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Bitter Melon - Benefits, Medicinal Properties
Bitter Melon is reported to help in the treatment of diabetes and psoriasis. It has also been reported that Bitter Melon may help in the treatment of HIV.
Bitter Melon is the English name of Momordica charantia. Bitter Melon is also known by the...
Boost up your libido
A run of the mill sex drive can put a constraint on your relationship. If you – or your partner – have a fading libido, here's how to rev it up.
In the ideal world, when you and your partner are feeling sexy and horny – you succumb to each...
Low Back pain - Ayurvedic Management
Low back pain is one of the most common pain disorders today .It is a chronic condition characterized by a persistent dull or sharp pain per the lower back. It may be also associated with burning, stiffness, numbness or tingling with the pain...
Valuable And Effective Weight Loss Tips
Looking for Diet Programs on net is like looking for water in an Ocean. But trust me, looking for good Diet Program is like finding a pearl in the ocean .No matter what Diet Program we choose for ourselves, we have to be careful about our normal...
What is Good Health, Part 1
Copyright 2004 by http://www.organicgreens.us and Loring Windblad. This article may be freely copied and used on other web sites only if it is copied complete with all links and text intact and unchanged except for minor improvements such as...
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Dietary Supplements and Prescription Drugs - What You Should Know
So much news is made of the occurrence and prevalence of
diseases such as cancer and AIDS; and of viruses such as Bird
Flu and SARS that one could be easily be mistaken in thinking
that humans are a species at risk. Although some of these
possible pandemics are a sobering thought, you may take solace
in the fact that we have a smaller chance of getting, and a
better chance of beating, a damning diagnosis than ever before.
In part, this has been achieved through the dual advance of the
pharmaceutical and nutritional sciences: we have an arsenal of
both nutraceuticals and drugs for prevention, treatment and cure.
At the last big count, 7.5% of Americans aged 18 to 44 take 3 or
more prescribed drugs, this rises to a huge 47.6% in those aged
65 or over. At the same time over a third of the US population
uses dietary supplements daily and over 20% have used some form
of natural product in the past 12 months. When these statistics
are put together it would be safe to assume that many people are
on at least one drug and nutraceuticals at the same time. What
is even more worrying is that an estimated 70% of patients fail
to tell their doctor they are undergoing alternative treatment
for their problems. Problems like depression, asthma, diabetes,
arthritis, allergies, flu and high blood pressure are now so
well characterized and supported by drugs that physicians may
feel less inclined to investigate the condition, or the person,
further.
Side effects of drugs are well known with huge legal cases such
as Vioxx bringing the industry and the regulation process into
the spotlight. Drug-drug interactions are also well documented
and millions of dollars are spent on research and testing to
find out exactly what can, and can't, be used concomitantly.
However, when it comes to nutraceuticals, few people have much,
if any, knowledge about what happens in the body when you take
these with prescription medicine. And with scant formal training
for herbal products or nutraceuticals in medical school, your
doctor may be more in the dark than you are.
Drug Supplements Interactions - Two Rights Can Make a Wrong
Many drugs are cleared from the body by certain enzymes in the
liver, especially those from a certain family called cytochrome
P450s. These enzymes may also be responsible for breaking down
other substances, such as alcohol, nutrients and herbal
products. These particular enzymes can be held up by breaking
down a nutraceutical you have ingested, while the drug will be
circulating in your bloodstream a lot longer than the physician
had planned. If you are taking multiple doses of the drug then
it can build up to dangerous levels, and if the drug has a
narrow window between good effects and harm then overdose is a
distinct possibility.
A good example is Digoxin, a cardiovascular drug. If Digoxin is
taken with licorice, the levels of the drug in the bloodstream
can be increased four fold, the effects and side effects will be
increased dramatically
to a possibly lethal endpoint.
Drugs and Nutraceuticals can also have a synergic effect when
taken together. They may produce the same reaction in your body
or interact in some way to produce unexpected and undesirable
results. This can happen with the anti-anxiety drug, Alprazolam
or Xanax. When Xanax is taken with the popular herb Kava, also
used for anxiety, they can have a drastic effect upon the
central nervous system. The reasons are not fully understood but
at least one person has been hospitalized with severe mental
problems by taking this combination.
Nutraceuticals may also have the opposite effect on these P450
enzymes and they can have what is called an "inductive effect"
whereby the nutraceutical boosts the activity of the enzyme to
higher than normal levels. The enzyme then breaks down and
clears the drug from the body much faster than was expected by
your physician. Because the dose of a drug is a very exact
calculation, a prescribed amount is designed to stay in the body
for a time long enough to be effective. If the drug is cleared
early it may have a reduced effect or no effect at all.
Further Information on Drug Dietary Supplement Interactions
You should first and foremost tell your doctor and pharmacist
what you are taking. Unfortunately, there is not a high level of
understanding in the medical or pharmaceutical world into herbs
and nutraceuticals although some research has been conducted
into the popular herbs such as St. John's Wort, Ginseng, Gingko,
Cayenne, Saw Palmetto and Valerian. A dietician may have better
knowledge than your doctor but there are also a number of
sources of information concerning prescription drug-dietary
supplement interactions on the internet below.
In addition to these resources, one online dietary supplements
company, Mitamins, offers a free drug interaction checker before
you buy. The website allows the design of a custom multivitamin
according to the prescription drugs you are taking. There is
also a good library where you can review the latest scientific
knowledge on your drug or nutraceutical.
The Merck Manual is a comprehensive resource of up to date
medical information and has some good primers on interactions as
well as in depth analysis.
http://www.merck.com/mmhe/sec02/ch019/ch019a.html
The National Institute of Health's Office of Dietary Supplements
has a number of good fact sheets on different supplements
http://ods.od.nih.gov/Health_Information/Information_About_Indivi
dual_Dietary_Supplements.aspx
Mitamins is an online retailer of custom multivitamins and has
over 1,000 formulas to support everything from Alzheimer's, ADD
and Ageing to Weight Loss and Cancer. These formulas can be
safety checked and adjusted for interaction with over 1,600
drugs. http://www.mitamins.com/
About the author:
Mark is a qualified chemist and writer. He has worked in both
the drug development and the dietary supplement industries.
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| American Diabetes Association Home Page |
| Their mission is to prevent and cure diabetes and to improve the lives of all people affected by this disease. Available in English and Spanish. |
| www.diabetes.org |
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| Diabetes Information - American Diabetes Association |
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| www.diabetes.org |
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| Diabetes UK home page - Diabetes UK |
| Diabetes UK is the largest organisation in the UK working for people with diabetes, funding research, campaigning and helping people live with the ... |
| www.diabetes.org.uk |
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| Canadian Diabetes Association |
| To promote the health of Canadians through diabetes research, education, service, and advocacy. |
| www.diabetes.ca |
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| Diabetes information including treating type 2 diabetes at ... |
| Offers dietary recommendations, including recipes and tips on managing blood sugar levels. From GlaxoSmithKline. |
| www.diabetes.com |
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| Diabetes |
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| diabetes.diabetesjournals.org |
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| CDC Diabetes Public Health Resource |
| The diabetes information homepage of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, provided by the CDC’s Division of Diabetes Translation. |
| www.cdc.gov |
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| CDC - Health Topic: Diabetes |
| Diabetes · Diabetes and Research Diagnostics · Diabetes Surveillance Report · FAQ's on Diabetes · Physical Activity and Health: A Report of the Surgeon ... |
| www.cdc.gov |
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| National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse |
| Provides educational materials to increase knowledge and understanding about diabetes among patients, health care professionals, and the general public. |
| diabetes.niddk.nih.gov |
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| Diabetes mellitus - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia |
| For diabetes mellitus in pets, see diabetes in cats and dogs. ... Type 1 diabetes mellitus - formerly known as insulin-dependent diabetes (IDDM), ... |
| en.wikipedia.org |
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| MedlinePlus: Diabetes |
| (National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases) - Links to PDF ... Select services and providers for Diabetes in your area. ... |
| www.nlm.nih.gov |
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| MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia: Diabetes |
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| www.nlm.nih.gov |
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| Diabetes |
| What to expect from your diabetes diagnosis? Get up-to-the-minute information about medications, insulin, blood sugar management, nutrition requirements, ... |
| diabetes.about.com |
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| WebMD Diabetes Health Center - Information on Type 1 and Type 2 ... |
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| www.webmd.com |
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| Allergies|Anxiety Disorders|Arthritis|Asthma|Back Pain|Bipolar Disorder|Cancer|Children's Health|Cholesterol|Depression| Diabetes|Diet & Nutrition|Erectile ... |
| www.webmd.com |
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| Diabetes Overview |
| Defines diabetes, including the various types and treatments. Provides information on the impact and cost of the disease, its increasing prevalence, ... |
| www.niddk.nih.gov |
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| Diabetes News - The New York Times |
| A free collection of articles about diabetes published in The New York Times. |
| topics.nytimes.com |
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| children with DIABETES Online Community |
| An online community for kids, families, and adults with diabetes, featuring message boards, chat rooms, and questions/answers from medical professionals. |
| www.childrenwithdiabetes.com |
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| International Diabetes Institute - Diabetes Research, Education ... |
| The International Diabetes Institute is the leading national and international centre for diabetes research, diabetes education and diabetes care. |
| www.diabetes.com.au |
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| Diabetes New Zealand |
| Educates and informs people about diabetes, its treatment, prevention, and cure of diabetes. |
| www.diabetes.org.nz |
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