It is just an over-the-counter supplement - it must be safe

Many of us take dietary supplements such as vitamins, minerals, herbs, or other products to boost our health. Since many supplements contain natural ingredients, it’s easy to assume they are always safe. But “natural” does not always mean safe, especially when combined with medications. Nor does it always mean effective.

Let’s get the “effective” part out of the way first. A law passed by Congress in 1994 restricts the FDA from reviewing dietary supplements before marketing as they do with prescription medications. Most of the claims made by the manufacturers about the benefits of their product have no basis in fact.

If these products were simply useless, you would only be wasting your money, but they are far from guaranteed safe.

Some products have been banned by the FDA after being on the market for extended periods when their side-effects were found to be very dangerous but may still be available by mail-order. These would include ephedra (Ma Huang) and DMAA, used for weight loss and energy, that cause high blood pressure and strokes.

Some are discouraged but still sold. Kava, easily available online, is used for anxiety but can cause severe liver damage. Yohimbe is used for erectile dysfunction and bodybuilding; it can cause high blood pressure, kidney failure and heart problems.

Colloidal silver is claimed to have immune support and anti-bacterial properties but can leave your skin permanently discolored.

Fat-soluble vitamins (A, E, D and K) are not easily removed from the body. While they are safe in low doses, high doses of Vitamin A can damage the liver, as several Texas families following RFK Jr’s advice discovered. High does of Vitamin D can dangerously raise your blood calcium.

Finally, some supplements can interact with prescription medicines you may be taking. St John’s Wort causes a more rapid breakdown of many medications so that they lose their effectiveness. These include birth control pills and anti-depressants.

Calcium supplements interfere with the absorption of many medications, causing them to be less effective. Green tea extracts (but not the amount in a cup of tea) affect the breakdown of many medications.

Finally, there is the serious concern that many supplements are adulterated with inactive and/or toxic ingredients. The under-staffed FDA is unlikely to ride herd on these products unless there is a mass poisoning event that commands their attention.

What should you do?

In general, don’t waste your money. Beyond a daily multivitamin, most OTC supplements are useless.

If you wish to take a supplement, buy it at a legitimate pharmacy or health food store that will be there if there are problems. Look for independent lab testing by the USP (U.S. Pharmacopeia) or NSF (National Science Foundation).

If you are taking prescription medications, ask your doctor to check for possible interactions before you start taking any supplements.


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Leaving the WHO/defunding USAID - penny unwise and pound foolish

President Trump announced on the day of his inauguration that he was withdrawing the U.S. from the World Health Organization, a process that takes a year under a joint resolution of Congress passed in 1948. The stated reason was the WHO’s failure to quickly sound the alarm about COVID-19.

In fact, the WHO’s general director told the world to get ready on Jan 23, 2020, and a week later declared a world-wide public health emergency. It was the Trump administration that down-played the pandemic and delayed the U.S. response, leading to hundreds of thousands of avoidable deaths.

On March 28, the Trump administration announced it was shutting down the US Agency for International Development (USAID), including all its disease-fighting initiatives around the world.

Do either of these decisions help the U.S.?

U.S. foreign aid in all its facets accounts for some 1% of the federal budget, and health-related spending is only a fraction of that.

What do we get for our financial support?

A global vaccination campaign led by the WHO led to the elimination of smallpox from the world. Global efforts have produced a 99.9% reduction in yearly polio cases, with polio now endemic only in Pakistan and Afghanistan. American support has led to a dramatic reduction in AIDS in South Africa. Malaria and tuberculosis deaths will both rise because U.S. aid has been stopped, and American tourists will also suffer.

With the world totally connected by trade and tourism, outbreaks in a distant country will inevitably reach the U.S. and strain our health system. When a few imported cases of Ebola occurred in 2014, 45 health centers here spent over $53 million to gear up. Since the question is not “if” but “when” the next pandemic arises, do we want to fight it alone?

WHO initiatives have directly benefitted Americans. Efforts by the WHO led to the discovery and standardization of oral fluid replacement for children suffering severe diarrhea, and this treatment is now widely used in the U.S.

Cutting American support for the WHO and reducing our support of health efforts around the world will save us a little money in the short-run but at the cost of millions of deaths in less-developed countries and in the long-run will end up costing us more as diseases first spread abroad and then reach American shores.

Write your Representatives and Senators and beg them to reverse this short-sighted decision.


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Avoid the summer itch!

Here comes summer, bringing outdoor barbecues, swimming and sailing, but also sunburn, mosquito-borne illnesses and poison ivy.

Let’s focus today on the itchy rash that plagues so many.

Poison ivy, poison oak and poison sumac share the same sap oil, urushiol, in their roots, stems and leaves. The oil is colorless and odorless, so it may not be obvious that you have it on your skin. You can spread it from one part of your skin to another without knowing it.

About 2/3 of adults develop dermatitis after getting urushiol on their skin, typically 1-2 days after contact, though it may be delayed if a first contact.

The rash is red and bumpy and intensely itchy, and is often in streaks, reflecting brushing against the plant. If severe, blisters may develop. The rash typically clears in 2-3 weeks.

Treatment is for symptoms, not cure, and includes wet compresses, calamine lotion and topical steroid creams. If it is very extensive or involves sensitive areas like the face or genitals, oral steroids can be prescribed.

Much better is prevention. If you think you have been exposed, wash your entire body with mild soap; water alone will not remove the oil, which penetrates the skin. Use a soapy brush under the nails. Wash any clothing that may have contacted the oil in warm soapy water.

Pets can carry the oil on their fur and pass it to you when you touch them, so bathe them if they have run through the plants.

Best, of course, is to avoid contact!

Poison ivy usually has three broad, tear-shaped leaves. It can grow as a climbing or low-spreading vine that sprawls through grass and often grows along rivers, lake fronts and ocean beaches. It is found everywhere in the continental U.S.

Poison oak has leaves that look like oak leaves and it grows as a vine or a shrub. The plant can have 3 to 5 leaflets per group. It is most common in the western U.S.

Poison sumac has seven to 13 leaflets per stem that are characterized by smooth surfaces and pointed tips. It is most often found in wooded, moist areas of the southern U.S.

Summer will be a lot more fun without the itch!


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Should parents "do their own research" on vaccines?

A few months ago, I was unsure which cabinet member was least qualified for their role, but it is now clear that Robert Kennedy Jr. can claim this dubious distinction. Not only is he temperamentally and by experience unfit to head a massive government agency, but he is actively fighting against the agency’s purpose.

Measles is a highly contagious disease that is 98% preventable by vaccination. Because measles spreads so easily, about 97% of the population must be vaccinated to prevent outbreaks.

The very success of vaccination in reducing childhood diseases has led many parents to worry less about these diseases. Measles, mumps, rubella, chicken pox, and whooping cough were once “the usual childhood diseases” but should now be rare. Polio should be exceedingly rare.

Instead, 2025 has seen 935 cases of measles to date, 121 (13%) of whom were sick enough to be hospitalized, and 3 children have died. 96% of those sickened have been unvaccinated. There have also been outbreaks in Canada, with Ontario and Alberta the hardest hit.

The U.S. has also seen whooping cough make a comeback. In 2024 there were 35,000 cases reported and 10 deaths.

Mr. Kennedy’s solution is to “do research on treatments” for measles, though the remedies he suggests such as cod liver oil have been extensively studied for decades and found worthless.

Kennedy has made himself wealthy from his vaccine-denial activities, earning a large salary from his foundation, Children’s Health Defense, and getting kick-backs from lawyers by sending them parents to join class-action suits against vaccine manufacturers. Children’s Health Defense is an activist group mainly known for anti-vaccine advocacy and is one of the main sources of misinformation on vaccines.

Instead of urging parents to vaccinate their children, as recommended by every medical group that has studied this subject, Kennedy suggested “parents should do their own research.” For most parents, this does not mean careful review of published scientific studies but rather going on Facebook or other social media platforms, where misinformation abounds.

Vaccines, while not 100% perfect, are very effective and very safe. Vaccines do not cause autism. This claim has been studied by numerous groups over recent decades and demonstrated to be false. While nothing we inject or ingest is 100% safe, the risks from vaccines are much less than the risks of the diseases they prevent.

Parents who care about their children should listen to their pediatrician and get their kids vaccinated so these ancient scourges can remain history and not current plagues.


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