had been taking St. John’s wort along to do your homework to fi nd those antioxidant properties; it is indeed
with their prescribed immunosup- products that will actually work,” an important nutrient. But subse-
pressant medications. “The drugs Gurley says. quent research has shown it does
they were taking to keep their bodies Andrew Weil, noted nutrition- nothing to prevent colds. More wor-
from rejecting the transplants were ist and author of “Healthy Aging: A risome, preclinical studies indicate
rendered less effective due to the ef- Lifelong Guide to Your Well-Being” it might reduce the effectiveness of
fects of the hyperforin,” he explains. (Anchor, 2007), observes that vi- anticancer drugs by actually protect-
Another potential troublemaker tamin E can be both a blessing and ing cancer cells.
is goldenseal. Extracted from the a curse. One study conducted at
hydrastis canadensis plant, the bo- Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Why supplement?
tanical is used by many in hopes Boston indicated the supplement The reasons people turn to supple-
of boosting their immune system might reduce the likelihood of devel- ments to either augment or supplant
or treating various gastrointestinal oping blood clots. But Weil notes the traditional medications are many,
problems. But as with St. John’s same anticlotting effects can spell says Gurley. “Several surveys of the
wort, there are potential pitfalls. trouble for those on anticoagulant elderly have shown that their dis-
“Goldenseal inhibits two of the medication. High doses of garlic can trust of the medical professions
most important drug-metabolizing have the same effect, he says. increases with age,” he notes.
enzymes in humans,” Gurley notes. For patients taking any medica- “They’re the greatest consumers of
“So if you take goldenseal for a pro- tions with sedating effects, Weil conventional medications anyway,
longed period of time and you’re on recommends avoiding products con- so it follows that they’d use more
other medications, it may make those taining kava or valerian, which can alternative [medications].”
medications more effective or, in increase the effects of prescription Some people who use botanical
some cases, toxic.” sedatives. Conversely, products con- supplements simply are trying to
taining guarana, yerba maté, or bitter control their own medical destiny,
Quality is key orange can enhance the effects of says Gurley, while others might just
Glucosamine (glucosamine hydrochlo- stimulants and should be taken with be trying to save money. The increas-
ride) and chondroitin (sodium chon- caution, he advises. ing cost of standard medications has
droitin sulfate), substances that occur Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) fi rst was caused a spike in the use of supple-
naturally in cartilage, have come into popularized in the 1970s by Nobel ments, but the caveat is that many
play as a treatment for osteoarthritis. Prize-winner Linus Pauling as a botanicals actually cost more than
To determine their effectiveness, common cold preventive due to its their prescrip- [CONTINUES ON PAGE 71]
the National Institutes of Health
mounted a study known as the Glu-
cosamine/Chondroitin Arthritis In-
What are free radicals?
tervention Trial, involving more than It’s not about Jerry Rubin or William Ayres. By definition, a free radical is
1,500 people with osteoarthritis. a molecule or atom with an unpaired electron. This makes the molecule
The study found that 79 percent of very unstable and more likely to take part in a chemical reaction (oxida-
those taking glucosamine and chon- tion), which can damage the DNA inside cells. Free radicals come from
droitin had at least a 20-percent outside sources such as car exhaust and cigarette smoke and also are
reduction in pain; only 54 percent of produced inside the body’s cells.
those taking a placebo experienced a The free radical theory of aging, proposed in 1956, postulates that
similar reduction. the cell damage initiated by these particles is responsible for the aging
That’s a statistically signifi cant process, so many people regularly take antioxidant supplements in hopes
result that indicates glucosamine of short-circuiting the mechanism. Unfortunately, clinical trials in which
and chondroitin can be relatively antioxidants were given to animals failed to increase their lifespans.
safe pain relievers for some patients. Now scientists are calling the theory into question, citing a lack of evi-
However, Gurley cautions, the result dence to support it. A recent study at University College in London found
you get depends on the quality of the “no clear evidence that dietary antioxidants can slow or prevent aging.
product, and that can be diffi cult to There is even less evidence to support the claims of most antiaging
determine. “The underlying theme is products.” So, as with other supplements, take manufacturers’ claims
that the quality of supplements can with a healthy dollop of skepticism.
vary tremendously, so you really have
A P R I L 2 0 0 9 M I L I T A R Y O F F I C E R 5 7
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