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Alternative medicine is a booming business, and for good reason. Conventional medications are often wrought with unpleasant, sometimes serious side effects, and they often come with a high price tag. And then there are the drug recalls that occur after multiple people have nearly died from using them. No wonder the public is wary of prescription drugs.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the 2007 National Health Interview Survey Alternative Medicine Supplement noted that close to 18% of adults in the United States had used natural products in 2006. Among the natural products used by Americans, fish oil supplements lead the pack, followed by Echinacea at 19.8%. Other popular products were flaxseed (15.9%), ginseng (14.1%), and ginkgo biloba (11.3%).
As a result of the high side-effect profile of many medications, as well as the uncertainty of their safety, many have turned to natural solutions to heal their ailments. A recent article in the New England Journal of Medicine stated that each year, Americans spend close to $30 billion on supplements believing that since they are natural, they are safe, as well as effective and various supplements are used by over 100 million Americans (N. Engl. J. Med. 2012;366:389-391). I humbly admit that early in my career, I was purely focused on the tried-and-true, gold standard of the randomized, placebo-controlled trial. If a treatment did not have the credentials I thought it should have, I didn’t recommend it and often discouraged my patients from using it. However, over the years, I wised up. Now, I am a true believer in certain alternative therapies and buy them regularly. For instance, I have found rose hips tea to be extremely relaxing after a long day at work. It appears to calm the entire world around me and gives me no side effects whatsoever.
Many of our patients use natural remedies too, but do not mention them, thinking either they are not important or that we physicians will turn our noses up at their use. However, it is important for us to know everything they are taking, since some alternative treatments have the potential to interfere with our treatments and cause their own side effects as well.
For instance, Chinese cinnamon (also called cassia cinnamon) contains coumarin, which could be problematic in patients already on Coumadin or those who are risk of bleeding from other causes. Açaí fruit pulp has been tested as a contrast agent for MRI of the GI tract, and can impact MRI results. Black cohosh can cause GI upset, headache, rash, and even liver failure.
These are only a few potential side effects of commonly used supplements.
We should ask our patients if they take any supplements, and if they do, we should offer educated guidance as well as encourage them to visit the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine online to learn more about these supplements. They, too, need to understand exactly what they are putting in their bodies.
Dr. Hester is a hospitalist with Baltimore-Washington Medical Center who has a passion for empowering patients to partner in their health care.
Alternative medicine is a booming business, and for good reason. Conventional medications are often wrought with unpleasant, sometimes serious side effects, and they often come with a high price tag. And then there are the drug recalls that occur after multiple people have nearly died from using them. No wonder the public is wary of prescription drugs.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the 2007 National Health Interview Survey Alternative Medicine Supplement noted that close to 18% of adults in the United States had used natural products in 2006. Among the natural products used by Americans, fish oil supplements lead the pack, followed by Echinacea at 19.8%. Other popular products were flaxseed (15.9%), ginseng (14.1%), and ginkgo biloba (11.3%).
As a result of the high side-effect profile of many medications, as well as the uncertainty of their safety, many have turned to natural solutions to heal their ailments. A recent article in the New England Journal of Medicine stated that each year, Americans spend close to $30 billion on supplements believing that since they are natural, they are safe, as well as effective and various supplements are used by over 100 million Americans (N. Engl. J. Med. 2012;366:389-391). I humbly admit that early in my career, I was purely focused on the tried-and-true, gold standard of the randomized, placebo-controlled trial. If a treatment did not have the credentials I thought it should have, I didn’t recommend it and often discouraged my patients from using it. However, over the years, I wised up. Now, I am a true believer in certain alternative therapies and buy them regularly. For instance, I have found rose hips tea to be extremely relaxing after a long day at work. It appears to calm the entire world around me and gives me no side effects whatsoever.
Many of our patients use natural remedies too, but do not mention them, thinking either they are not important or that we physicians will turn our noses up at their use. However, it is important for us to know everything they are taking, since some alternative treatments have the potential to interfere with our treatments and cause their own side effects as well.
For instance, Chinese cinnamon (also called cassia cinnamon) contains coumarin, which could be problematic in patients already on Coumadin or those who are risk of bleeding from other causes. Açaí fruit pulp has been tested as a contrast agent for MRI of the GI tract, and can impact MRI results. Black cohosh can cause GI upset, headache, rash, and even liver failure.
These are only a few potential side effects of commonly used supplements.
We should ask our patients if they take any supplements, and if they do, we should offer educated guidance as well as encourage them to visit the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine online to learn more about these supplements. They, too, need to understand exactly what they are putting in their bodies.
Dr. Hester is a hospitalist with Baltimore-Washington Medical Center who has a passion for empowering patients to partner in their health care.
Alternative medicine is a booming business, and for good reason. Conventional medications are often wrought with unpleasant, sometimes serious side effects, and they often come with a high price tag. And then there are the drug recalls that occur after multiple people have nearly died from using them. No wonder the public is wary of prescription drugs.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the 2007 National Health Interview Survey Alternative Medicine Supplement noted that close to 18% of adults in the United States had used natural products in 2006. Among the natural products used by Americans, fish oil supplements lead the pack, followed by Echinacea at 19.8%. Other popular products were flaxseed (15.9%), ginseng (14.1%), and ginkgo biloba (11.3%).
As a result of the high side-effect profile of many medications, as well as the uncertainty of their safety, many have turned to natural solutions to heal their ailments. A recent article in the New England Journal of Medicine stated that each year, Americans spend close to $30 billion on supplements believing that since they are natural, they are safe, as well as effective and various supplements are used by over 100 million Americans (N. Engl. J. Med. 2012;366:389-391). I humbly admit that early in my career, I was purely focused on the tried-and-true, gold standard of the randomized, placebo-controlled trial. If a treatment did not have the credentials I thought it should have, I didn’t recommend it and often discouraged my patients from using it. However, over the years, I wised up. Now, I am a true believer in certain alternative therapies and buy them regularly. For instance, I have found rose hips tea to be extremely relaxing after a long day at work. It appears to calm the entire world around me and gives me no side effects whatsoever.
Many of our patients use natural remedies too, but do not mention them, thinking either they are not important or that we physicians will turn our noses up at their use. However, it is important for us to know everything they are taking, since some alternative treatments have the potential to interfere with our treatments and cause their own side effects as well.
For instance, Chinese cinnamon (also called cassia cinnamon) contains coumarin, which could be problematic in patients already on Coumadin or those who are risk of bleeding from other causes. Açaí fruit pulp has been tested as a contrast agent for MRI of the GI tract, and can impact MRI results. Black cohosh can cause GI upset, headache, rash, and even liver failure.
These are only a few potential side effects of commonly used supplements.
We should ask our patients if they take any supplements, and if they do, we should offer educated guidance as well as encourage them to visit the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine online to learn more about these supplements. They, too, need to understand exactly what they are putting in their bodies.
Dr. Hester is a hospitalist with Baltimore-Washington Medical Center who has a passion for empowering patients to partner in their health care.