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Vitamins and

Supplements:

Friends or Foes?

by Svetlana Kogan, M.D.
ack when I was a medical school It may also surprise you to find out that supplements and
student 28 years ago, people hardly vitamins have over 20 different miscellaneous add-ons, like
Btalked about supplements. GNC preservatives, fillers, colorants, and binding agents, to name a
and The Vitamin Shoppe were gaining few. Some pills don’t have all of this junk at once, but each has at
momentum, but folks were still associating least one present. How else would you keep all of the ingredients
doctors with prescription medications, while bound together in a multivitamin pill if it was not for the gelatin?
vitamins were considered to be something Guess what else this gelatin tends to bind? Your gut! Your body
fringe. Fast forward to today and most of us resents all this add-on junk – it simply needs to work harder than
have many friends and relatives who take not usual to have you poop this stuff out.
one, but a bagful of supplements on the daily Like vitamins and supplements, herbal compounds taken
basis. Why the change? indiscriminately, can render many important prescription drugs
Human beings tend to get cozy and comfortable with the like HIV medications, antibiotics, and oral contraceptives -
things that are repeatedly shown to them on TV, online, in the ineffective. Even the ever popular green tea, which is a main
newspapers, and on the billboards down the street. Add to that a ingredient in thousands of supplements on the market is a
picture of a doctor in white coat holding a bottle and smiling – and potent agent causing cardiac arrhythmia in many people. As an
the image of the pills on the screen becomes associated with safety experienced holistic medical doctor, I am writing this not for the
in our minds. shock value but to educate you to never look at the “natural” pills
Truth be told, taking vitamins, supplements, and herbs the same way you did before. Purity and quality of the alternative
indiscriminately is just as reckless and harmful as taking many pills matter. Medical knowledge and expertise in advising you
prescription medications. Here is why: FDA (Food and Drug to take something and screen for interactions and side effects –
Administration) does not regulate vitamins, supplements, and matter too.
herbs, and people are taking them at their own risk. Most of Americans spend over 30 billion dollars yearly on supplements
the supplements are not even manufactured in the United States and unfortunately, most parties involved in distribution and
anymore, and whereas the prescription drugs made abroad are still marketing of these pills - are either ignorant or corrupt. They
subject to rigorous FDA checks – vitamin pills are not. As a result, range from your hairstylists to your multilevel marketing friend
we have seen an influx of “natural” pills and herbs on the market, – almost everyone you know is suddenly a health coach and a
which are either contaminated due to unsanitary production or wellness expert. And who is to suffer the consequences? Sadly – a
contain lead, mercury, copper, arsenic, and other heavy metals. consumer.
Another reason to worry about randomly purchased “natural” When you are choosing your medical doctor, ask them if
medications is their side effects. Take Vitamin D for example. they are experienced and comfortable with the use of herbs,
The media is raving about it and everyone is in on this fad by vitamins, and supplements. If they are – great! Experienced
popping whatever cheap Vitamin D pill is in sight. But did you holistic medical doctors have already done all the legwork for you.
know that Vitamin D is a steroid hormone, and that as a fat- They have spent years observing pills at work, and choosing the
soluble substance, it can easily become toxic when taken in excess? most efficient and least harmful formulas from the most reliable
That is why, Vitamin D should only be taken upon medical manufacturers. This way you can make educated decisions about
advice, after all the appropriate testing has been done and a true your health, guided by a highly trained and responsible physician,
deficiency has been diagnosed. And even so, it should be taken who will base his or her advice on your unique goals, medical
briefly, and supplemented by lifestyle and dietary modifications – history, examination, diagnostic reports, and lifestyle.
which should become the mainstay treatment, replacing the pill
whenever possible. Even a seemingly harmless thing like Vitamin Dr.Kogan is a Concierge Holistic Internal Medicine doctor in Naples.
C, can be harmful without a doctor’s recommendation. It’s not a Her website is CustomLongevity.com
panacea for everyone and can cause iron overload in patients with
hemochromatosis or gastric ulcer in patient with gastritis or acid
reflux.
32 Life in Naples | January 2022