The International journal of eating disorders
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To determine the frequency and type of herbal remedies and the reasons for herbal remedy use by adolescents with eating disorders. ⋯ Adolescents with eating disorders frequently used herbal remedies for both weight control and non-weight control purposes. They did not regularly inform their physicians about their use of herbal remedies and physicians did not regularly inform their patients about this use. The generally high prevalence of herbal remedy use in this population suggests that health care providers need to be knowledgeable and should enquire about patients' use of these products. The perceived benefits, adverse effects, and herb-drug interactions of self-prescribed herbal remedies consumed by adolescents with eating disorders are unknown and further research is needed.