Gummy supplements often don’t deliver on ingredient claims
Q: I always take my vitamins if they are gummies. I really like the sweetness. I am less apt to take supplements as capsules.
I might be persuaded to change if gummies aren’t as good for me. The four gummies I take are calcium, vitamin D-3, CoQ10 and a multivitamin. What do you think of gummy supplements?
A: One of the few organizations that test vitamins and other dietary supplements is ConsumerLab.com. After testing gummy multivitamins, it reported that “some gummy supplements — particularly gummy multivitamins — do not contain their listed amounts of vitamins or minerals, or contain impurities.”
It noted that 80 percent of the gummy products tested failed because they contained too much or too little of certain listed ingredients. You can find the full report at ConsumerLab. com. There is a subscription fee to access the full report.
Q: For years I suffered with hypothyroidism. My doctors prescribed T4 drugs like Synthroid, Levothroid and generic levothyroxine, but I was still depressed. Also, I lost a lot of hair, including almost all my body hair.
T4 was not working well for me, so I asked for Armour Thyroid. After I started on that, the improvement was almost instantaneous.
Unfortunately, endocrinologists don’t like it. One even told me it was an antiquated treatment. I think it is a shame that so few doctors seem to appreciate the value of treating with both T3 and T4. I feel much better when I am on Armour Thyroid.
A: Hypothyroidism, caused by an underactive thyroid gland, is quite common. If your thyroid gland were functioning normally, it would produce both T4 (levothyroxine) and T3 (triiodothyronine). These are thyroid hormones that affect how every part of the body works. The numbers indicate how many atoms of iodine each contains.
In most people, body tissues are able to convert T4, which is inactive, into active T3 hormone by removing one iodine atom. Some individuals don’t do that efficiently, however. We suspect that these are the ones who feel better on a product with both T3 and T4 hormones.
Armour Thyroid is desiccated thyroid gland from pigs. It does provide T3 as well as T4. The endocrinologists are right that it is old-fashioned. That doesn’t mean it isn’t helpful for patients like you.
Q: I frequently read your warnings that there may be interactions among medicines. Two doctors prescribe medications for me: my primary care doctor and my cardiologist. Although I ask, I don’t think either of them is very concerned about possible interactions. What can you tell me about metformin and glipizide for diabetes, along with Eliquis, amiodarone, ramipril, simvastatin and tamsulosin?
A: You are wise to be concerned. Many of your medications could interact with each other. The heart drug amiodarone could increase levels of simvastatin in your system. That could magnify the risk of muscle damage. Amiodarone also can increase levels of your prostate drug tamsulosin, which could lead to adverse reactions.
Ask your cardiologist about the potential for amiodarone to interact with the anticoagulant Eliquis (apixaban). Your pharmacist also should review all your medications for possible interactions.
Q: My husband used to get migraines. He was suffering so much, I decided to see if it was related to food. For a two-month period, I wrote down what he ate every day. We discovered that within three days of each migraine, he had eaten Chinese food, salted peanuts, sharp cheese or a frozen lasagna. We switched to fewer frozen entrees, moderated consumption of cheese and peanuts, and asked for no MSG in our Chinese food.
As a result, his migraines went from once a month to about two a year.
A: Headache specialists consider food triggers for migraine to be controversial (Headache, October 2016). That’s because there are relatively few well-controlled scientific studies of dietary triggers.
That said, there is general recognition that some people may be susceptible to certain foods. Among the most common culprits blamed are alcohol, chocolate, aged cheese, monosodium glutamate (MSG), nuts, salami, nitrite preservatives and artificial sweeteners such as aspartame. A food diary of the sort you kept is a very good way to uncover migraine triggers for a given individual.
You can learn more about food triggers, a connection between celiac disease and migraine headaches and nondrug approaches that can help prevent migraines in our “Guide to Headaches and Migraines.” Anyone who would like a copy, please send $3 in check or money order with a long (No. 10), stamped (70 cents), self-addressed envelope to: Graedons’ People’s Pharmacy, No. M-98, P.O. Box 52027, Durham, NC 27717-2027. It also can be downloaded for $2 from our website: peoplespharmacy.com.
Q: I have been taking a tablespoon of blackseed oil every night for the past six months. It seems like a miracle to me.
I was scheduled to have total knee replacements on both knees and was able to cancel the surgery as the pain decreased and my mobility increased. I’m now 95 percent back to normal.
Since starting the blackseed oil, my cholesterol levels have dropped back into the normal range. My HbA1c also is down. I feel better than I have in years!
A: Blackseed oil is made from the seeds of the Nigella sativa plant of Southeast Asia. It goes by many names, including black cumin, black caraway and blessed seed.
Laboratory studies suggest a wide range of pharmacological actions: anti-inflammatory, anti-diabetic, analgesic, anti-hyperlipidemic, antihypertensive and anti-cancer ( Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology, December 2016). A randomized double-blind clinical trial showed that Nigella sativa oil (1 gram/day) reduced inflammation for people with rheumatoid arthritis (Avicenna Journal of Phytomedicine, January-February 2016).
A meta-analysis of seven studies indicates that blackseed oil can reduce fasting blood sugar, HbA1c, total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol (Complementary Therapies in Medicine, December 2017). This would explain the benefits you have noticed.