by James Hubbard, M.D., M.P.H.

The conclusion from the Women’s Initiative Study that multivitamins don’t prevent cancer, heart disease or overall mortality troubles me for some reason.

Don’t get me wrong, I love the Women’s Initiative Study. It involves a large group of women (161, 808) followed over a long period (eight years in this instance.)  Statisticians analyze the tons of data known about this group and report the findings.  The data doesn’t care what I or anyone else thinks.  It is what it is.

In the comment section of this report the author cites two other good, long-term women’s studies that showed an association between multivitamins and decreased colon cancer. It took 10 years in one group and 15 years in the other to start seeing a decrease.

But that’s not what bothers me.  It’s not the study itself, but that people might get the idea no one needs vitamins. I mean, the New York Times has an article entitled “Vitamins; A False Hope?” This was a study on multivitamins, in set doses.  It concluded nothing about set groups of individuals needing specific vitamins at other dosages.

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by James Hubbard, M.D., M.P.H.

A government survey recently revealed that 38 percent of adults and 12 percent of children used complementary or alternative medicine (CAM) in the U.S. in 2007.  But how did they define CAM? What is conventional medicine?  And why do people use CAM, anyway?

These and more answered by your favorite family doctor :).  OK, second best, I’ll give you my opinions.

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by  James Hubbard, M.D., M.P.H.

The FDA wants you to know that drugs not only interact with other drugs; they also interact with dietary supplements, food and beverages.  Always talk to your doctor and read any information available before starting new medicines.

To prove the point, the FDA has listed examples.

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by James Hubbard, M.D., M.P.H.

The FDA has put out a primer called FDA 101: Dietary Supplements. There is nothing new but loads of information you need to know. Supplements are defined as vitamin, mineral, herbal, botanical or amino acid products, or enzyme supplements. The thing is they are not regulated in the same way as medications

Some take-home messages from the report are:

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