Are supplements always a good thing? Can we believe the claims and are they REALLY safe - after all, they are natural aren't they?

[PMRpro]

We do get a lot of posts asking about whether this supplement or the other will help get off pred or deal with this symptom or that problem. Many are herbal. People think they are "natural" so must be safer than prescribed medications. In fact, the opposite is true. Prescribed medications are subject to a lot of monitoring, controls and regulation. Supplements are not - not even to prove they do what it says on the tin!

If a supplement can do as much as it is sometimes claimed - then it must be having quite an effect on your body and sometimes that can be dangerous - especially if you take more than one thing that has an effect on the same organ like the liver or kidneys. That is partly why we are told not to mix NSAIDs and pred and paracetamol/acetimophen is recommended to us as a painkiller, just to add to the risks I'm highlighting here as it has a powerful effect on the liver.

This is a good article about 6 commonly used supplements that often get a mention on here - and their potential to damage the liver. Add in paracetamol or that glass of wine with dinner and you compound the problem.

medicalnewstoday.com/articl...

[Joanbill13]

thanks as usual Pro. I’m always concerned about this and read as much info as I can

[toniaell]

Thank you for this article very helpful!

[Greensleeves]

Thank you PMRpro , i take Vitamin D and Probiotics.

It was shocking the times my Mum had AKI from doctors prescribing willy nilly , she always advised to check everything with a Pharmacist. xx

[Grammy80]

Great information....thanks💞

[Bcol]

Never taken any and great information. Thank you.

[ncfaaeos]

Thank you for this interesting and useful article.

[Sophiestree]

so interesting as two consultants I saw suggested turmeric, one being my liver!

[Frenchduck]

Very interesting thank you. I have always been suspicious of taking anything that is concentrated but I do used tumeric and cumin (seeds and powder) as spices when cooking. Do you know if any danger is posed there?

[Hulotsholiday in reply to Frenchduck]

I use both too. I don’t know whether they’re safe, but I’m assuming that used in cooking, as a spice by millions daily, they’re OK! I wouldn’t take as a supplement.

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Frenchduck]

It is generally said that dietary use is fine - the supplements are in MUCH higher doses.

[Hulotsholiday]

Thanks for a useful article. The other issue is the conditions under which they’re prepared along with country of origin. Not all countries have regs or standards for prep of ‘supplements’ and factory conditions can be appalling.

Same is true of spices. There are problems in the USA ( from memory) with a common spice that’s prepared abroad, but ons if the dried powder are stored on a concrete floor which was previously used for chemicals and toxic residue is seeping into the condiment. It’s being sold by two large companies who are investigating, but it’s worrying. I only buy branded spices in jars…more expensive but hopefully prepared with adequate controls.

[Frenchduck in reply to Hulotsholiday]

That's what we have to hope. We put so much trust in manufacturers when buying those kinds of things. I tend to buy ones with a known label rather than loose from the market simply because I assume that the former would have undergone more rigid controls. However I could be making the wrong judgement.

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Hulotsholiday]

"Not all countries have regs or standards for prep of ‘supplements"

Actually - almost none have standards of the sort most people think, even the USA and UK. The rubrics are so wishy it is really easy to get round them!

hfe.co.uk/blog/a-tough-pill...

[anutycrixp]

the word natural is used to sell the product.What does it mean in this context? Implies a cosy safe non-toxic aura of healing by Mother Nature herself? The “natural” world includes many dangerous to human health substances and effects..poisons,toxins,carcinogenic substances..asbestos,radiation allergens etc fierce beasts harsh weather and so on!, wonder we survived!!

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to anutycrixp]

I always point out that deadly nightshade is 100% natural!

[AtopicGuy in reply to PMRpro]

True! Tomatoes, potatoes, peppers and blueberries are just a few of the crops from the nightshade family. Selective breeding has reduced the levels of their defensive toxins, meaning it's now safe to eat them in decent-sized portions. Our ancestors knew to be careful or die, and that drove natural selection.

On the flip side, many powerful medicines (and illegal drugs) are based on the toxins meant to stop herbivores eating plants and fungi. Opioids, nicotine, cannabis, belladonna, the caffeine in coffee and the tannins in tea are just a few. Animals that gorged on the wrong things would become easy prey for predators long before they keeled over from poisoning.

[AtopicGuy in reply to anutycrixp]

Indeed. Unless they want us to spread their pollen or seeds, most plants do not 'want' to be eaten. So they have evolved toxins to affect their taste or safety. Animals are in an evolutionary arms race, constantly 'looking' for ways to minimise the threat. Humans began farming about 12,000 years ago to improve the supply of safe food. Selective breeding means today's crops have much lower levels of toxins than wild varieties.

[Numptybrain]

I used to use turmeric until I read if you take miracle or lanzoprazole it can cause more acid, so I stopped. You do have to be careful.

Take care

Wendy xx

[whitefishbay]

Thank you. I take Tumeric for my joints....

[Raven1955]

A very interesting read - thanks for sharing it. Simvastatin in particular, as I have taken it for decades. I followed the link on it to the National Library of Medicine bookshelf, where it basically said there are a number of other effective statins that have a lesser chance of side effects that can ruin you. I never knew.

Different topic but similar in my mind - the use of the term "Organic". My wife uses many supplements and is a faithful believer in organic products. Any time I want to be playfully nasty and rile her up, I just start the conversation by pointing out that anything grown is natural and organic. That gets her fired up fast!! I know, I'm a bad boy lol.

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Raven1955]

Which is a fine attitude on her part BUT, not everything is available in organic form so there may only be a part of the stuff that is really organic ...

Me - I'm on your wavelength

[AtopicGuy]

Well said. Even vitamin pills can cause problems (see 2015 article below). Many epidemiological studies have shown that they often do more harm than good.

I remember the first study that found cancer patients died faster on 'anti-oxidant' vitamins than those taking a placebo. The effect was so clear, the trial was abandoned part way through. The vitamins were helping the cancer cells more than the healthy ones!

You can't beat a well-balanced diet. It's what we evolved to thrive on.

theguardian.com/society/201...

[anutycrixp]

yes you do!language is so interesting .How cleverly scientific definitions are spread thin and blurred to imply something else.. organic = would mean carbon containing compounds to some and mean derived from living organisms to others which brings us back to natural…!How about a philosophical/ linguistic group?🤔

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to anutycrixp]

In a heartbeat - but we'd be reported for going off piste ...

[anutycrixp]

this may..or may not be true..but what is truth?

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to anutycrixp]

Indeed! Much as I detest the AI offering Google now inflicts on us - who really knows how true IT is, it makes up references to support its statements which don't actually exist - this seemed a fair summary:

"Truth is the quality of being in line with reality or fact. In everyday language, it's typically used to describe things that try to represent reality or match it, such as beliefs, propositions, and declarative sentences. Truth is usually considered the opposite of a false statement.

Here are some ways to define truth from a philosophical perspective: Truth corresponds to reality, Truth matches its object, and Truth is simply telling it like it is. "

[anutycrixp in reply to PMRpro]

This could run for ever..what of perception and truth?

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to anutycrixp]

Ah - now you are getting to the difficult questions!

[anutycrixp in reply to PMRpro]

Yes,starting to get brain ache.Time for a cup of tea instead!