Supplement Savvy

JeninMichigan

The dilemia of figurout out what is valid, scan, waste of money, hype, etc. in the world of supplements is sometimes overwhelming. This is especially true for us everyday women who are trying to fit in this type of studying in our average day.  And, nearly impossible for those who are still feeling physcially a wreck.   

I don't want a flaming war.   This is not my opinion, etc... it is just something I am passing on as hopefully helpful.  

Dr. Duane, Townsend, MD

"So, what should you do to find out which supplements are best for you?  There are a number of things.  First, you can get in touch with a reputable naturopath - he or she can provide reliable guidance (don't rely on your medical doctor - they're probably not real familiar with the products).  And before you purchase any product, investigate its manufacturer.  You can do this online (see the websites below) or by calling the company directly. Frequently, a company's product label will list a toll free number you call regarding their product profiles and supportive data.  

Also, there are a number of books available that evaluate which supplements are legitimate and even provide reviews for specific products and manufacturers.  Finally, you can get on PubMed (sometimes called Medline) and do your own research.   PubMed is an extremelely large database of scientific studies from most of today's reputable medical and health journals.  If a study has been done on a particular supplement, chances are you'll find it there.   Here's the web site:  http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi.

A number of other web sites offer unbiased information on the validity of natural compounds and often rate companies for the quality of their products.  Some of these include:

www.supplementinfo.org

www.consumerlab.com/news/index.asp

www.uic.edu/pharmacy/research/diet/content/scont_news_grants

www.nmafucaulty.org/news/usplaunch.htm

www.nccam.nih.gov/training/centers

"END QUOTE

I wish I could feel free to just tell you about the two hour session I had with my naturalpath.   Frankly, I am afraid to and therefore just won't.    It is just a replay of our consult and what information him gave me and a very indepth conversation we had on lots of subjects.  Somehow, I don't feel this is the place to engage in that discussion.   That is unfortunate.  I know I would love to hear what someone elses naturpath had to say. Doesn't mean I am going to follow their directions but my mind is opening always to learning and hearing more.    By the way, I didn't agree with everything he said and we agreed to disagree on a few topics. 

Jennifer

Jennifer

Anonymous

The unsettling thing about naturopaths is that there is no state level certification that I know of (and please chime in if anyone knows of such a government level cert). So you really have no idea what their level of training is. Anyone can hang out a shingle and call themselves a naturopath.

Some are actual MD's. Most are not.

I would be particularly suspicious of one who tells you to not listen to your M.D. because he won't know anything about the subject. Well, the observation works both ways. How much and how long did the naturopath study oncology?

Just a few thoughts.

**certified attack- and sarcasm-free** by the Post Certification Authority

JeninMichigan

The individual I quoted is indeed a medical doctor and considered a "maverick" of medicine.  He is the author of the text books your gynecological oncologist studied from. He developed many gyn. procedures.  Probably the most familiar is a techinique using vinegar and a colposcope that allowed a woman's cervix to be anaylized and the cryosurgery technique of removing abnormal cells instead of a conization (removal of cervix).   So I am not at all suspicious.   Please feel free to google him and you will see.   If I can find his list of credentials, I will post them.  I have my family over now, but I will post it tonight. 

FYI, he didn't say don't listen to your MD .. he said don't "RELY" on your md for this information. There is a difference.   

Jennifer

crazy4carrots

Re Naturopath qualifications:

For any Canadian posters, your guide is the Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine.  Check out their website  www.ccnm.edu

Linda

FloridaLady

Naturopathic doctor are using information that is sometime 2,000 years old and proven to help in many areas. They go to college for four years and study both side of medicine a big part on actual study how the body works with disease and other elements are damaging the body.  Perfect fit for people who are not interested in taking more drugs and have more side effects.  Not treating the whole body.

Flalady

wendy57

From the AANP (American Association of Naturopathic Physicians):

EDUCATION

A licensed naturopathic physician (N.D.) attends a four-year graduate-level naturopathic medical school and is educated in all of the same basic sciences as an M.D., but also studies holistic and nontoxic approaches to therapy with a strong emphasis on disease prevention and optimizing wellness. In addition to a standard medical curriculum, the naturopathic physician is required to complete four years of training in clinical nutrition, acupuncture, homeopathic medicine, botanical medicine, psychology, and counseling (to encourage people to make lifestyle changes in support of their personal health). A naturopathic physician takes rigorous professional board exams so that he or she may be licensed by a state or jurisdiction as a primary care general practice physician. Please see the The AANMC's Professional Competency Profile for more information. Additional information on naturopathic schools can be found on the American Association of Naturopathic Medical Colleges web site. Organizations American Association of Naturopathic Medical Colleges The Association of Accredited Naturopathic Medical Colleges (AANMC) was established in Febrary 2001, to propel and foster the naturpathic medical profession by actively supporting the academic efforts of accredited and recognized schools of naturopathic medicine. The Council on Naturopathic Medical Education The Council on Naturopathic Medical Education's mission is quality assurance: serving the public by accrediting naturopathic medical education programs that voluntarily seek recognition that they meet or exceed CNME's standards. Students and graduates of programs accredited or preaccredited (candidacy) by CNME are eligible to apply for the naturopathic licensing examinations administered by the North American Board of Naturopathic Examiners (NABNE), and are generally eligible for state and provincial licensure in the U.S. and Canada. Naturopathic Physicians Licensing Examination Board The NPLEX (Naturopathic Physicians Licensing Examinations) is the examination graduates of one of the approved naturopathic medical colleges must pass to be eligible for licensure in any of the 16 states or 5 provinces that license/register naturopathic physicians. The North American Board of Naturopathic Examiners is responsible for qualifying applicants to take the NPLEX, administering the NPLEX to examinees, and preparing and sending exam results and transcripts to licensing/regulatory authorities. North American Board of Naturopathic Examiners The purpose of NABNE is to determine the qualifications of applicants to take the NPLEX, to administer the NPLEX to examinees, and to prepare and send exam results and transcripts to licensing/regulatory authorities. The institutions that regulate naturopathic medicine grant authority to NABNE to be the examining body for the naturopathic profession through their agreement to use the results of the NPLEX Examinations in their determination of the candidate's eligibility for licensure (United States) or registration (Canada).

Licensed States and Licensing Authorities

Currently, 15 states, the District of Columbia, and the United States territories of Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Islands have licensing laws for naturopathic doctors. In these states, naturopathic doctors are required to graduate from a four-year, residential naturopathic medical school and pass and extensive postdoctoral board examination (NPLEX) in order to receive a license. For information about the Naturopathic Physicians Licensing Examination Board (NPLEX) and the North American Board of Naturopathic Examiners (NABNE), please see our Education page. Licensed naturopathic physicians must fulfill state-mandated continuing education requirements annually, and will have a specific scope of practice defined by their state's law. The states that currently have licensing laws for naturopathic physicians are: Alaska Arizona California Connecticut District of Columbia Hawaii Idaho Kansas Maine Minnesota* Montana New Hampshire Oregon Utah Vermont Washington United States Territories: Puerto Rico and Virgin Islands *Effective July 2, 2009.

orange1

One thing to look out for in supplements that come in tablet form:  Non-disintegrating tablets.  If they don't disintegrate fairly quickly, the ingredients in them cannot be absorbed by your body.

Tablets are made by compressing powder in a die (form) under several tons of pressure.  Unless the ingredients are highly soluble (and most are not), the tablet must disintegrate to release the ingredients. 

Since some manufacturers want to claim how pure their supplements are (or are just being cheap), they don't add ingredients to help the tablet disintegrate.  My brother-in-law is an optometrist that sells some very expensive supplements.  I put a tablet he provided in glass of warm water.  By the next day, it was still hard as a rock.  It would have passed the GI tract in the same form it went in.

Since most absorption of complex or large molecules takes place in the section of your small intestine that is closest to your stomach, it is important that anything you take (supplement or drug) dissolve fairly quickly - before it passes the first 10 inches or so of your small intestine.  

To ensure you are getting quality supplements, I suggest the following test.  Drop a tablet in a glass of warm, not hot, water - about the same temperature as your hand.  If it doesn't disintegrate within about 30 minutes, there's a good chance it won't disintegrate in your body before it passes the window of opportunity for absorption.  I suggest you take it back and get a refund.

Also, when you are buying supplements, look for ingredients such as starch and cellulose.  These ingredients swell in water and help to break up the tablet.  There are also things called "superdisintegrants": crospovidone, croscarmellose and sodium starch glycolate.  These swell super fast and will ensure the tablet breaks up quickly.  Manufacturers that include these in their products really care about providing a quality product, because they cost a little more money to the manufacturer, but work really well. 

Capsules are not a problem because the gelatin is easily digested by your body. 

Edited to add - controlled release (to provide long duration of action) drugs do not need to disintegrate quickly to be effective since only small, easily absorbed  molecules should be formulated as controlled release.)

jader

Orange, my gf, she is a nurse, told me the same thing about it being soluble and about using warm water to take your pills.

orange1

Hi Jader,

Sorry if I was unclear, I meant to say test your pills using warm water. 

vivre

Orange, do you think warm water is comparable to stomach enzymes? I am just wondering because gastric juices are much more complicated and promote digestion whereas water is neutral. Just wondering if you have seen any info that they dissovle the same? For instance, put baking soda in water and it dissovles slowly. But baking soda in vinegar and it dissolves quickly.

orange1

Hi Vivre -

Not in the case of tablets that are compressed hard as a rock.  It would too long for the enzymes to reach most of the content of the tablet, so the tablet would be beyond the area of the intestine where most of the aborption occurs before it gets broken up, if it breaks up at all

everyminute

jen - I pm'd you