huang Qi

Evodia

Peony

Berberine

Fennel

Policosanol

Billberry

Feverfew

Quercetin

Bishop’s Weed

Fish Oil: doses above 3g/day

Red Clover

Black Currant

Flaxseed

Reishi Mushroom: doses above 3g/day

Black Pepper

Gamma Linolenic Acid

Rosemary

Black Tea

Garlic

Saw Palmetto

Blue-green Algae

Ginger

Scuttelaria/Skullcap

Bogbean

Ginkgo

Selenium: doses above 10 mcg/kg/day

Bromelain

Ginseng

Sweet Clover

Burdock root

Goldenseal

Tiratricol

Caffeine

Green Tea

Turmeric

Carrageenan

Guggul

White Pepper

Cat’s Claw

Heart’s Ease

Willow Bark

Chamomile

Heigenamine

 

Chondroitin

Holy Basil

Cinchona

Horse Chestnut

Cocoa

Hu Zhang

Cod Liver Oil

Kinetin

Coleus

Kudzu

CoQ10

L-Arginine

Danshen

Mangosteen

DHEA

Maral Root

Eicosapentaenoic Acid

Marijuana

Essiac

Meadowsweet

DHA

Melatonin

The following supplements or products may have antioxidant effects and cause problems with your cancer treatment:

Aloe

Burdock Root

Berberine

Cat’s Claw

Black Pepper

CoQ10

Blue-green Algae

Theanine

The following supplements or products may cause problems with your liver or how well your liver works:

Alcohol

Evodia

Marijuana

Berberine

Fennel

Melatonin

Bishop’s Weed

Feverfew

Red Clover

Black Cohosh

Garlic

Reishi Mushrooms: doses above 3g/day

Black Pepper

Ginger

Resveratrol

Blue-green Algae

Ginkgo

Saw Palmetto

Cat’s Claw

Ginseng

St. John’s Wort

Chamomile

Green Tea

Tiratricol

Coleus

Guggul

Turmeric (contains curcumin)

Essiac

Higenamine

White Pepper

Evening Primrose

Hu Zhang

 

The following supplements or products may cause problems with chemotherapy:

Aloe

Saw Palmetto

Black Cohosh

St. John’s Wort

Black Pepper

Theanine

Quercetin

 

The following supplements or products may cause health problems if your immune system is weak:

Astragalus

Ginseng

Resveratrol

Berberine

Goldenseal

Selenium: doses more than 10 mcg/kg/day

Black Pepper

Huang Qi

St. John’s Wort

Blue-green Algae

Melatonin

Turmeric (contains curcumin)

Cat’s Claw

Quercetin

White Pepper

The following supplements or products may cause anti-inflammatory effects.

Quercetin

This handout is not a complete list of all precautions for their use. It is important to talk to your health care team about your use of any of the following.

 

 

© July 1, 2022. The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute.

This handout is for informational purposes only. Talk with your doctor or health care team if you have any questions about your care.