On Seeking Scrupulous Sources About Suspicious Supplements

"The only way to keep your health is to eat what you don't want, drink what you don't like, and do what you'd rather not." -- Mark Twain

Editor's note;  My last blog also centered around supplements, and would be very useful reading.
It is unfortunate that the old master of humor and  honest journalism is not around to cast a knowing eye on the current dietary supplements that purport to fix any and all ailments of mankind. Instead, I will offer a list of websites that are dedicated to an honest evaluation of supplements and their effects as well as the supplements with ingredients considered dangerous enough to removed from the market by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).  For me, the old principle of Caveat Emptor (buyer beware) also applies to purchasing supplements.
Dietary supplements to avoid.  Consumer Reports has repeatedly listed these 11 to avoid:  Aconite (dangers--toxicity, nausea, vomiting, respiratory paralysis, heart rhythm disorders, death)  Bitter Orange (fainting, heart attack, stroke, death) Chaparral (liver damage, kidney problems) Colloidal Silver (bluish skin, neurological problems, kidney damage) Coltsfoot (liver damage, cancer) Comfrey (liver damage, cancer) Country Mallow (heart attack, heart arrhythmia, stroke, death) Germanium (kidney damage, death)  Greater ( liver damage) Kava (liver damage) Lobelia (toxicity, overdose can cause fast heartbeat, very low blood pressure, coma, possibly death) Yohimbe (high blood pressure, rapid heart rates; high doses: severe low blood pressure, heart problems, death).  This list is not complete; check the websites listed for more.  Surprise! Supplements for weight loss and sexual enhancement are pulled from the market in large numbers.
Websites for supplements, drugs and general medical--labeled as s, d, and g.
National Institutes of Health  nih.gov  sdg  Mayo Clinic   mayohealth.org sdg Drugs.com drugs.com d RxList rxlist.com ds
Food and Drug Administration fda.gov sdg  Consumer Reports consumerreports.org  sg  Medicine Net  medicinenet.com g U.S. Department of Health and Human Services hhs.gov  sdg WebMd  webmd.com sdg  Federal trade commission (FTC) ftc.gov sdg.  
I also highly recommend a blog site called Confessions of a Quackbuster for a list of the most unreliable health websites, click here 

It is also important to recognize the impact of the power of faiths, beliefs and placebos. Miracles can and do happen.  They are not to be dismissed simply because neither science or logic can tolerate the impossible.  And it is my firm belief that animals and humans have evolved with a capacity to employ mind over matter.  

The power of the mind is the subject of new, ground breaking research in the April 2017 issue of National Geographic Magazine. GO!


                                       Amur Leopard --Critically Endangered