Photo by Hugh Kretschmer
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Meet the Super Supplements
By Sheree Crute, March & April 2008
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We'll start with the cautions: Using herbal or high-dose nutritional and vitamin supplements without the guidance of a medical expert can be dangerous. Seemingly benign herbs such as Saint John's wort, recommended for depression, can interfere with drug metabolism. And, says Tim Birdsall, N.D., vice president for integrative medicine at the Cancer Treatment Centers of America, other natural products can interfere with chemotherapy and radiation. "Products that help are often very, very specific," he says. And many "aren't available in the corner vitamin shop," says James Mattioda, Ph.D., who runs Arcana Pharmacy, located on the campus of the Scripps Center for Integrative Medicine. Like other such pharmacies, Arcana is dedicated mainly to specially formulated and tested herbal, homeopathic, and nutritional supplements—some of which require a prescription. Mattioda and Birdsall say that among such supplements, a few have a good track record for heart and cancer patients and are worth talking about with your doctor.
L-Glutamine
In specific doses this helps prevent peripheral neuropathy (numbness, tingling, often severe pain in the extremities) in patients receiving Taxol for breast cancer, says Birdsall.
Vitamin B6
Can help prevent palmer-plantar erythrodysesthesia (PPE)—redness, pain,
and sometimes peeling of the palms and soles—in people on certain types of chemotherapy, notes Birdsall.
Green tea extract
A highly standardized extract, it may suppress the growth of the new blood vessels that feed certain cancers, according to Birdsall.
UltraInflamX
A standardized mixture of plant-based medicines that Mattioda says combats inflammation, which damages blood vessels and contributes to heart disease.
Pomegranate extract
A standardized brand, not the local juice on sale, may help keep arteries healthy and aid in the prevention of heart disease, notes Mattioda.
Red yeast rice extract
The standardized and tested form helps lower cholesterol and may be better tolerated than many prescription medications, says Mattioda. (See related article "Cholesterol Busters" by Dr. Andrew Weil.)
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