Never use any herbal product or dietary supplement while pregnant or breastfeeding until you have reviewed the latest research with your doctor. Most dietary supplements suffer from a lack of safety research in the area of pregnancy and breastfeeding. It is just that simple, folks. Some doctors allow ginger supplements for nausea or cranberry supplements to prevent urinary tract infections during pregnancy. But, overall, the fewer herbal products you take while you’re pregnant the better; the risk can outweigh the benefit.
“What do you mean when you say ‘do you qualify for a supplement’?”
A supplement, just like a drug, can make your life better if you need it and worse if you don’t. In other words, don’t take it if you don’t need it. A doctor would never give a cholesterol-lowering drug to improve hair growth or vitamin E supplements to reduce prostate cancer risk in men. Before you go on a pill, first see if you can solve the problem through lifestyle changes (weight loss; exercise; alcohol, sodium, and stress reduction; following a healthy diet— whatever it takes). If those don’t work, then it may be time for a drug. And before recommending any supplement, I employ the same qualification process. This means having the patient undergo relevant medical questioning and potentially testing as well as looking at the research (see the Appendix). Was the supplement tested in people with the same or similar conditions (or lack of conditions) and of the same age, gender, race, and so on? If the supplement was tested on people with diabetes and you don’t have this disease, then it may not be right for you.
“Can I take supplements if I’m having surgery?”
I don’t recommend it. There are so many herbals or supplements (feverfew, garlic, ginger, ginkgo, goldenseal, licorice, St. John’s wort, valerian) that can mess with you during surgery, maybe by increasing the risk of bleeding, increasing or decreasing blood pressure, or impacting the sedative effects of anesthetics. It’s just not worth the risk. For almost 30 years I have told health care professionals to have patients stop all dietary supplements ideally 2 to 3 weeks before a procedure. (After you recover, you can consider starting again.) There will indeed be exceptions to this rule as more and better research becomes available. For example, vitamin C supplementation before and after some cardiac procedures may reduce the risk of postoperative atrial fibrillation.
“Can supplements help me detox?”
No! The liver is great at eliminating toxins, and fiber (in foods or powder form) is good for getting rid of some intestinal toxins. Pills don’t help. Let me repeat: PILLS DON’T HELP! Now, there are cases when someone is exposed to toxic amounts of a substance, and a supplement or drug can help prevent damage from this overdose (acetaminophen overdose is treated in the emergency room with N-acetylcysteine, or NAC, which is a drug and a supplement), but that’s rare. If you really want to reduce toxin exposure, take fewer pills, exercise more, maintain a healthy weight, and avoid drinking too much and smoking. These healthy habits allow your body to work at its maximum capacity.
The Supplement Handbook - Mark Moyad
