Comments on: Allergy Alert: Complementary and Alternate Medicine for Allergy Sufferers

By: Brain Games

Brain Games — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 06:57:44 +0000

I have been suffering from Allergic rhinitis for almost 2 years now and one of the supplements that I take is ascorbic acid. Now my question is, is it okay for me to take a higher dosage to be more effective, let us say three tablets a day.

I have seen many herbal supplement products on the market these days and they say that herbal medicines offer an inexpensive and safe alternative to pharmaceuticals. Are they effective and are there any side effects? Because as far as I know, they are safe, but can they really be trusted.

By: Kathi

Kathi — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 06:09:39 +0000

Of course herbs need to be used judiciously just as anything else. Some do have side effects which it is important to know about. There are resources to get info on them. I’ve checked webmd for general medical info. I think they had some as well as links to other sources.

And I think it was the NIH that had a website related to alternative and complementary medicine which had lists of herbs and what the science was related to them, including risks and whether it had been shown to be effective.

Many herbs have been used and studied for hundreds of years–way more than many “science based medicine.” And of course some of those medicines get recalled or extra warnings, even after being on the market for a number of years as they find additional side effects from them.

By: RF

RF — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 17:48:27 +0000

On what do you base the recommendation that fruits and vegetables should be uncooked?

By: Mandingo Ptjubali

Mandingo Ptjubali — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 20:06:01 +0000

How can anyone trust herbals? Where is the research? Who controls the strength of each capsule? How much does one take? Are there any side effects some should watch for or should everyone just give it a whirl and hope for the best? Should we trust the high school student working in the health food store with our health? Are MD’s now telling us we can go to the health food store and get herbals prescribed by some unknown methodology in place of good old fashioned science based medicine? Exactly what is your medical advice based upon Dr. Bassett?

By: Rehab Dallas

Rehab Dallas — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 12:18:04 +0000

Thanks for the advise. Nutritional supplementation is a much better solution to these common ailments than drug therapy. I really enjoy your blog and visit it frequently.