News flash: Dietary supplements are big business! According to some industry reports over $8 billion dollars big annually in the U. S. market alone! With a health-care system in shambles and more of us facing the hard reality of not being able to afford getting sick this shouldn’t surprise anyone. It only makes sense that we would be eying and experimenting with alternative therapies for managing our health concerns. But are we getting our moneys worth? The fact is there is little over-sight and conflicting claims by the ‘experts’ can confuse more than clarify. How can you tell which supplements really do increase your ‘wellness odds’?
Data For Alternative Treatments Out There
You research. There are studies and clinical trials being conducted, and many show promising results. Main stream medicine is taking notice. Some medical facilities, like the prestigious Mayo Clinic and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center even document this data to assist pro-active patients. Visit their web-sites for up-to-date information about specific supplements.
Are you looking for an optional or complimentary treatment for an existing ailment? Perhaps you’re seeking additional resources to help you achieve optimal health and safeguard against future disease. Take the time to educate yourself…and then consult with your physician. Certain conditions may preclude the use of a particular vitamin or herb due to an increased potential for serious, even life-threatening side-effects or reactions:
- Garlic – long touted for lowering cholesterol, among other things – might increase your risk of bleeding, and should therefore not be used before surgery or certain dental procedures. Some studies have also indicated it may lower blood sugar, and/or increase insulin production. If you have diabetes or hypoglycemia you should be aware of this and exercise caution if considering its use.
Harmful inter-actions can occur when specific supplements are mixed with prescribed medications:
- Ginkgo Biloba - thought by many to benefit early-stage Alzheimer sufferers, as well as help treat and prevent a host of other conditions - should not be mixed with anti-depressants or antihypertensive thiazide diuretics due to the possibility of dangerously raising drug efficacy.
Let your doctors’ help you decide. They know your health history. They are in the best position to advise you as to the potential benefits or dangers of starting a new course of therapy or regimen.
Top-Selling Supplements Safest Bet
ConsumerReportsHealth.org lists multi-vitamins, calcium, and probiotics as the three most popular supplements today. Being top-sellers usually means they are the most studied and the safest, so a good place to begin your quest for knowledge is with the market leaders. This can be hard to determine though, since most market research firms sell their data – (often with price tags in the thousands of dollars)! But perseverance will pay off…the information is out there; you just have to search for it:
- The American Botanical Council’s quarterly report, Herbalgram cites statistics from the Chicago based market research firm IRA in naming cranberry, soy, garlic, saw palmetto, and ginkgo biloba as the five top selling herbs in the mass-market sector today.
Another good starting point for your research is checking which supplemental recommendations are duplicated by several alternative medicine enthusiasts:
- NaturesCuresClinic.com’s doctors Nigh and Eckel both include probiotics, vitamin D, and fish oils in their respective ‘top 5’ lists.
While that magic panacea that will cure all that ails us and increase our longevity and vitality remains elusive there are some tantalizing hints that we’re getting closer – at least on some fronts:
- Multi-vitamins, especially those targeted for specific group’s (i.e. pre-natal vitamins for pregnant women), are beneficial in achieving a healthy nutritional balance.
- Taking Calcium can help protect post-menopausal women at risk for osteoporosis.
- Probiotics, with their friendly bacteria, seems to offer significant relief for those with digestive complaints.
- Omega-3 fatty acids, present in fish oils, clearly aid heart-health in study after study, and new research indicates it may also help improve memory in senior citizens.
Do yourself a favor before you add your hard earned dollars to the supplement industry's already over-flowing coffers: do your homework. Nature may well hold the key to a healthier and longer life but science has yet to unlock all of its mysteries. Whether you are scanning the shelves of your local health-food store, or perusing the vitamin & supplement aisles of your neighborhood drug and grocery stores in search of some additional ‘health ensurance’ remember: the savvy consumer’s credo is ‘buyer beware’.
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