Its rare that I find a blog post that completely supports how I feel about “Alternative Medicine.” The blogger talks about the need to have scientifically supported information about products that are ingested. It talks about using science to evaluate products and the studies supporting those products. 

Pills

A clinical trial, sponsored by the National Cancer Institute and the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, was cancelled about three years early after findings revealed an increase in the number of prostate cancer cases among the men who took vitamin E (compared to a placebo). Instead of utilizing these words for the value they present, i.e. using clinical trials to guide the appropriate use of supplemental products, some bloggers seem to have shot the messenger.

Pharmaceutical companies spend 1.2 billion dollars for a single drug to get to market. For every pharmaceutical that reaches the market, there are between 5000 to 10,000 “drugs” that do not. The fact that several clinical trials have proven that certain “supplements” with less than proven indications do not work does not mean that all supplements do not work. What these studies show is: Only certain supplements work, and only for specific indications. Arguing that all, or even most of the supplements, should show positive results is faulty. 

I recommend that we continue to observe and evaluate studies and trials and use them as the basis of informed decisions about appropriate supplement use.