Are Chinese herbs safe to take?

Over the last few years there has been bad press surrounding Chinese herbal medicine with reports of kidney and liver failure in connection with the use of Chinese herbs. This was largely due to contamination of herbs at source with toxic varieties of the same plant. Some unlicensed Chinese medicine shops have also been found to sell Western steroid cream as Chinese herbal cream. This is why it is vitally important that the Chinese medicine you receive is provided by a suitably trained TCM practitioner. Lily is a member of the Association of Traditional Chinese Medicine (ATCM) and the Register of Chinese Herbal Medicine (RCHM). All herbal products that are prescribed to patients are purchased from ATCM and RCHM-approved suppliers only who must undergo an independent external audit that checks importation restrictions, storage and safety standards. Both dried herbs and herbal products that are supplied by Lily are therefore quality and safety-assured.