Supplements... caveat emptor!
Many people pop off-the-shelf health supplements in the belief that they need them and, more importantly, that the products actually work as advertised.
I found the following excerpt from a Mind Your Body column titled "Choose supplements with care" (16 Feb, page 6) by Dr Toh Han Chong, a cancer specialist, thought-provoking:
I recall a young man diagnosed with colon cancer that had spread to only two small areas in the liver.
Combining chemotherapy and surgery, he had a four in 10 chance of becoming cancer-free in the long term.
At every consultation, he would flatly refuse chemotherapy, saying, “chemotherapy is man-made poison”.
Over time, his two liver lesions grew from cherry-sized to grapefruit-sized and then melon-sized. Eventually, they grew so profuse that when he finally requested for chemotherapy, he was incurable. He died, leaving behind a young widow and baby.
I found this young man’s thinking hard to fathom.
Many chemotherapy drugs come from nature... These drugs have gone through years of rigorous, systematic scientific testing, safe manufacturing and thorough clinical trials that establish drug safety, side effects, dosage, ability to control and shrink cancer and to prolong the lives of cancer patients.
Overall, supplements undergo less detailed scrutiny to prove their objective worth.
Supplement users commonly relate anecdotes like, “Auntie Jane took supplement A and has been cancer-free for 10 years” or “I read on the Internet testimonials of cancer patients who have benefited from supplement X”.
The public must guard against false, flimsy and fuzzy claims of anti-cancer promises of certain supplements.
This is true even for vital nutrients.
A study of vitamin E and selenium use in 35,000 normal men assessing whether their risk of prostate cancer could be reduced, instead found that the vitamin users had a slightly higher risk of prostate cancer.
Another United States study of 38,000 women taking multivitamins and other supplements found that older women taking the multivitamins and supplements had a higher risk of dying than those not on these supplements.
A 2004 Danish review of seven randomised trials of beta carotene, selenium, vitamins A, C and E either taken alone or in combination in patients with oesophageal, stomach, pancreas and liver cancers revealed a 6 per cent higher death rate in the users of these supplements compared to the placebo group.
A January 2009 editorial in The Journal Of National Cancer Institute stated that most studies of vitamins had not demonstrated any benefit against cancer and some even showed unexpected harm.
Vitamins are truly essential for a healthy mind and body, but too much of a good thing may not be good.
Cancer specialists do witness surprising benefits of alternative treatments like traditional Chinese medicine in terminal cancer patients who have exhausted conventional treatment.
While these ancient potions have centuries of treatment history, more research is needed to understand their true value.
As supplement use rises with our growing wellness culture, the number of contaminated supplements is also rising. These may harbour undeclared pharmaceutical ingredients such as anabolic steroids, which can cause problems such as heart overdrive, aggressive behaviour, growth of a beard for women and growth of breasts for men.
They may also contain stimulants and harmful toxins like heavy metals. Hence, great care must be taken when choosing supplements.
What about beverages? Coffee drinking has been proven to reduce liver cancer risk by Singapore and Japanese researchers.
But beware the lure of a good cuppa.
An eminent professor of medicine in his 80s recently recounted the story of his childhood in the Serangoon area where he could smell the lovely aroma of coffee being ground the traditional way from across the street. He said there were always huge crowds of customers drinking kopi at this coffee shop.
“Do you know why this kopi was so popular? They put opium in it,” he chuckled.
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For health's sake, walk quick, quick, eat curry, curry!
I also like this Daily Telegraph article (hyperlinked below) in TODAY (17 Feb, page 4) titled "Slower walking speed more likely to lead to dementia, but eating curry may stave it off". I can't stand people who dawdle and I love curry! So read it:
http://www.todayonline.com/World/EDC120217-0000028/Slower-walking-speed-more-likely-to-lead-to-dementia,-but-eating-curry-may-stave-it-off
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