Lavender Dosage: What Studies Used and What Homes Should

Dose is where herbal advice usually falls apart. Lavender is safe at food levels and questionable above them, and this page draws that line with actual numbers where the research gives them.

The working range

A few buds in the evening tea, or a sachet by the pillow.

Stay at food level: a few cups of tea, a spoon of powder, the amounts a cook would use. Concentrated extracts compress several servings into one capsule, so follow the label rather than free-pouring.

What the studies used

A few cautions from the research literature: however, some people may experience adverse effects such as diarrhea, headache, nausea, or burping. Aromatherapy with lavender oil is considered possibly safe, but it may cause headache or coughing.

Signs you have overdone it

Lavender is cool in nature. Push a warming herb hard and you feel flushed, restless, dry-mouthed; push a cooling herb and digestion turns sluggish. Either way, the fix is the same: stop, let things settle, restart at half the amount.

When public health concerns arise about the safety of a dietary supplement or an ingredient including an herb, the FDA can take action to protect the public. Manufacturers and distributors of supplements are responsible for evaluating the safety and labeling of their products before marketing to ensure that they meet all regulatory requirements.

Consistency beats dose. A modest amount taken regularly usually does more than a heroic amount taken twice.