Natural Medicines…monthly update

Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database eUPDATE and eCE

Here are just a few of the hundreds of updates we’ve made to Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database this month. You can learn more about these and thousands of other natural medicines by accessing the Database. Plus you can get fully accredited continuing education credits. • Vitamin D is now getting more support for preventing falls in the elderly. About 30% of patients over 65 have a fall each year. About 10% of these cause fractures, head injury, or death. Clinical research shows that vitamin D might decrease the risk of falling, probably by improving muscle strength. Studies suggest that one fall can be prevented for every 15 older adults treated with vitamin D. Elderly people often have low vitamin D levels. They get less sun and their skin can’t produce as much vitamin D as younger people. Consider recommending at least 800 IU per day of vitamin D to help reduce the risk of falls in the elderly. Lower doses don’t seem effective for preventing falls. • SociaTropin is a new supplement used for “social enhancement.” The manufacturer says that it will “elevate emotional well-being,” “annihilate social anxiety,” “give you unstoppable ambition, motivation, and drive,” etc. SociaTropin contains a long list of herbs and vitamins including St. John’s wort, lemon balm, roseroot, N-acetyl tyrosine, ashwagandha, theanine, Panax ginseng, ginkgo, passionflower, vitamin B6, niacinamide, and others. A few of these might help reduce anxiety or improve mood…passionflower, ginkgo, St. John’s wort, theanine. But there’s no reliable evidence that this product decreases social anxiety or improves social performance. Watch for potential drug interactions in people who take this product. It contains St. John’s wort, which can induce metabolism and decrease the effects of a long list of conventional drugs. • Fish oil products come in many concentrations and formulations including a prescription-only version, Lovaza. Prescription Lovaza costs about $150/month compared to about $15 for a dietary supplement version. Many people ask if fish oil supplements can be used instead of prescription fish oil. Lovaza is highly concentrated. Each capsule contains 840 mg of the omega-3 fatty acids, EPA and DHA. This is about 3 to 4 times the amount in most fish oil supplements. To get the same amount of omega-3s contained in Lovaza, patients would need about 12 to 16 caps/day of a typical fish oil supplement. But a few fish oil supplements are more concentrated and contain over 700 mg of omega-3s per serving…Fish Oil 1000 mg with Omega 3 Fatty Acids, etc. Advise patients to read fish oil supplement labels closely to determine the concentration of the omega-3 fatty acids. For patients who need high doses of fish oils to lower triglycerides, recommend prescription Lovaza OR a highly concentrated supplement. Advise them to look for fish oil supplement products that are USP Verified to ensure purity and potency.

Labnews.co.uk…Update

 

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