Feedback: Query about Sabah Snake Grass

Irene writes:

I read the info about the warning of ingesting sabah snake grass in your website. Currently Im taking ssg tea daily, a sachet a day. This tea is a mixture of sabah snake grass, misai kucing & frog fruit. I do
not have any disease except a small amount of protein in my urine. My mom who has recovered from breast cancer also drink this tea daily. Is it advisable to drink this tea daily since it’s in mixture form. Will it have side effect on our health if taken long term?

Dear Irene,

Thanks for writing in. There is no data on the long term safety or comprehensively documented side effects of Sabah Snake Grass in normal individuals.
Doctors have for certain come across patients who have experienced adverse effects after ingesting this e.g. dropping blood counts, body aches, kidney impairment as blogged here:
Sabah Snake Grass Warning II – Mind your kidneys

We re-iterate the warning that just because something is “natural” does not mean it is safe. There are a lot of things in nature which can do harm or even kill you.
For sure, some botanicals can have anti-cancer effects. Some modern chemotherapy drugs e.g. Vincristine, Carboplatin are derived from plants or trees. These compounds have been studied and the doses are scientifically tested in clinical trials.
Whether or not there is some compound in Sabah Snake Grass which exerts an anti-cancer effect remains to be proven.
The very notion that normal individuals should take it for “health” or “cancer prevention” is akin to taking RAW CHEMOTHERAPY to prevent cancer. It is HIGHLY INADVISABLE to do so and selling teas like what you are consuming is irresponsible in our opinion.

HTH

Dr. Alan Teh
Editor of Alternatives to Medicine

Links
Sabah Snake Grass Warning
Sabah Snake Grass Warning II – Mind your kidneys