MCVitamins News

Your Nutritional Education Site

1. The Fish Oil "Causes Cancer" Scare
2. The Pain Scale
3. The Difference Between Drugs and Nutrition Supplements 
4. Are Herbs Safe to Take?

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The Fish Oil "Causes Cancer" Scare

It is interesting that all you have to do is preface your comments with "A new study shows...."  and people start believing it.  There are variables on any study including how it was conducted and did the people involved know what they were doing or knew what they were observing.

There was a recent study that concluded that fish oil causes cancer.  And here is an article on this, which is first summarized:

Specifically, higher blood levels of the omega-3 fat DHA correlated to higher prostate cancer risk, while no correlation was found for EPA and ALA. They also had a 71 percent higher risk of developing high-grade prostate cancer

The elevated blood levels of DHA found in the featured study is not necessarily indicative of higher fish consumption. In fact, low-fat diets can increase DHA levels in much the same way omega-3 supplementation can

While the researchers warn that fish oil supplements may be dangerous based on their findings, this study cannot show causation. Furthermore, no fish oil supplements were actually given as part of this study

Foods rich in omega-3 fats have previously been shown to prevent prostate cancer from spreading, and one recent meta-analysis found that fish consumption was associated with a 63 percent reduction in prostate cancer-specific mortality

And here is the article 

The Pain Scale - designed by Andrea Mankoski, (c)1995,  This is the best pain scale I've seen to describe severity  (though not necessarily quality) of pain

Remember, whenever a doctor asks you to rate your pain from 1 - 10, ask for a pain scale so you can be sure you're speaking the same language.

Pain Scale

The Difference Between Drugs and Nutrition Supplements 

For what every ails you, , a person has only a few choices about what to do about it...

The Drug Approach

What a drug does is it forces the body to do something that it normally wouldn't do.. When it comes to a medication, the body reacts in certain ways to this medication and it is done in order to achieve a desirable effect.  For instance,  in order to balance itself and handle the effects of a drug, the body has to lower its blood pressure.   If this is what you want to happen because its a blood pressure medication, it's a good thing.   However, there are also various other ways the body can react to the drug and sometimes this is not such a good thing - this is called a "side effect".  It is the reason someone can wind up on 4 blood pressure medications.  Each drug is given in an attempt to balance another drug so as not to create the various side effects of the other drugs.  It is a balancing act. 

The Natural Approach

What a nutritional supplement does is give the body the actual tools it needs to fix the body. 

In the case of neuropathy, it is the nerve cell that is damaged.  The body needs certain tools (nutritional factors) to do this repair.   Drugs don't repair anything; they treat the symptom, not the cause of the problem. 

As with our example of blood pressure, if they don't know what is causing the high blood pressure, the drug just lowers it artificially.  the supplement doesn't force the blood pressure low, but addresses the cause of high blood pressure and brings your body into better balance, and the blood pressure goes to normal.  

The cause of nerve damage is known - it can be the result of too much sugar in the blood, the chemicals used in cancer treatments, injury to the nerve, etc. - but one thing is known,  the damage is done to the cell and this causes the pain.  

You can cover this up with pain killers, or with other drugs that are manufactured to handle this, but the drugs aren't repairing anything.   They are trying to forces the body to not give you pain, not give you numbness, etc.,  And sometimes more damage to the nerve cell might happen due to the drug or other drugs you are taking,

The Nutritional Approach

Nutritional supplements are actually vitamins and minerals that the body needs to repair the cells.  The body needs certain nutrients to function properly.  

In the case of neuropathy, there are specific ingredients needed by the body to repair the cells.  These are the supplements you want to take.

Another difference is that if you are taking a drug and just covering up symptoms, you have to continue to take the drug to get relief and sometimes even have to increase the drug to get the same relief.

If you take natural supplements, the body can fix the problem, and as long as you don't do anything to damage the cells again, there is an end to taking the supplements.

Are Herbs Safe to Take?

I recently read an ad for a neuropathy remedy which included vitamins and herbs claiming it was safe to take with all mediations.   I became alarmed.   I've known that herbal medications to help a lot of people, but one does need to be careful.  

Here is an article about What is Herbal Medicine?   

The Problem with Herbs & Neuropathy  - This article has some information from a Pharmacists on How to Take Herbs Safely.

One can find articles on the Internet cautioning about Herbs
such as Beware of Herbs Side Effects   and Herbs Toxicities and Ineractions    

And here is an article published on Consumer Reports about Drug & Herb Combinations   They state  "Herbal remedies can interact dangerously with medications. This table lists nine top-selling herbal supplement and some common drugs that may interact with them*. If you take medication or have a chronic disease, consult with your doctor before using herbs. And if you're already taking an herb, be sure to tell your doctor when he or she prescribes you a medication."

You can search the Internet and find many articles about the safety of taking herbs.

When it comes to Neuropathy, certain herbs can help relieve the symptoms much as a drug will by covering up the symptoms, but do check before you take a herb along with your medication.  

Your pharmacist has a database that can be checked on any combination of drugs AND also any combination of drugs and herbs.  Use this before you take any herbal remedies. 

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To Your Health

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