Understanding_supplements Martha H. Howard, MD Vitamins, minerals and essential fatty acids are true supplements, because there are not enough present, even in the best of diets. I believe that everyone should take a good multivitamin-mineral, fish oil, and a probiotic (good bacteria to balance the intestines.) Tips to achieve the optimum results from supplements: Always [...]

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Nutrient-drug interactions you should know about Martha H. Howard, MD The benefit of some of the most commonly recommended supplements can be compromised by prescription medication, or may interfere with the effectiveness of the medication. Here are some key considerations to keep in mind. 1. Cortisone interferes with vitamin D absorption. Take additional vitamin D [...]

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Why I Still Recommend Fish Oil Supplements to My Pregnant Patients Dr. Ian Wahl, DAc, LAc A study just released questions the benefits of fish oil for pregnant women . “[Omega 3 fish oil] supplementation will actually not give you a huge benefit in terms of neurodevelopmental outcomes and reducing depressive symptoms,” said Maria Makrides, [...]

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To Supplement – or NOT? That is the question! by Sharon M. Weinstein, MS, RN July 30, 2009 — Americans spend almost a third as much money out-of pocket on herbal supplements and other alternative medicines as they do on prescription drugs, a new government report shows. Out-of-pocket spending on herbal supplements, chiropractic visits, meditation, [...]

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ARE CALCIUM SUPPLEMENTS REALLY A CAUSE OF HEART ATTACKS? by Martha H. Howard, MD This week, I have had so many people ask me about a recent study on calcium supplements. The claim of the study is that taking calcium supplements causes a 30% increase in heart attacks. There are some serious problems with the [...]

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Vitamin D and Your Health by Dr. Tom Bayne Vitamin D is a fat soluble vitamin  we obtain mostly from sunlight and in small amounts from certain foods.  Sunlight contains ultraviolet (UV) rays and it is the UV-B rays that are capable of producing vitamin D in your body by acting on the cholesterol in your [...]

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Sunscreen & Vitamin D by Robert C. Scott, DC CCSP As summer approaches we will once again be bombarded with news about the ill effects of sun exposure to our skin. We are lead to believe that sun exposure must be combated with sunscreen agents, and yet sunscreen may offer little protection to your skin [...]

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Taking Probiotics Greatly Reduces Infections in Athletes by Mayer Eisenstein Athletes who took probiotic supplements suffered fewer infections and recovered more quickly than those who did not, in a study conducted by the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra and published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine. Researchers studied 20 top-level, long-distance endurance runners [...]

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Do You Really Need That Shoebox Full of Pills? by Dr Martha Howard What are supplements? Supplements are substances that add to (supplement) the nutrition that we get from food. They may include vitamins, minerals, bioflavonoids, essential fatty acids, probiotics, antioxidants, immune system boosters, and many others. The term now also includes substances that are [...]

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Vitamin B12 and How To Make Sure You Are Getting Enough by Karen Erickson Vitamin B12 is a water-soluble vitamin that plays a key function to maintain a healthy nervous system, brain function, formation of red blood cells and DNA. A deficiency of this vitamin can lead to different forms of anemia (Megaloblastic & Pernicious), [...]

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B Vitamins And Memory by Dr Kristina Sargent The role of folic acid and vitamin B12 in memory and cognition is pretty well established. Research appearing in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2007; 86(5): 1384-1391) looked at 1,648 subjects over the age of 65 over a 10-year period. During the 10-year course of the [...]

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What’s Really In Your fish Oil and Omega 3 Fatty Acids? Dr Tom Bayne Fish oil has been touted as the miracle supplement for the last few years. In fact research has demonstrated that fish oil is beneficial to control the inflammation of arthritis. There are many studies that describe the cardiovascular benefits of fish [...]

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Understanding supplements – by Martha H. Howard, MD Nutrient-drug interactions you should know about – by Martha H. Howard, MD Why I Still Recommend Fish Oil Supplements to My Pregnant Patients – by Dr. Ian Wahl,  To Supplement – or NOT? That is the question! – by Sharon M. Weinstein, MS, RN Are Calcium Supplements [...]

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