Ok, today I promised you a semiserious blog so we are going to look at the sobering side effects of combining some herbals or plants derived materials with drugs.
Over the past couple of months I have gotten a lot of questions about combining drugs, supplements and herbals.
The overwhelming number of times the answer is: "No one really knows"
There are 2 big reasons for this.
At this point modern medicine has only worked out the side effects profiles of combining 2 drugs at a time, not 5 or 6.
And having come from a traditional medical background I can tell you that 5 or 6 drugs is not at all uncommon.
The other reason is the FDA's approach to supplements. It could best be summed up as saying they are an annoying problem that we have neither time nor funds to deal with.
In other words they don't believe in lending any credibility to supplements. If they studied them at all this would be a tacit acknowledgement that they might actually work.
So let's look at what we do know.
The most dangerous situations occur when a person is taking the rat poison derived blood thinner Coumadin.
Doctors will tell you that everything interferes with Coumadin.
I will tell you that Coumadin interferes with everything.
Many plants and other vitamins such as Vitamin E, Fish oil, Garlic and others can actually thin the blood and should only be combined with any blood thinner (including aspirin) under a doctor’s direct supervision.
The problem is most docs don't know about supplements and don't want to add this burden to their already overburdened work and learning schedules.
Also, there are some misconceptions out there about and herbal and plant derived compound called Coumarol.
In most cases these herbally derived compounds do not have any blood thinning effects but because they are a distant cousin to Coumadin, journals will often make the association and say they do.
Whenever this has been studied it has not been the case.
For more on the topic of blood thinning supplements see my "under the knife" series:
Under the knife - Part 1
Under the knife - Part 2
Under the knife - Part 3
Supplements that heal - Under the knife - Part 4
There are of course times when the additive effect of supplements may be beneficial For instance my mom has been able to combine Cholesterol bomb with Lipitor for a greater effect.
Her doc is not comfortable taking her off the statin so she remains on the lowest possible dose, all the while running a cholesterol that would make a 20 year old jealous.
Similarly the supplements Gymnema, which will be one of the things in our upcoming diabetic supplement, and aloe juice both have the ability to lower blood sugars and can facilitate the use of less anti-diabetic drugs in people with Type 2 diabetes.
In the case of fish oil and Super Omega 3, which combine herbals with fish oil, many people have been able to reduce or stop their use of Tylenol or NSAIDS (Motrin like drugs) and trade the potential side effects of those drugs for the health benefits of the natural compounds.
Black tea, which is rich in tannins, can interfere with iron absorption but only if it is taken at the exact same time. Green tea does not appear to have this effect.
Grapefruit juice works on enzyme systems to block the effects of stain drugs and increase the effects of NSAIDS and some blood pressure drugs making it a potentially dangerous combination with either of these classes of drugs.
Even vegetables are not guiltless!
Cruciferous veggies like broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage can increase the metabolism (how fast the body gets rid of a drug) of anxiety drugs like Xanax and Tylenol making both less effective.
They can also increase the metabolism of caffeine so the next time you OD on coffee at work, grab a bag of broccoli florets and munch them down.
You'll be back to normal in no time.
Both orange juice and grapefruit juices can interfere with the metabolism of St. John's Wort and digoxin a drug used to strengthen the heart.
The have no effect on Co Q 10 absorption a supplement used to strengthen the heart and a mainstay of my Regenerizer.
To further complicate the issue, not all races of people have the same enzyme actions for drug metabolism. Most of the work done in this area is between Asian and Caucasian races but look for more work in the future for others as we strive to understand both the actions of drugs and supplements in different kinds of people.
For now, please understand this much.
I do tons of research with each and every compound that goes into each and every product.
I believe in the safety of my products and take every single one of them myself. I have family members who take my products as well even though they are on some drugs.
In most cases they have been able to reduce or remove the drugs completely.
You should not do this without the consent and understanding of your own personal doctor.
Happily I am getting more and more doctors on my reading list. They are busy people with big practices and need reliable information.
They come to me because this is my area of expertise.
They have other areas of expertise that I benefit from as well.
In the meantime, if we take care of our bodies most of us will not need toxic chemicals to keep us alive.
I make 10 different supplements with the expressed purpose of making that a reality!
Go to Dr Dave's Best - Product Order Page and pick the ones that meet your needs.
All the Best, Dr Dave
Supplements mentioned in this blog:
Cholesterol bomb
Regenerizer
fish oil
Super Omega 3
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