Reliable information on herbal remedies can be hard to find, but one NIH institute helps fill that gap. Unfortunately, it’s now slated for elimination in the new federal budget proposal.
Thank you for this post Dr Quave! Now I know why mainstream medical Drs are so clueless about herbs. I've been taking herbs for 15 years after being refused treatment for Lyme/Anaplasma by the VA. (I have mostly recovered only through herbs and supplements) I've never even heard of NCCIH and now I know why. I went there after reading your post and chose Milk Thistle. I was like, what? So went to turmeric which was slightly better but still basically useless. It was missing any reference to new research. Eg. cancer. What's really funny, or sad depending on your point of view is this article on another Gov website: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8990857/. A Comprehensive Review on the Therapeutic Potential of Curcuma longa Linn. in Relation to its Major Active Constituent Curcumin. I definitely will not be referring to this website (even if it's free) for anything and will continue to recommend other private websites to people looking for unbiased info.
This is really pathetic. I guess it serves the complementary pseudoscience aspect of the MAHA movement as keeping the wild West of nutritional supplements more wild sells more? I had a patient just yesterday with significant liver inflammation (AST 138/ALT 80) and we traced it back to his ashwaganda supplement most likely:
Liver damage from Ashwaganda is extremely rare (per references on ConsumerLab.com, and usually from taking high doses (450+mg/day) for long periods. And I should add without regular bloodwork done. Not the Ashwaganda's fault. Anyone taking herbs outside of an ND's care needs to do their due diligence and research. Also, an FYI, let all your patients know that that dosage and frequency on the container of their herbs may Not be the usual and best dose. Unless your patient had liver disease before starting the herb, things should get better within a month of stopping it. I would recommend a subscription to ConsumerLabs.com. I gifted a subscription to 2 of my Drs and they found it very useful.
Thank you for this information
Dr. Quave!
Take care
Thank you for this post Dr Quave! Now I know why mainstream medical Drs are so clueless about herbs. I've been taking herbs for 15 years after being refused treatment for Lyme/Anaplasma by the VA. (I have mostly recovered only through herbs and supplements) I've never even heard of NCCIH and now I know why. I went there after reading your post and chose Milk Thistle. I was like, what? So went to turmeric which was slightly better but still basically useless. It was missing any reference to new research. Eg. cancer. What's really funny, or sad depending on your point of view is this article on another Gov website: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8990857/. A Comprehensive Review on the Therapeutic Potential of Curcuma longa Linn. in Relation to its Major Active Constituent Curcumin. I definitely will not be referring to this website (even if it's free) for anything and will continue to recommend other private websites to people looking for unbiased info.
This is really pathetic. I guess it serves the complementary pseudoscience aspect of the MAHA movement as keeping the wild West of nutritional supplements more wild sells more? I had a patient just yesterday with significant liver inflammation (AST 138/ALT 80) and we traced it back to his ashwaganda supplement most likely:
https://www.nccih.nih.gov/health/ashwagandha
Liver damage from Ashwaganda is extremely rare (per references on ConsumerLab.com, and usually from taking high doses (450+mg/day) for long periods. And I should add without regular bloodwork done. Not the Ashwaganda's fault. Anyone taking herbs outside of an ND's care needs to do their due diligence and research. Also, an FYI, let all your patients know that that dosage and frequency on the container of their herbs may Not be the usual and best dose. Unless your patient had liver disease before starting the herb, things should get better within a month of stopping it. I would recommend a subscription to ConsumerLabs.com. I gifted a subscription to 2 of my Drs and they found it very useful.