Friday 16 October 2020

Mysterious bottles

There's a health food shop down the road that does very good business and stocks every possible variety of trendy cures, supplements and unadulterated foods. But how many of them have any real benefit?

I've always been a bit sceptical of health food shops and the claims they make for their products. Research often concludes that these fashionable remedies and concoctions do little for people's health.

Personally I put my faith in a balanced, nutritious diet and prefer to consult properly qualified doctors rather than a self-appointed expert in a health food shop. The only things I buy there are foods like figs, dates and brazil nuts.

Once I inquired about natural remedies for insomnia and was recommended a tiny bottle of valerian. It cost £9 ($11.60) and had no effect whatever. Once bitten, twice shy, and I made no further inquiries. Luckily my insomnia faded of its own accord.

But it's surprising how many people swear by some natural remedy or other, which they insist gave them a whole new lease of life. Lots of people take vitamin supplements, even though you shouldn't need them if you have a nourishing diet.

The Royal Family are said to be very keen on homeopathic remedies, despite many studies concluding they're worthless.

Some patent remedies just sound a bit fishy. Others are plain ludicrous, like ear candling. This is meant to draw wax out of your ears. But several things can go horribly wrong and land you in the nearest hospital.

But there's always a huge market for unorthodox treatments that are made out to be better for your body than the drugs promoted by Big Pharma. Even if there's no solid evidence that they even work.

I think I'll stick to good wholesome food rather than mysterious bottles of who-knows-what.

29 comments:

  1. The only medicines that I take are one capsule of multivitamins and minerals and a teaspoon of an Ayurvedic tonic. I do not like the idea of medicines and when the seasonal flu hits and I have to follow a regimen of pills three times a day, I can't wait to get well again so that I can stop that. I of course need to stock up on my nebulizer medicine as I need that to keep my breathing passages open. As you probably know, I suffer from COPD, the result of smoking for decades.

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    1. Ramana: Well, no fancy remedies for you, and the fewer pills the better. I share your approach.

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  2. I’m also leery of supplements. They are not regulated here and studies have come out that show the ingredients on the label don’t always match the contents. I do take vitamin D and magnesium as my bloodwork said I’m lacking in those.

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    1. Bijoux: Supplements, and alternative remedies generally, aren't properly regulated here either. Hopefully I have enough vitamin D as I go for a walk every day and catch a bit of sunshine.

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  3. I do take supplements, niacin on the orders of my nephrologist and Vitamin D considered essential in northern climes to stave off depression. Daughter who has MS does not ingest gluten and swears by Vitamin D. I also take a B12 supplement but like you, on the whole I avoid such places as health food stores.

    XO
    WWW

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    1. www: Vitamin D supplements are probably helpful, as it protects us against all sorts of illnesses. Vegetarian diets are supposed to be low on B12, but I've never had a B12 deficiency.

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  4. Replies
    1. Fly: They peddle all sorts of dubious remedies. And they charge high prices for anything that's organic, gluten free, vegan etc.

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  5. I take a multivitamin plus vitamin D, K2, and magnesium.

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    1. Jean: Is that because bloodwork suggested you were short of all those?

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  6. If you want to put us in two columns, I'm in the useless stuff column.

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    1. Joanne: It can't be that useless or you wouldn't be taking it....

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  7. I take a daily multivitamin with minerals but my other daily meds are all prescription. The specific multivitamin I take is highly recommended for people on any weight loss program because it's hard to get everything you need while limiting calories.

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    1. Linda: Makes sense that you're taking the multivitamins to compensate for what you might be missing out on.

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  8. The are expensive and unregulated. Cubs oil seems the magic cure for everything. Drink it. Use it as a liniment. Pill form. Smoke it too. Despite all the bogus claims, it does show good effect on Parkinson's and seizures.

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  9. Cbd oil. Sorry. Autocorrect.

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    1. Debby: Yes, CBD is very fashionable - and very expensive. A tiny 30 ml bottle costs around £60 ($77). Needless to say, I've never tried it.

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  10. A good friend with leukaemia told me to
    Take D2 this year
    Good for Covid he told me
    So I have

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    1. John: Is that so? Vegetarian foods don't contain a lot of vitamin D, but I'm very rarely ill so I guess I'm getting enough.

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  11. Yeah, I'm doing multivitamins and vit. D. I know my diet is lacking and that I don't always get enough sunshine to top-up vitamin D.
    Sx

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    1. Ms Scarlet: Multivitamins and vitamin D seem to be a common combination. Perhaps I should buy a few multivitamin shares....

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  12. I don't do the whole natural remedy thing. I do take a lot of prescription medication and doubt there's a 'natural' remedy that would help with my thyroid problem as much as the medications do.

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    1. Mary: I'm sure you're right. I'd listen to a doctor before I listened to a fan of natural remedies.

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  13. You mean you're not tempted to get your colon cleansed, Nick?
    At one time I began taking St John's Wort. Soon after my eyesight started going funny. The optician put it down to the SJW.

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    1. Liz: Certainly not. My colon is just fine as it is. Rather alarming that St Johns Wort affected your eyesight.

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  14. Probably lots of placebo effects going on to keep people buying.

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    1. Joared: Very true. People can easily convince themselves that a totally inactive pill is doing them lots of good!

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  15. Homeopathy, in my opinion, is a crock. Not scientifically supported at all.

    The few supplements I take are cancer related and supported by research through the NIH. Melatonin to make the tamoxifen more effective, and L-carnitine for the neuropathy/leg-cramps I get from taking tamoxifen. Both with solid evidence behind them. And with the L-carnitine, it has completely stopped the very severe leg cramps I was having nightly, so I'm a believer. But that's it.

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    1. Agent: I know you do a lot of research into any drugs that come your way, so you know you're taking something with a solid track record. Good to know the leg cramps have gone.

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