View Single Post
Old 09-15-2011, 06:07 AM
mrsD's Avatar
mrsD mrsD is offline
Wisest Elder Ever
 
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Great Lakes
Posts: 33,508
15 yr Member
mrsD mrsD is offline
Wisest Elder Ever
mrsD's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Great Lakes
Posts: 33,508
15 yr Member
Lightbulb

Many people are confused about the terminology in alternative medicine. So this is just a good time to clarify things here I think.

Some people and even doctors call supplements homeopathy.
And that is very inaccurate! What they mean is complementary medicine or "alternative". Homeopathy is a very narrow specialized discipline of giving "like" substances to treat illness in extremely dilute concentrations.. arsenic is given in millionths dilutions for example! Some homeopathic products are so dilute they may not even have one molecule in them!

I think by using clear terms like, herbs, minerals, vitamins, etc there is less confusion.

Technically herbs are "supplemental" to the diet, meaning you would not find what is in them typically in the food you eat.
Exceptions to this are some of the common spices we use on our food. (ginger, curcumin, cinnamon--which are becoming therapeutic these days for some aliments).

Things like true herbs, however, are typically not eaten. Hawthorne, foxglove (a source of digoxin which may be poisonous if misused), echinacea, are not part of a regular diet.
These are "therapeutic" because they contain alkaloids which have actions on the certain parts of the body. They have to be used with extreme care, and understood before use.

When I discuss supplements here, I mean those nutrients we may be lacking from our dietary habits or from genetic failures of utilization. Some drugs also deplete these unnaturally from the body, creating side effects.

Manufacturers of things can often be misleading. Also the contents on the label may not really reflect what is really in them. Example.... a magnesium supplement may give total content in milligrams, of both the magnesium and the carrier partner molecule (like oxide or citrate, etc),. Or it may give the true "elemental" content of just the magnesium...which is the ideal correct labeling. Example 1000mg of magnesium malate has 150mg of magnesium in it. But there is no standardization for this confusion. Except in US labeling is required now for elemental IRON because of the common poisoning risk of iron in small children. This is to facilitate emergency room doctors to treat an accidental poisoning. But mineral contents for other minerals are not clearly labeled this way.

I would like to ask you, Melon, what you are trying to accomplish with your use of various things that you post about?
What symptoms do you have, and what medical interventions have you had, tests, etc?

The FDA in US calls all OTC non food substances "dietary supplements".
Meaning they are not food.

I guess when one is asking a question here then, it would help to get the most helpful answers if one is very clear on what is being asked.
Say right up front, exactly what you are referring to, and their doses.
That way there can be much less confusion.
__________________
All truths are easy to understand once they are discovered; the point is to discover them.-- Galileo Galilei

************************************

.
Weezie looking at petunias 8.25.2017


****************************
These forums are for mutual support and information sharing only. The forums are not a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis or treatment provided by a qualified health care provider. Always consult your doctor before trying anything you read here.

Last edited by mrsD; 09-15-2011 at 06:25 AM.
mrsD is offline   Reply With QuoteReply With Quote
"Thanks for this!" says:
Rosie33 (09-16-2011), Sheltiemom18 (09-15-2011)