The jury is still out on Popeye products
Q I have a friend who advocates vitamins, herbs and adaptogens as opposed to pharmaceuticals. Do any natural supplements work?
AWe’re hard-wired to believe that if it grows in the ground then it is good for you. Tell that to the ancient Romans who were poisoned by belladonna, the pretty, but deadly nightshade.
Of course, we are partial to other nightshades, such as potatoes, peppers, tomatoes, eggplant, and others. “Just stay away from green potatoes,” our ancestors would no doubt cry, having learnt the hard way.
Tobacco is a nightshade, too. Ricin from castor beans, cherry pits, arsenic, mercury and venom — au naturel, but oh-so deadly. Of course, your friend is not advocating poison — rather the good, healing ingredients, free of toxins. Are they? An unregulated industry makes it near impossible to determine what’s inside the capsule you’re about to swallow.
Why are ingredients that have been around for decades making a reappearance? The answer is that entrepreneurs understand that we live in an age of biohacking, an age where big pharma distrust is bordering on the mainstream. Why would anyone believe that our ancient ancestors knew health secrets that have been buried with them until now? None of them lived past 40, so it’s not something I’d shout from the rooftops.
The Food and Drug Administration in the US does not regulate the industry because, well, it sees the ingredients as food, not medicine. In my circle, there is a postdoctoral scientist who scoffs at the mere suggestion that using herbs and adaptogens as remedies has any credibility. Yet he does come to me for gym supplement advice. I also have non-academic friends who have a herb for just about any affliction known to man.
The Water Cooler is interested in the health benefits, if any, that can be attributed to supplemental vitamins and foreign-sounding herbs. It’ sa responsible scepticism —
wouldn’t it be wonderful to sleep better or have fewer wrinkles thanks to an elixir from nature? On the other hand, urinating hundreds, if not thousands, of rand down the drain in the service of a placebo isn’t such a pleasant thought.
When one reads widely — and not on the websites of supplement companies or alternative health news outlets — an interesting trend emerges. There are a few studies that suggest there may well be positive effects from some well-marketed ingredients.
There is, however, always a disclaimer that more studies are needed because there isn’t enough evidence. Perhaps there’s just too little incentive to spend millions on peerreviewed studies in the natural remedy industry as ashwagandha doesn’t pay as well as imipramine. Or, is it “work as well”?
Another popular feeling is that if something doesn’t have side effects then it doesn’t work. Many natural ingredients are known to have adverse side effects. Some well-known and used herbs and minerals interact with prescribed or over-the-counter drugs and this can be dangerous.
During a binge session to see just how widespread the belief in natural remedies is for stress, energy, hormonal support, skin care, cholesterol, blood sugar, and much more, the algorithms delivered a snippet of a podcast with Joe Rogan and Andrew Huberman. Huberman claimed, matter-of-factly, that besides boosting testosterone (the point of the podcast, no surprise there), the Nigerian shrub Fadogia agrestis “makes the testes grow, it’s a noticeable difference”. Cue a rush to the nearest herb store — without reading about the rat study and possible toxic damage to the testes of the little critters.
The point is that no-one knows the absolute truth about the level of efficacy one gets from “natural products”. Some swear by it, put their names on the bottles, and devote their lives to promoting the products.
Even then, you’ll always see “may” before the purported benefits. It would be reckless for anyone to advocate dropping prescribed drugs in favour of exotic shrubs. Even so, I’ll be spending more time in DisChem’s natural aisle because you just never know, do you?