If any supplement gets mentioned in the news, its usually in the context of some damage that it has caused, followed by a discussion of the danger of dietary supplements since they are not sufficiently regulated. The fact is, however, that dietary supplements ARE regulated according to the DSHEA Act of 1994.
However, the real dangerous culprit is highly regulated pharmaceutical drugs !
Many commonly used drugs are linked to disease. For instance, the use of antibiotics is associated with an increased risk of fatal breast cancer (JAMA, Feb 4, 2004). Regular use of painkillers such as ibuprofen and acetaminophen increases the risk of chronic kidney failure. (New Engl Jour Med Dec 20, 2001) Another research study notes that medications pose a significant risk to patients, with 1.9 million adverse drug events occurring each year, and up to 180,000 of these are life threatening or fatal (JAMA, Mar 5, 2003). Note the severity and astronomical numbers associated with adverse drug events, vs. the small incidence of adverse events due to supplements. Clearly, the 43 million dollars spent on FDA drug regulation does not make drugs safe.
New reports continue to stress the severe danger associated with the responsible use of pharmaceutical drugs. In fact, the CDC reports that “during 2007 a total of 38,371 drug-induced deaths occurred in the United States” (http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/su6001a12.htm?s_cid=su6001a12_w)
The CDC reports ” It is estimated that there are more than 700,000 visits to emergency departments for adverse drug events each year in the United States. Nearly 120,000 of these patients need to be hospitalized for further treatment.” (http://www.cdc.gov/Features/MedicineSafety/ )
On the other hand, the more that dietary supplements are seriously investigated, the safer they appear to be. Of course, there is a rare incidence of death, such as deaths associated with taking ephedra, especially when combined with other recreational stimulants. However when we look at the big picture, the numbers are extremely favorable in terms of the safety of supplements. The American Association of Poison Control Centers released statistics in 2009 after an exhaustive 174 page study found that not even one death was caused by any dietary supplement in 2008. The data was published in the journal Clinical Toxicology and noted that there was zero deaths from multiple vitamins; B vitamins; vitamins A, C, D, or E; or any other vitamin. The list of supplements NOT linked to any death also includes amino acids, creatine, blue-green algae, glucosamine, chondroitin, melatonin and Homeopathic medicines. Herbal products were also contributed to zero deaths, including blue cohosh, echinacea, ginkgo biloba, ginseng, kava kava, St. John’s wort, valerian, yohimbe, Traditional Chinese Herbal medicines, ayurvedic medicines, or any other botanical. In fact, there were zero deaths from any dietary supplement. (Bronstein AC, Spyker DA, Cantilena LR Jr, et. al. 2008 Annual Report of the American Association of Poison Control Centers’ National Poison Data System (NPDS): 26th Annual Report. Clinical Toxicology (2009). 47, 911-1084. (http://www.aapcc.org/dnn/Portals/0/2008annualreport.pdf )
It is true that herbs can interact with medications and may make the medications less effective or even more dangerous. Its best to research any supplements that you intend to use or visit your highly trained holistic health practitioner for guidance if you are on prescription medications.
However, with this kind of excellent safety record, and well as the much lower cost associated with supplements vs pharmaceuticals, its time for conventional medical care to include the use of safe supplements as a first line intervention, and save the more expensive, dangerous and aggressive drug therapies for those cases that do not respond to diet, lifestyle and dietary supplement intervention.
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