The Most Popular Supplements: Do They Work?
Posted June 8, 2009 12:11 PM
Posted in echinacea, fish oil, flaxseed oil, garlic, ginkgo biloba, ginseng, glucosamine, omega-3, supplements, vitamins
Ginkgo, or ginkgo biloba
Source: Leaves of the ginkgo tree are used to make tablets, capsules, or teas.
Health claim: Memory improvement, dementia or Alzheimer's disease treatment
Does it work? A large study of the elderly over six years found it ineffective at preventing dementia and Alzheimer's. A short-term study showed it didn't improve memory in people over 60.
Side effects: It may increase bleeding risk, so people blood thinners or who have bleeding disorders, or have scheduled surgery or dental procedures should use caution and discuss with a doctor. Headache, nausea, stomach upset, diarrhea, dizziness or allergic reactions have been reported.
Also, uncooked ginkgo seeds _ not the leaf extract _ contain a chemical that can cause seizures. Consuming large quantities of seeds over time can be deadly.
Source material: National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine
Garlic
Source: Garlic cloves. They can be eaten raw or cooked, used to make extracts or dried to produce a powder or capsules.
Health claim: Lowering cholesterol, preventing heart disease, high blood pressure. Prevention of stomach and colon cancers.
Does it work? A government-funded study found it had no effect at lowering cholesterol. Another study on the long-term use of garlic supplements to prevent stomach cancer found no effect. Some preliminary research suggests garlic may slow hardening of the arteries and lower the risk of some cancers, but this has not been rigorously tested.
Side effects: Garlic appears safe for most adults. However, it can cause breath and body odor and upset stomach. It can thin the blood so it should be avoided for at least a week before surgery. It can interfere with the effectiveness of saquinavir, a drug used to treat HIV infection. Its effect on other drugs has not been well studied.
Source material: National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine
Source: , Associated Press
Comments
Have something to say? Share your thoughts.
Posted June 21, 2009 1:10 PM
Has anyone heard anything about alkaline antioxidant water? I was told it helped cleanse cells of toxic wastes and that it really works for migraine headaches among a list of other ailments. I was wondering because I have tried looking it up on several sites and can't find any info on it.
Posted June 10, 2009 3:26 PM
This shows such disdain for supplements, it must have been written by a physician, a drug company executive or a relative of one. Almost every one of the supplements mentioned works for people who understand such treatments and obtain good quality products. If one reads the article carefully one quickly discovers that it mostly cautions against reactions to pharmacuetical drugs that people are taking by a doctor's decree. Perhaps if people would take these gentle supplements INSTEAD of drugs they would do a lot better. All of these have NO side effects, while the drugs often have more side effects than the disease they are supposed to help has symptoms.
Posted June 9, 2009 10:08 PM
National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine is a USA goverment agency. I do not believe the test results because these agencys are funded by private companys (drug manafactures). The private companies do not want us to take low cost meds. Their main function is this life is to make money for the stockholders that is why RX drugs are so costly.
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