Robert Schulman - Solve It with Supplements: The Best Herbal and Nutritional Supplements to Help Prevent and Heal More than 100 Common Health Problems

THIS BOOK IS INTENDED AS A REFERENCE VOLUME ONLY, not as a medical manual. The information given here is designed to help you make informed decisions about your health. It is not intended as a substitute for any treatment that may have been prescribed by your doctor. If you suspect that you have a medical problem, we urge you to seek competent medical help.

Vitamins, minerals, herbs, and other supplements can have powerful druglike effects on your body when taken in large amounts. It is possible to overdose on certain vitamins, minerals, herbs, and other supplements, and it is possible to experience side effects. Vitamins, minerals, herbs, and other supplements can also interact with medications. For all of these reasons you should always check with your physician when using vitamin doses above the Daily Values or any other supplement.

Mention of specific companies, organizations, or authorities in this book does not imply endorsement by the publisher, nor does mention of specific companies, organizations, or authorities imply that they endorse this book.
Internet addresses and telephone numbers given in this book were accurate at the time it went to press.

2007 by Rodale Inc.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any other information storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of the publisher.

(Front cover images) Jim Ballard/Getty Images (left); Getty Images (center and spine); Mark Bolton/Corbis (right)

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Schulman, Robert A.

Solve it with supplements: the best herbal and nutritional supplements to help prevent and heal more than 100 common health problems / Robert A. Schulman, with Carolyn Dean.
p. cm.
Includes index.
eISBN 9781623362652 ebook
ISBN13 9781594869428 paperback
ISBN10 159486942X paperback
1. Dietary supplementsPopular works. I. Dean, Carolyn. II. Title.
RM258.5.S38 2006
613.28dc22 2004015154

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W HETHER YOU ARE SURFING THE INTERNET, shopping at your local health food store, or simply talking to a friend who swears that her memory has improved after taking a particular herb, it is nearly impossible to escape the various health claims made about dietary supplements. While there is certainly no lack of information about supplements, finding information that is reliable or that suits your particular needs can be an extremely time-consuming and sometimes fruitless endeavor. To make matters worse, the medias coverage of vitamins, minerals, and herbs vacillates between scaring consumers and creating an exaggerated hype around a particular supplement. As a result, information tends to be distorted and consumers are left in a steadily growing mire of supplemental confusion.

In 2002, the Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN) published a report stating that the consistent use of multivitamins and other key supplements can promote good health and help prevent disease. While few people would dispute the benefits of dietary supplements for particular populationssuch as pregnant women and seniorsmany people are confused about the health benefits they can attain from dietary supplements for disease prevention and treatment.

Solve It with Supplements brings you the most up-to-date information on vitamins, minerals, and herbs and helps you understand the various conditions they may prevent and treat. You will no longer have to scratch your head while trying to decipher exactly what the information on a supplement label means. Our writers, author, and medical advisor have sifted through a variety of mediaincluding scientific studies, news articles, supplement databases, and Web sitesin order to assemble a comprehensive reference book that does not require a medical degree to read. Our author also ensured the contents accuracy and included his own experience with supplements in his clinical practice.

Use Solve It with Supplements as a tool to help you get the most health benefits from various vitamins, minerals, and herbs and to determine which supplements are appropriate for your health needs. Be sure to speak to you doctor about whether a particular supplement is right for you and always disclose any supplements you are taking to your healthcare provider.

Solve It with Supplements will ensure that you reap the greatest rewards from nutritional supplements, when using them alone or as a successful complement to your traditional medical care in order to achieve optimum health and wellness.

S OLVE IT WITH SUPPLEMENTS HAS BEEN CAREFULLY arranged to provide instant and easy access to the information you seek. : What Supplements Can Do for You is a thorough introduction to supplements that will give you a solid base of knowledge about vitamins, minerals, and herbs and why they are so important. Reading this introduction will also teach you to become an educated consumer so that you can go to the health food store or pharmacy armed with the knowledge you need to purchase the product you want.

In : A Guide to Supplements you can look for a particular supplement to learn more about its characteristics, including:

What It Is

Is the supplement a vitamin, mineral, herb, enzyme, or amino acid?

What It Does

The role that the supplement plays in health and the various conditions it treats

How It Works

The mechanism of action of the supplement

How to Take It

General dosage guidelines for the supplement

Look Out for This!

Safety risks for certain populations (for example, seniors)

What to Avoid

Interactions that the supplement may have with other supplements, herbs, or prescription medications

All material is cross-referenced so that you may easily search : Using Supplements to Manage Health for detailed information about specific conditions and ailments.

: Using Supplements to Manage Health allows you to look up information about particular health conditions and the supplements that may help treat them. For instanceyou return from your annual physical only to discover that your cholesterol is high. You can look up High Cholesterol and read about the various supplements that are recommended for this condition. Furthermore, you can call your doctor and ask his or her opinion about taking a particular supplement in conjunction with the cholesterol-lowering medication the doctor just prescribed. Its that simple. Each profile in this section will provide a general overview of an ailment or condition, a list of the best supplements recommended to help treat, prevent, or alleviate it, and the specific dosages for each supplement. The sections in each profile include:

What Is It?

A general overview of the condition

What Should I Take?

A list of supplements recommended for the condition and information about why they are believed to be effective

My Supplement List

Dosage information about recommended supplements