Can I take herbal diet medicine if I have a thyroid condition, high blood pressure, diabetes, or depression?

Having a condition does not mean you have to put off dieting. But you must not take 'the same prescription.' Thyroid, blood pressure, blood sugar, hormones, and state of mind all affect metabolism, and they also affect the choice of herbs and the stage of herbal diet medicine. That is why checking before prescribing matters even more for people with a condition.

This article is not about how to manage a condition itself; it covers what people with a condition should check so they can take herbal diet medicine safely. For your condition, please keep following your doctor in charge's care as is.

What we check in common before prescribing

1. Diagnosis and medication you take — please tell us the medicine names and doses. A photo of the medicine bag or prescription is fine too.
2. Recent health checkup and blood test results — if you have recent results such as liver and kidney function and blood sugar, we use them to decide whether you can take it and which stage to start at.
3. Body composition test — we check muscle mass, body fat, and swelling.
4. Recent values — please bring recent test results such as blood pressure, fasting blood sugar and HbA1c, and thyroid values.

What we look at more closely by condition

Underactive thyroid

When thyroid hormone is low, metabolism slows and weight does not drop easily even with the same effort. We check whether you take thyroid medicine and whether your levels are stable, start the prescription at a low stage, and adjust as we watch your body's response. If you have hyperthyroidism, we are careful with prescriptions that boost metabolism.

High blood pressure

Herbs that stimulate the sympathetic nervous system, such as ephedra (mahuang), can affect heart rate and blood pressure. If you take blood pressure medicine, we adjust the proportion of such herbs or remove them, and check changes in your blood pressure during use.

Diabetes · Prediabetes

With insulin resistance, meal planning decides half the result. We check the diabetes medicine you take (especially insulin, sulfonylureas, and GLP-1 injections) and prescribe together with a carbohydrate-controlled diet that is not extreme. → A diet to help prevent diabetes

Depression · Anxiety · Panic

Stress and mood swings easily lead to binge eating. If you take psychiatric medication, we check whether they can be taken together and consider herbs that help calm body and mind (such as the musk in GONG BI JIN YAK). Please do not stop your existing care.

Women's health conditions · Polycystic ovary syndrome

For conditions with strong hormonal influence, such as polycystic ovary syndrome, irregular periods, and uterine conditions, we adjust the stage while looking at menstrual cycle and condition changes. → Polycystic ovary syndrome: why dieting is hard

Fertility preparation · Postpartum · Menopause

If you are preparing for pregnancy, we plan the period of use together with when you plan to try to conceive. For postpartum we check whether you are breastfeeding, and for menopause we check hormonal changes and symptoms such as sleep and hot flashes. We do not prescribe herbal diet medicine during pregnancy or breastfeeding.

4 things Miple Korean Medicine Clinic holds to

Part 4 of the director's book 'The Secret to Ending Diets with Korean Medicine' details diet cases of people with accompanying conditions, including prediabetes, high blood pressure and fatty liver, polycystic ovary syndrome, childhood obesity, and older age.

Pages by condition: Hypothyroidism · High blood pressure · Diabetes · Polycystic ovary syndrome · Preparing for marriage or pregnancy · Swelling · Chronic fatigue · Fatty liver · View all

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I take herbal diet medicine if I have hypothyroidism?

In most cases, yes. We check whether you take thyroid medicine and your levels, start at a low stage, and adjust as we watch your response. Please keep taking your thyroid medicine as is.

I take blood pressure medicine. Can I take herbal diet medicine together with it?

We check the medication you take and adjust the prescription by reducing or removing herbs that stimulate the sympathetic nervous system. We also check blood pressure changes during use.

Can I take it together with diabetes medicine or antidepressants?

It depends on the type of medicine, so please be sure to tell us the name and dose. We prescribe after checking whether they can be taken together, and we do not stop your existing medicine on your own.

I'm preparing for pregnancy. Can I take herbal diet medicine?

In the pregnancy preparation stage, we plan the period of use together with when you plan to try to conceive. If pregnancy is confirmed, stop taking it; we do not prescribe during pregnancy or breastfeeding.