# 67. Don’t use Uva ursi (BearBerry) (64+ non-drug ways to reduce blood pressure)

There is a huge supplement industry that sells all kinds of products and Uva ursi is one of those plants that are promoted. I haven’t personally tried this one, but it seems to me for quantities received it is a fairly expensive supplement. My old rule of thumb is that any time a food is dried, cooked, frozen, or processed in some way, its nutritional value drops in half. So, to pay 50 cents for a tea bag of the stuff, or 50 cents per pill for some ground powder of it, I wonder really much nutritional value left. Now, if you can grow it in your garden or something like that, or buy it fresh in the supermarket then it might be beneficial.

There seems to be a fair amount of warning on the possible medical side effects of this one, and it appears that to some people the drug is fairly toxic. “One of the chemicals in uva ursi, hydroquinone, can be very toxic to the liver. Uva ursi should be taken only for short periods (no longer than 5 days) under a doctor’s supervision, and should not be repeated more than 5 times in 1 year.” So, research this before use, use with great caution, get medical advice, and do not exceed recommended doses whatever you do. Talking to your doctor and pharmacist before using bearberry is a must — and again I repeat don’t even think about trying it on your own. In short, I don’t recommend this one, in fact, this is a negative post.  By not taking bearberry you probably doing your health & blood pressure a gift. The overall conclusion of my research here is that this one probably would reduce blood pressure, but the financial cost and medical side effects makes it a very risky proposition. It just goes to show that one shouldn’t jump on the band wagon of every cure that posted out there somewhere.

http://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/uva-ursi-000278.htm

http://www.ehow.com/how_16308_grow-bearberry-arctostaphylos.html

http://www.livestrong.com/article/82482-benefits-uva-ursi-herb/

http://www.herbwisdom.com/herb-uva-ursi.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bearberry

http://www.gardensablaze.com/HerbUvaUrsiRec.htm