Natural vs. Artificial Part 2: All-Natural Resources!

I was going to save this for the end of this series, but I think it's worth saying now -- even though I may seem to be critical of them, I don't think there's anything wrong with all-natural food/products/remedies! In fact, my point in this series (which I'll try to explain better in the next post) is that, in terms of what they are and what they do to you, there is no difference between "natural" biomolecules and "artificial" biomolecules. Neither is better, neither is worse. They are just all part of one large set of substances that have a huge range of good and bad effects (including very good effects and very bad effects) on biological life forms such as ourselves.

Again... natural remedies can be great! What is frustrating is when people (who are either misinformed or downright unscrupulous) present various "all-natural folk remedies" as (1) effective, if it has already been firmly established that they are not, (2) more effective than they actually are, (3) effective in cases where the patient has a serious health issue that requires true medical care, or (4) effective, when the remedy is actually itself dangerous. (For example, this article discusses several cases of injuries and deaths that have occurred due to the actions of naturopathic "doctors".)

So, what's the Average, non-med-school-educated Joe to do? Clearly he shouldn't run to the doctor for every minor ache, pain, or sniffle. Ideally, he'd want to be able to intelligently wade through the flood of natural-treatment claims and advertisements to find some simple, effective, affordable home remedies for what ails him. Are there any resources that provide evidence-based, scientifically-proven recommendations for supplements and remedies? I'm so glad you asked!


NATURAL-TREATMENT RESOURCES:

• If you prefer books over online resources, you should definitely check out the The Mayo Clinic Book of Home Remedies (just released, October 2010). Besides providing a description of each ailment and some great home treatments to try, it also explains when it's probably time to seek professional medical help. It provides solid recommendations on diet and exercise, favors treatments that are supported by published studies, and avoids "alternative" treatments that have been proven to be ineffective. 

• Naturaldatabase.com is hands-down the best, most professional "natural-remedy" website I've found, containing "unbiased, scientific clinical information on complementary, alternative, and integrative therapies." Although it is designed for health care professionals, and parts of the (massive) database are only accessible by subscription, the Clinical Management Series is an incredible (free!) resource. From ADHD and asthma to PMS and UTI's, you can find the most commonly used natural medicines for various conditions, how the medicines work, a natural medicine recommendation chart that compares effectiveness vs. safety, and a veritable deluge of links to relevant literature.

• Another fun online resource I've come across is an interactive graphic (at informationisbeautiful.net) summarizing the "scientific evidence for popular health supplements." Each bubble represents a supplement -- hover over the bubble to see the condition that it is used to treat. The nearer the bubble is to the top, the better the evidence for the effectiveness of that supplement for that condition. For example, fish oil is a fantastic treatment for high blood pressure, and cranberry really does help urinary tract infections. Even better, click the bubble to jump to a relevant key study. It's especially useful for comparing the evidence for different treatments for a specific ailment... for example if you use the pop-out menu to select arthritis, you see that your best bet is to start by trying devil's claw, rather than chrondroitin.

• Finally, personalhealthzone.com, though certainly not as thorough as the database at Naturaldatabase.com, seems to be a great free resource for finding side effects of a multitude of herbs, vitamins, and supplements. For example, that devil's claw that is recommended for arthritis should be avoided if you've got ulcers, or if taking warfarin, anticoagulant, or antiplatelet therapies. And check out the warnings on St. John's wort... 

So, by all means, try to take advantage of some simple remedies for your health issues, before scurrying off to the doctor's office! But be wary of your source... the internet gives us lots of information at our fingertips, but not all of it is good information. I think that the resources above are some good places to start looking.


Kudos to Amy R. and Dave W. for pointing out some of these sites!