Navigating the World of Natural Medicines

There’s been a bit in the news lately about the dangers of certain natural medicines. 
​While I strongly feel that for the most part, natural medicines still offer great benefits for a lot of people and far fewer side effects than many pharmaceutical medications, we can’t ignore the fact that there are risks associated with some of them, and also that there are a lot of people taking unnecessary supplements. 

This doesn’t mean we should all avoid them, rather it means that we should be looking to seek the guidance of someone who is well trained in these supplements, and knows what the risks are, what the contraindications are, and if they are needed or not.  
A qualified healthcare professional, among many other things, also knows what forms of supplements are best (for example, not all magnesium’s are created equal), whether there is enough (or too much) of an ingredient to be useful to you, and whether the brand you are looking at is of reputable quality (particularly important in fish oils where heavy metal screening is crucial).
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Natural medicine is a huge industry now, but it’s not in your best interest to be taking something that is not going to be beneficial to you, just because it has been marketed well.  

Let’s look at some of the issues that we want to minimise in a bit more detail

RISKS
Many people are unaware of what some of the risks are when it comes to vitamins, minerals and herbal supplements. 
Here are just a few common examples:

• Withania (or Ashwaghandha as it’s sometimes referred to), shouldn’t be taken by people on Thyroxine
• Fish oils may be unsafe for people on blood thinners
• Kava may be unsafe for people with liver issues, 
• St John’s Wort can interfere with many medications, including the oral contraceptive pill, and may be dangerous for people on anti-depressive medications such as SSRI’s.  

And then you have the risks of over consumption which has been the case with many of the reported news stories on B6. People are taking multiple supplements that contain one particular ingredient, and while each supplement has no more than the allowable amount, when added together they can put you over the safe limit.  Selenium and Vitamin A are two other notable supplements that contain serious risks when ingested in excess amounts. 
These are just some of the reasons why a qualified healthcare professional will want to know what other medications you are taking.

INFERIOR INGREDIENTS
One of the biggest issues with cheaper supplements is that they use cheaper forms of the main ingredients, which aren’t always well absorbed by the body.
For instance a ‘high strength’ magnesium supplement that touts 1000mg or more, may only contain 100-150mg of Magnesium and then the rest is made up of the molecule that the magnesium is bound to, which is quite often (in the cheapest brands) a molecule called oxide.  This is the cheapest most poorly absorbed form of magnesium you can buy and is really only useful for it’s laxative effect.  


INADEQUATE DOSES
Gummy vitamins and chewable multi vitamins are often the biggest culprits in this category.  They often have a long list of things that are in them, but the amounts of each vitamin/mineral are so small that they really will have no impact if you are experiencing any kind of nutrient deficiency.  
Often they are also packed with sweeteners to make them taste good.  
Reputable brands will use better quality sweeteners, but even so, they may not manage to make a chewable multi vitamin with adequate amounts of each ingredient in there to be worth it. 
Even in non chewable forms, cheaper brands of multi vitamins often just load up on the key things they know people are searching the label for, and the rest of the ingredients are often in far smaller doses than better quality brands.   

POOR QUALITY
Fish oils is one that springs to mind when I think of poor quality.  Cheap fish oils often have poor screening for heavy metals which is a huge factor when it comes to choosing a fish oil.  You want the fish oil you’re taking to be as clean and pure as possible so as not to create more issues in the body.

When taking the right supplements for your needs, natural medicine definitely has a place, but it pays to get advice from a qualified healthcare professional as not everything that can be bought is worth buying, and not everything worth buying will be suitable for you.  
Here at our store, we have Naturopaths on site every day to help you choose the right over the counter supplements, and for more complex situations, we have appointments available daily also. 

Rebecca Milham
Naturopath & Owner
The Natural Health and Wellness Centre
www.thenaturalclinic.com.au
www.thenaturalstore.com.au
(03) 5977 7342