| Used as a dietary supplement for capillary fragility. No known toxicity.
BUFFER • Usually a solution with a relatively constant acidity-alkalinity ratio, which is unaffected by the addition of comparatively large amounts of acid or alkali. A typical buffer solution would be hydrochloric acid and sodium hydroxide (see). BUGLE WEED • Sweet Bugle. Extract of the various parts of Lycopus virgini-cus, grown in North America. Contains a volatile oil, resin, and tannin. Used in perfumery. |
| It is used in microbiological research and as a dietary supplement in the L and DL forms. The FDA has asked for supplementary information. It is now GRAS for addition to food. It caused cancer of the skin in mice and tumors when injected into their abdomens.
ALBUMEN • A group of simple proteins composed of nitrogen, carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and sulfur that are soluble in water. Albumen is usually derived from egg white and employed as an emulsifier in foods and cosmetics. May cause a reaction to those allergic to eggs. ALBUMIN • See Albumen.
ALCLOXA • Aluminum Chlorhydroxy Allantoinate. |
| It is used as a dietary supplement. It is a building block of protein and is used in cosmetics to help creams penetrate the skin. The FDA has asked for further study of this additive that is GRAS. See Acetylated.
ACETYL VALERYL • See Valeric Acid and Acetic Acid.
ACETYLATED • Any organic compound that has been heated with acetic anhydride or acetyl chloride to remove its water. Acetylated lanolins are used in hand creams and lotions, for instance. Acetic anhydride produces irritation and necrosis of tissues in the vapor state and carries a warning against contact with skin and eyes. |
| It is used as a dietary supplement. It is a building block of protein and is used in cosmetics to help creams penetrate the skin. No known toxicity.
UBIQUINONES • Coenzyme Q. A group of quinones (see) used as antioxidants and skin conditioning ingredients in cosmetics. Some are naturally occurring and many are synthetic. Coenzyme Q is a naturally occurring antioxidant nutrient and a cofactor in the energy production of the cell. |
Ralph W. Moss, Ph.D.
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 Failure with Liver Cancer: In a double-blind study, South African doctors used evening primrose oil (as a source of GLA) as a dietary supplement for people with liver cancer. "No statistically significant effect was observed on survival time or liver size," they reported. Some crucial enzyme levels did improve, however, and no side-effects were observed. The scientists ascribed this failure to the large size of tumors and the relatively low doses of GLA used in the test (1).
©^ferences
1. van der Merwe C, et al. |
David Heber, M.D., Ph.D.
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 If they haven't budged, taking a dietary supplement called Hong Qu, or red yeast rice (discussed in chapter 6), is an appropriate next step. Have another test done after two months on Hong Qu. If your numbers still haven't come down, your physician can give you a prescription for a cholesterol-lowering medication. Since all prescription drugs have side effects of some kind, it's always preferable to first try the simplest, most down-to-earth solutions such as diet and exercise. |
Jonathan Goodman ND
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 CHITOSAN: THE "SHELL" GAME
A dietary supplement called chitosan contains a type of fiber derived from crab shells. It's become increasingly popular as a weight-loss aid because it appears to block the absorption of fats by the intestine. As with other kinds of fiber, chitosan reduces die rate at which the intestine absorbs cholesterol. It has been shown to be more effective than cellulose or guar gum, two other fiber sources that are also used to block the absorption of fats. |
David Heber, M.D., Ph.D.
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| More science will be needed to show the superiority of this botanical dietary supplement, but I predict it will be a mainstay of heart disease prevention some day. Used as a spice, it can also be added to foods rather than taken as a pill. The usual dose is about 2.4 grams of a rice/yeast powder combination capsule where the weight of the yeast is about 0.4 percent of the weight of the tablet. The amount of the monacolin identical to lovastatin at this dose is about 6 milligrams, compared to the 20 milligrams in the usual starting dose of lovastatin. |
| It is your right to choose to take these supplements and is guaranteed by law in a bill called the "Dietary Supplement Health Education Act," passed by the U.S. Congress in 1994.
While the supplements listed above are to maintain your health, the herbal supplements listed below can be used to help you with some common ailments that lend themselves to self-care. I would like to give you a brief tour of some of the most popular herbs on the market today. I could write much more, but this is intended as only a brief introduction to the herbal bounty of the plant world. |
Nicola Reavley
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 The result is a definitive guide to dietary supplement use.
If one paces the aisles of any bookstore, the vast array of popular books on nutritional and "natural" options for health becomes immediately apparent. Sampling some of these books, even at a glance, raises issues about the validity of the recommendations or material contained within the books. There seems to be an ever increasing number of self-proclaimed experts in alternative and complementary medicine who expect their ideas to be accepted without reference to peer-reviewed literature. |
Joe Graedon and Teresa Graedon
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 Calcium is also used as a dietary supplement to provide nutritional support against osteoporosis. Physicians generally recommend 800 to 1,200 mg of pure calcium daily either from the diet or from mineral supplements. Vitamin D and magnesium enhance the benefits of calcium.
INSTRUCTIONS
Experts recommend that calcium be taken with meals to improve absorption. |
Stanley W. Jacob, M.D., Ronald M. Lawrence, M.D., Ph.D.
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 Comment: MSM, as a dietary supplement and a topical gel, helps rheumatoid arthritis patients because it relieves pain and reduces inflammation. But deficiencies of MSM have not been measured in people.
Claim: "It is the MSM in aloe vera leaves that soothes and repairs skin that has been cut, scraped, or damaged."
Comment: There is no evidence for this. The MSM content in aloe vera leaves has never been measured as far as we know. There are sulfur compounds in aloe vera but we do not know if they include MSM. |
| Comments:
As a dietary supplement, MSM offers great potential for anyone with constipation. MSM produces a general "tonic" effect in the bowels and normalizes bowel function, particularly for older individuals. We have given MSM to nursing homes, where constipation is a common problem. The nurses have said that MSM works well for patients, even for individuals not responding to Metamu-cil or stool softeners.
Patients being treated for arthritis or other painful conditions often say that MSM has restored their normal bowel movement. |
Gary Null
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 Nutritional yeast is a natural treasurehouse of proteins, vitamins, and minerals that can be used as a dietary supplement when added to juices or included in cooked dishes. Often called brewer's yeast because at one time it was a byproduct of the brewing industry, nutritional yeast is the tiniest of cultivated plants. The minuscule plants are grown on herbaceous grains and hops under carefully controlled temperature conditions. The yeast plant grows at an astoundingly fast rate. Once it has multiplied many times and matured, it is harvested and dried in a way that preserves all its nutrients. |
Schuyler W. Lininger, Jr. DC
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 Creatine: a dietary supplement and ergogenic aid. Nutr Rev 1999; 57: 45-50.
23. Vandenberghe K, Gills N, Van Leemputte M, et al. Caffeine counteracts the ergogenic action of muscle creatine loading. / Appl Physiol 1996; 80: 452-57.
24. Sewell DA, Robinson TM, Casey A, et al. The effect of acute dietary creatine supplementation upon indices of renal, hepatic and haemato-logical function in human subjects. Proc Nutr Soc 1998; 57: 17A.
25. Poortmans JR, Auquier H, Renaut V, Durussel A, Saugy M, Brisson GR. Effect of short-term creatine supplementation on renal responses in men. |
| Generally, sugar is sugar (sucrose in white table sugar or fructose from fruit), and not having it in a dietary supplement would be preferable. However, xylitol, a natural sugar rarely used in chewables because it is relatively expensive, does not cause tooth decay or other known problems.
Some chewables, such as vitamin C (p. 341), contain more sugar than any other ingredient. In such products, the sweetener should be listed as the first ingredient, but often isn't. This means care needs to be exercised when reading labels about chewable vitamins. |
| Cysteine is rarely used as a dietary supplement. N-acetyl cysteine (NAC) (p. 317), which contains cysteine, is more commonly used as a supplement.
Where Is It Found?
The body can synthesize cysteine from methionine (p. 313) and other building blocks. Cysteine, the amino acid from which NAC is derived, is found in most high-protein foods.
Refer to N-acetyl cysteine (p. 317) for corresponding health concerns.
Who Is Likely to Be Deficient?
According to several studies, blood levels of cysteine and glutathione are low in individuals infected with HIV (p. 87). |
| Bromelain is found mostly in the stems of pineapples and is available as a dietary supplement.
Bromelain Has Been Used in
Connection with the Following Conditions*
Ranking
Health Concerns
Primary
Minor injuries (p. 122) Sinusitis (p. 156) Wound healing (p. 1 67)
Secondary
Postsurgical healing
Urinary tract infection (p. 160)
Other
Angina (p. 1 3) Asthma (p. i 5) Rheumatoid arthritis (p. 151) Thrombophlebitis
*Referto the Individual Health Concern for Complete Information
Who Is Likely to Be Deficient? |
Christian Ratsch
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 The athlete involved could not have her victory disallowed, however, for this was a dietary supplement, not a forbidden substance.
Left: The first botanical and chemical investigations of the peyote cactus (Lophophora williamsii) were conducted at the end of the nineteenth century. The extraordinary psychedelic effects of mescaline, an alkaloid isolated from this cactus, have influenced the history of European psychiatry.
Right: Two psychoactive plants in an intimate embrace: an Amazonian ayahuasca vine {Banisteriopsis caapi) winding itself up the trunk of a coral tree (Erythrina mexicana). |
Andrew Chevallier
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 Garlic has great value as a long-term dietary supplement, helping to maintain healthy circulation, balance blood sugar levels, reduce high blood pressure and fat levels in the blood, and improve resistance to infection, especially bronchitis. Rehmannia, a Chinese tonic herb with strengthening and mildly stimulant properties, appears to lower blood pressure and blood fat levels. It is suitable for people who have a weak liver and metabolism. Gentian, a bitter herb, helps the absorption of food by maintaining digestive secretions, which diminish with age. |
David Heber, M.D., Ph.D.
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| A chemical formed from plant estrogens called "ipriflavone" is sold as a dietary supplement and has been studied extensively in Europe, where it has been shown to reduce thinning of the bones.
You Have to Fall Over to Break Your Hip
While healthy nutrition is important, maintaining your muscles, especially the big muscles in your legs, is important. It will help to maintain your stability and keep you from falling over—a necessary prerequisite to the most devastating of the osteoporosis-related fractures, the hip fracture. At this point I should also mention not being overmedicated. |
Sheldon Saul Hendler and David Rorvik
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 It is used commercially in certain cosmetics and as a meat tenderizer and dietary supplement. Bromelain may have digestant activity and there is research suggesting that it may have wound healing, antiinflammatory, antidiarrheal and anticarcinogenic effects, as well.
The activity of bromelain may be expressed in six different ways: Rorer units, FIP units, BTU (bromelain tyrosine units), CDU (casein digestion units), GDU (gelatin digestion units) or MCU (milk clotting units).
The most commonly used measures of activity are MCU or GDU. One GDU is equivalent to about 1.5 MCU. |
Ruth Winter
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 CALCIUM GLYCEROPHOSPHATE • A fine, white, odorless, nearly tasteless powder used in dentifrices, baking powder, and as a food stabilizer and dietary supplement. A component of many over-the-counter nerve-tonic foods. Administered medicinally for numbness and debility. The final report to the FDA of the Select Committee on GRAS Substances stated in 1980 that it should continue its GRAS status with no limitations other than good manufacturing practices. See Calcium Sources.
CALCIUM 5'-GUANYLATE • Flavor potentiator. Odorless white crystals or powder having a characteristic taste. |
Sheldon Saul Hendler
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 Nettle is rich in protein, minerals and vitamins, especially vitamin E (one of the richest sources of the vitamin) and some use it as a dietary supplement. It is a mild diuretic.
Adverse effects from drinking nettle tea have been reported including upset stomach, burning sensations in the skin, difficulty in urination and bloating.
Oats
(Feel Your Oats/Kick Your Habit!)_
Oats are one of the latest nutritional rages. You can't watch television for long without seeing at least one commercial on oats, and supermarkets seem increasingly stocked with oat bran products. |
| It certainly should not be used as a dietary supplement, as some "life extension" enthusiasts have suggested.
Dextran Sulfate (With a Note on Heparin)
(Promising aids Treatment?)
Dextran sulfate has been one of the hottest "underground" treatments for HIV disease. It has been used for many years in Japan, where it is an approved drug, as a reputed anti-atherosclerotic agent. When injected it is definitely an anti-coagulant. It is also used in oral preparations, but only a small amount of it gets absorbed in this form. |
James A. Duke, Ph.D.
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 Onions have a long folk history of use as a dietary supplement to treat diabetes in Asia, Europe and the Middle East. I'm not surprised. Onions—especially the skins—are one of our best sources of the compound quercetin, which has been shown to help with eye problems that are often associated with diabetes, such as diabetic retinopathy.
Beans (Phaseolus, various species). |
Ralph W. Moss, Ph.D.
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 Inclusion of A10 as a 1 percent dietary supplement from the age of three months "dramatically increased the disease-free interval," Muldoon wrote. At the age of 10-11 months, in fact, "none of the animals had developed tumors and the incidence reached 95 percent only at 21 months of age" (Muldoon et al., 1987). Thus antineoplastons had a dramatic effect in delaying the appearance of cancer in this widely used animal model. |
National Women's Health Network
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 Many people don't realize that just as pharmaceutical companies promote drugs, so too is there a whole industry out there developing, producing, and selling dietary supplements, herbs, and other alternative health care products. Alternative health care practitioners are subject to similar influences from these companies as conventional doctors are from drug companies. These practitioners may promote a product they've seen in ads or have received free samples of from the manufacturer. |
| Iprifldvone
Ipriflavone (IP), a relatively benign synthetic drug marketed as a dietary supplement, is heavily promoted for preventing and treating osteoporosis. Although several trials indicate that ipriflavone increases spinal and wrist bone density, no trials have examined bone density at the hip, where the most serious fractures occur. Also, no trials of adequate size have examined nonvertebral fractures. This section will review controlled trials of ipriflavone in naturally or surgically menopausal women. |
| DHEA should be regarded as a powerful drug, not a dietary supplement. It may be useful as treatment for lupus and other medical conditions when used under a doctor's supervision.
Estriol
Some are pushing estriol by itself or in tri-estrogen mixtures as a safer form of HRT. It is touted as a "good" estrogen that does not cause endometrial or breast cancer. Some even claim that it prevents breast cancer, although there is no scientific evidence to back this up. |
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