Herbal supplements = risky

[Eddy Edson]

The particular ...

Congressman’s wife died after taking herbal remedy marketed for diabetes and weight loss

Lori McClintock, the wife of U.S. Rep. Tom McClintock of California, died after ingesting white mulberry leaf, according to the Sacramento County coroner. The plant is generally considered safe and…

www.timesheraldonline.com

SACRAMENTO — The wife of a Northern California congressman died late last year after ingesting a plant that is generally considered safe and is used as an herbal remedy for a variety of ailments, including diabetes, obesity, and high cholesterol, KHN has learned.

Lori McClintock, the wife of U.S. Rep. Tom McClintock, died from dehydration due to gastroenteritis — an inflammation of the stomach and intestines — that was caused by “adverse effects of white mulberry leaf ingestion,” according to a report from the Sacramento County coroner that is dated March 10 but was not immediately released to the public. KHN obtained that report — in addition to the autopsy report and an amended death certificate containing an updated cause of death — in July.

The general ...

Supplements: Do You Really Know What You’re Taking?

Why you should be very careful when buying herbal and dietary supplements

gidmk.medium.com

The supplement world is a massive business worldwide. A recent CDC estimate suggested that more than half of adults in the United States take at least one supplement regularly, and the rate of use is only increasing rapidly as time goes on. There’s a high likelihood that you, the person reading this, have taken a dietary or herbal supplement in the last week or two, based on the evidence.

But do you really know what you’re taking? A number of scientific studies suggest that many commonly-used pills, powders, serums, and capsules either don’t contain everything they say they do or have secret extra ingredients that can be very harmful to health.

 

[Bruce Stephens]

"Few people know that new prescription drugs have a 1 in 5 chance of causing serious reactions after they have been approved. That is why expert physicians recommend not taking new drugs for at least five years unless patients have first tried better-established options, and have the need to do so."

I'm skeptical of the "1 in 5 chance". He gives only a dead link for that one. It sounds rather close to the "medical errors are the third leading cause of deaths in the US" which is also dubious.

I'm quite willing to believe that most new drugs have marginal benefits (over existing ones), and when choosing whether to take such a drug that's worth taking seriously (the existing one's probably much cheaper and about as good), but in the UK we have NICE for that. (As mentioned in one of the comments in https://blog.petrieflom.law.harvard.edu/2014/07/30/serious-risks-from-new-prescription-drugs/ )

The recent vaccines have the disadvantage that they're new, but the big advantage that they're obviously superior to existing drugs in reducing serious harms from infection from this new virus. (Sure, BCG probably stimulates the innate immune response somewhat, but the vaccines specific for this virus are better.)

 

[Bruce Stephens]

If herbal supplements are risky aren't prescribed drugs also risky too? hence, doesn't give one many options does it?

I don't accept they're equivalent. Prescription drugs are regulated (including being tested) much more than herbal supplements (which may not even what they claim to be).

So if you have an actual problem taking a prescription drug is (on the whole) much better: the drug will (almost certainly) be what it's supposed to be, at what it says is the dose, and it'll have been tested so ought to be suitably safe and effective. Some drugs (like vaccines intended for basically the whole population) will only be allowed if they're really safe, but some (like drugs for some cancers) might well have significant risks of harm.

 

[Drummer]

White mulberry is the food plant of silkworms, and whilst the silkworm is edible, I'd be a bit concerned about the leaves - it is not something I have ever seen in a herbal.
Many of the tree sourced concoctions are known from long ago - the Gingko Biloba extract I took when fearing for my toes is a very long established treatment for poor circulation.

 

[Rob Oldfield]

Is there any data to show this either way?

This -- shown below -- is what we know about prescription drugs.

The European Commission estimates that adverse reactions from prescription drugs cause 200,000 deaths; so together, about 328,000 patients in the U.S. and Europe die from prescription drugs each year.

Source for those figures? It's far from 'known' if it's unclear where they come from.

 

[Rob Oldfield]

That may be the case for some of supplements mentioned in this article such as protein powders and viagra alternatives, but knowing what is in something doesn't necessarily make it any safer, as is demonstrated with "known" prescribed drugs. Notwithstanding that, I'd recommend people only get their non-prescribed supplements from established companies at the top of their industry, these tend to be more reliable in their ingredients.

I just find it a bit rich to write an article suggesting supplements are killing people when the alternatives are doing just that and fail to mention this in the same article. I think these days this is called misinformation when both sides of the coin aren't presented.

You've posted some figures that you, and the source text, can't back up. That isn't science.

 

[Rob Oldfield]

Rob, on the topic of science (the buzz word at the moment), where were the calls from everyone demanding "the science" for all the lockdowns and measures?

See the graph below. See the red line for excess deaths in 2018 and compare them to excess deaths in 2020. Where is the science to warrant the destruction of the economy, health care systems, schools, jobs, missed appointments, missed A&E admissions, having healthy kids locked in their houses etc?

I prefer to avoid the murky world of arguing against conspiracy theories. Sometimes it's not too much trouble (as in pointing out you had no basis for your claims earlier), but I'll think I'll pass on pointing out the facts on excess deaths. All the info is out there if you choose to start looking at reasonable sources.

 

[Eddy Edson]

More particulars:

https://twitter.com/x/status/1562850883427188740

More general:

https://twitter.com/x/status/1562911783932678146