Hops Side Effects and Warnings

Safety Issues

Hops is believed to be nontoxic. However, as with all herbs, some people are allergic to it. Interestingly, some species of dogs, greyhounds in particular, appear to be sensitive to hops with reports of deaths occurring. ¹ The mechanism of this toxicity is not yet known. Those taken with the popular hobby of brewing beer at home are advised to keep pets away from the relatively large quantity of hops used in this process.

As noted above, hops has estrogen-like effects. Like estrogen itself, hops might stimulate the growth of breast cancer cells. ² On this basis, women who have had breast cancer, or who are at high risk for it, should probably avoid hops until more is known. (Beer does not appear to contain enough of the active phytoestrogen in hops, 8-prenyl naringenin, to matter). Children should also probably abstain from hops to avoid producing unwanted estrogen-like effects. Safety in pregnant or nursing women, or people with severe liver or kidney disease has not been established.

One animal study suggests that hops might increase the effect of sedative drugs, ³ so do not take hops with other medications for insomnia or anxiety except under a physician's supervision.

Interactions You Should Know About

If you are taking sedative drugs , do not take hops except under a physician's supervision.