Beware of food supplements, says expert

Food supplements with no scientifically proven health benefits proliferate in the country and they may be detrimental to the health and the finances of consumers in the long run.

“Dr. Hazel Paragua, head of the neuro-sciences department of San Beda College of Medicine, said the Philippines has been the dumping ground of food supplement banned in other countries because they contain harmful ingredients or do not really promote wellness.

In the Philippines, many of these food supplements, which claims to treat many medical conditions but without a proven therapeutic value – like treatment for hypertension, memory-loss and diabetes have found many consumers because they capitalize on celebrity endorsers, she said.

Paragua, in a speech before the 138th general assembly of FUSE, or the foundation for Upgrading the Standard of Education, on the concerns of the elderly, said many of these food supplements contain substances which either have no clinically proven benefits or worse, have potentially harmful additives.

Many would rather buy food supplements, which are more expensive, than truly effective medicines prescribe by their doctors, which could even be much cheaper.

“See a doctor first before taking any food supplement,” Paragua said.

She urged buyers to be more cautious and to first read the labels on these food supplements and do some research, advising those interested to use the Internet to get the required information.

Paragua said many of the victims of these unhelpful food supplements are the elderly who are anxious to treat their illnesses with self medication.

If these food supplements will not kill you, they will at least hurt your pocket because they are being sold without approved therapeutic claims and are potentially useless, she said. Furthermore, what is harmful is that taking them would give them a false sense of security so patients stop taking their real prescription medications and no longer consult their doctors. This practice may delay diagnosis and treatment especially of conditions with preventable complications like cancer, diabetes, stroke and heart attack.

Paragua said the concerns of the elderly include stroke, dizziness, memory loss, neck and low back pains, tremors, headaches, and poor sleep.

Source: Philippine Star

This entry was posted on Friday, October 10th, 2008 at 12:02 pm and is filed under Health Tips, Herbal. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.