Vitamins and Supplements 101: At least know this! ---Brandon Health Mart Pharmacy

Vitamins and Supplements 101: At least know this!  

---Brandon Health Mart Pharmacy

Thomas Wullstein, PharmD

I opened Brandon Health Mart Pharmacy in the fall of 2010.  In case you are not familiar, Health Mart is a group of independent pharmacies that work together offer the same sort of prices and technology of the big box stores.  I soon came to realize that in my area, people thought that Health Mart was an organic food or vitamin store.  Apparently people stopped reading the name of my store after the word "Mart".  Anyway, because of poor brand awareness, I fielded many, MANY questions about vitamins and supplements.  They are big business but there are some things that you should know.  If you don't want to read any farther at least remember this one thing:

HERBAL DOES NOT MEAN SAFE

Today, about 187 million Americans turn to dietary supplements as a way to feel better, stay healthier, and complement the effects of their medications. Dietary supplements include much more than the ubiquitous one-a-day multivitamin on kitchen tables. They also include herbs, botanicals, metabolites, amino acids, and other substances you can take by mouth to enhance your diet. They’re classified as food products, not drugs. But they can interact with drugs in good—and not so good—ways.

Some supplements can cause negative effects during surgery, such as increasing the risk of bleeding or working against the effects of anaesthesia and painkillers. Others may cause adverse reactions when taken with medications. For example, Ginkgo biloba, ginger, or St. John’s wort may increase blood pressure or interfere with blood pressure medications.

That’s why it’s so important to have a conversation with your pharmacist and physician before using any supplements—especially before using them with either prescription or over-the-counter medications. But the good news is this: research is showing that some supplements may help certain medications do their job even better, help replace nutrients that are lost from medication usage, and in some cases, even work better than the medications themselves.

Here are just a few examples.

Calcium + Vitamin D are required with some prescriptions

Bisphonates such as Fosamax, Actonel, and Boniva treat osteoporosis, a disease of low bone mass, which leads to fragile bones. These drugs help by increasing bone formation and decreasing bone turnover. However, they can’t work effectively unless your body contains the right level of the mineral calcium and vitamin D. That’s because calcium is integral to bone structure and vitamin D aids its absorption. In fact, 99% of the calcium in your body is found in your bones and teeth. So, if you don’t have enough, that’s where supplementation plays an invaluable role.

Fish Oil have many benefits.

If cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a concern, you might consider supplementation with omega-3 fatty acids—whether or not you take medications. Research trials have shown that this supplement reduces the risk of CVD in healthy people, people at risk for the disease, and those who already have it. Depending upon your level of risk, you may benefit from more omega-3 fatty acids than you can get from foods alone, such as fatty fish like salmon and albacore tuna. Though researchers are continuing studies on omega-3 fatty acids, so far they’ve found that this supplement helps by decreasing triglyceride levels and the growth of plaque in arteries, among other things.  My wife and I both take fish oil.  I use it for its anti-inflammatory effects as well as cardiovascular health.  It has so many possible benefits, they should put it in the water.  Wait.  Fish are in the water.

A study in the New England Journal of Medicine showed that two common supplements—glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate—when taken together produced significant pain relief in people who were experiencing moderate-to-severe pain from osteoarthritis. The six-month National Institutes of Health (NIH) study involved 1,500 people taking the two supplements, an arthritis medication called celecoxib, or a placebo. In this case, the supplements actually produced even greater results than the commonly used arthritis medication.

As a pharmacist, I am extremely sceptical about most herbal supplements.  I am, however, a firm believer in glucosamine and chondroitin.  The reason is simple: when I take it, my knees don't hurt after working out.

If you are interested in vitamins and supplements, check out the Health Mart vitamin finder.  It is a free questionnaire that will help you determine what categories you may be lacking.