Dealing with a chronic or rare disease (or merely being mortal) often leads one into the forest of “All Natural Supplements, Ointments, Cure-Alls and Wonder Drugs.” Navigating between the hype, the ridiculous and the dangerous can be an exhausting business. Products that are harmless but expensive are not safe to our wallets. Products that are potentially harmful to us are often disguised as ‘all natural supplements’ that could interact with prescribed medications or contain serious (though natural) products. How do we protect ourselves and our wallets while remaining open to the possibility of improving our condition?
First, a few relevant bits of wisdom to keep in mind:
- Most manufactured medications are based on ‘natural’ ingredients. For instance, aspirin is merely a chemically reproduced form of white willow bark. White willow bark contains most of the properties of aspirin and must be treated as such. For instance, it is a great anti-inflammatory and pain reliever, but it also thins the blood and interacts with a number of medications & conditions.
- Natural remedies MUST be treated with extreme respect and researched thoroughly via independent resources. Many ‘natural’ substances are wonderful to use in the place of prescription medications, BUT one must be certain of the research, the potential risks and the cost implications.
- The supplement and vitamin market is essentially unregulated, untested and unsupervised. Valid scientific research has shown a wide variation in ingredient strength, quantity of active ingredient and verification of ‘research.’
- The supplement and natural remedy business generates billions and billions of dollars per year. It is a business, unfortunately, full of charlatans, snake oil salesmen and abuse. Buyer beware should be the basis of all decisions you make when entering this world.
- Learn and understand what true peer reviewed scientific literature is. Some of the most infamous charlatans publish their own ‘vanity’ pieces, mostly in online publications. Their review process is highly flawed and their ‘research’ is aimed at selling their product.
- There is little valid peer reviewed research into the interactions between ‘natural’ remedies and prescribed medication. ALWAYS ask your pharmacist if they are aware of any interactions between what you are currently taking and what you think you might want to take. A responsible pharmacist can run a quick search and tell you if there is solid research. They may also be able to tell you which manufactured medication correlates with the ’supplement’.
- ALL ‘remedies’ that we swallow, apply, inject or soak in should be carefully considered. Our bodies are sacred and it is our job to protect them as much as possible.
- A physician recommending a product does not necessarily mean that it is safe, effective OR cost appropriate. Be wary of a physician that is constantly jumping on the latest medical fad bandwagon!
Now that we have the ground work laid, how do we quickly and effectively research the latest ‘wonder cure all’? Having done this a few dozen times over the last decade (and not being a medical professional), I will use my latest product research to outline the steps you might want to consider.
Fellow individuals with a rare genetic disorder, Dercum’s Disease, recommended a topical pain relief ointment known as DRL 100. At $19.95 (plus S& H), it is rather dangerous to the wallet, but maybe worth it if it relieved the constant pain of Dercum’s. The steps I followed to research this possible ‘wonder drug’ apply to any supplement, vitamin, ointment, salve, injection or treatment.
- Learn to read the label! The most important item is ‘active ingredients.’ These are the ingredients that are in substantial enough quantities to do something for you. In the case of DRL 100, the only active ingredient is menthol. The label states it contains ‘hyaluronan,’ a supposed miraculous pain reliever. The inactive ingredients list hyaluronic acid, but being listed where it is indicates that legally it contains so little that it is useless–essentially enough to be able to list it, but not enough to do anything.
- Learn what the active ingredient actually does. Menthol (Methyl Salicylate), the active ingredient in DRL 100, is an age-old local pain reliever. Menthol does not actually numb the area, but rather floods the brain with so much incoming data that the brain essentially ‘forgets’ the pain in the area. Muscles relax, the skin feels cool and the pain is ‘gone.’ It works and is essentially harmless UNLESS you have certain underlying conditions or medications. For instance, menthol creams interact with blood thinners, increasing the risk of adverse side effects (as in internal bleeding, hemorrhaging from a simple cut, having a stroke). It should not be applied to broken skin or those with allergies to certain foods or ointments. Pregnancy is also listed as a possible prohibitive condition. Menthol is cheap, readily available in a variety of preparations and well known. It is essentially ’safe,’ but the price of DRL 100 is exorbitant. Similar products are available for less than $5 for 2 ounces.
- Run it past the pharmacist. Give them a list of the active ingredients and ask if it interacts with anything you are taking. When I did this, the pharmacist recommended multiple over-the-counter preparations that would do exactly the same thing at a fraction of the cost. It is even possible to order menthol and add peppermint if you prefer the smell of peppermint. (Peppermint is a relaxing smell to the human brain). For the price of 2 ounces of DRL 100, you could make a quart or more of stronger menthol cream.
- Research the company. Though this step wasn’t necessary for the DRL 100, I did it out of curiosity because the product is being hyped to a group of folks who already have enough problems! I simply googled the manufacturer, Dermal Research Laboratories. I skipped all of the sales pitch sites and found them listed on ‘corporationwiki,’ which provided a link to Dun & Bradstreet, a highly respected collective of corporate information.
- From the above, I found the names of the two principles of the company as well as their business address, which was limited to a Post Office Box (always a bit questionable). I also located their company phone number. A sidebar listed a street address, which confirmed what I found below.
- I used the company phone number to perform a reverse phone number search, which revealed that it was co-listed as the ‘business’ phone for Dermal Research Laboratories and a home number for one of the principles. The address tied to that phone number was the home address of one of the company principles.
- In order to double check that the address was a home, I utilized google maps and mapquest. Their satellite imaging confirmed that the ‘business’ location for Dermal Research Laboratories is a very nice home in a very nice residential area. No serious laboratory here. No research facility. No large scale shipping facility. Just a nice suburban neighborhood (as in VERY nice). I am not against home based businesses; I think they are wonderful. BUT, they are not serious scientific research laboratories producing serious life-altering products. Supposed medical miracles produced in someone’s home are most likely paying for that very nice home in a very nice neighborhood.
Navigating the forest of alternative medicine can be frustrating, confusing and potentially dangerous. Before investing in the newest wonder drug, supplement, treatment or diet, do a bit of research on your own. Thirty minutes of your time may not only save you money, suffering and frustration—it may even save your life…..and that is provident living at its best!
