building up immunity to herbs.....????

[ratboy83]

do you build up a resistance to either st john's wort or ginseng the longer you take them? i know that you should have a break from echinecea for periods as long as you take it (eg. one month on, one month off). is it the same for these herbs too at all? or should you try and rotate them with herbs with similar properties, say substitute st john's wort for ginger sometimes????

[mellowfish]

If you are taking herbs on a regular basis (i.e. every day), it is good to rotate them around so your body gets a break. Nature gives us these nice phytochemical packages, and they must be given the same care as any other chemical introduced to the body, as they can be very powerful. Your body can build a resistance to using anything, so to maintain full effectiveness, substitutions should be made.
Also taking any herb that aids in "stimulating" a body process/es for an extended period of time without taking a break can put undue stress on the body.
Although there are several groups of thought about the amount of time ginseng should be taken, there is a general consensus that a break should be taken after every so long, you may want to get a little more information from some qualified sources.

[Bob2]

It really depends on the herb. I have several books on many herbs as well as research on the internet before I consider taking a new herb. Many books will have warnings if any are needed for a particular herb. Also, herbs can do things to one person that will not happen to most people. For instance, I tried fever few for my ostio arthritis. It has to be taken for a while before its anti-inflammatory properties kick in. After 2 or 3 weeks of taking it, I got very dry chapped skin on my legs. I didn't connect it to this at first because it is winter and I tend to have dry skin in winter anyway. When I developed a rash on my legs also, I suspected the feverfew was causing it and stopped taking it. The rash a very dry skin cleared up. I read one warning that if you are very allergic to poisin oak and poisin ivy, you might get a reaction to feverfew also. I got a reaction to feverfew, but different from the poisin rash and blisters.

Herbs I take regularly are turmeric for my ostio arthritis, hawthorne berry for peripheral circulation, dandilion root for my hemroids, and I know for a fact from personal experience that these work and continue to work over very long periods of time.