Doctor's Journey

We, the sisters — the doctor and the patient — were watching the CBS News with Katie Couric in which she reported on a government study of supplements, some of which were found to contain toxic substances.  For the casual listener of such a trusted information source as this, one might not even think twice about the message being received – buyer beware your supplements may not be safe.  So we hunted down the original study, now let’s really talk about this:

1. The first claim was that supplements contain toxic elements like mercury and arsenic. This can seem scary at first. However, the amounts found were below the threshold set by the FDA and are considered safe. Steve Mister, president of the Council for Responsible Nutrition, said “it was not surprising that herbal supplements contained trace amounts of heavy metals, because these are routinely found in soil and plants (The New York Times).” In fact, “Dr. Joshua M. Sharfstein, principal deputy commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, said in an interview that he was not concerned about the safety of the supplements tested by the G.A.O. (The New York Times).”
2. The second claim was that supplements contain traces of pesticides and industrial chemicals. Sadly, this is also the case in many of our fruits, vegetables and meats not grown organically, which is why Naturopathic Doctors stress the importance of an organic diet. The fact is we should be coming down hard on industrial food producers for using pesticides and other chemicals which then enter our food supply whether in the form of supplements or other items, not necessarily coming down hard on supplement companies that are much farther down on the food production chain.
3. The third claim was that 37 out of 40 supplements tested positive for contaminants. Again, this seems like data that is very succinct and convincing. Numbers can be persuasive. Yet, this would hardly qualify as being a rigorous scientific study. The first inherent problem is that the sample size is too low to be representative of all supplements, the supplements tested were not chosen in a truly random fashion — again, making them not representative. Only one lab tested these products. A better study would have had at least two independent labs test the samples for quality control.

So, did this CBS report do the American public any good? It seems on deeper reflection, it was questionable journalism at best. Even the final conclusion in which Dr. Jennifer Ashton says that the safest way to use supplements is to talk to your MD seems almost controversial and here’s why:

• The US Medical Professions Comparison Report in 2001 stated that traditional medical schools such as John Hopkins, Yale and Standford offer no curriculum hours for Naturopathic Therapeutics or Therapeutic Nutrition. Even if there are some courses on herbal supplements, no continuing education requirements exist to make sure MDs stay current on natural supplements.
• There exists no paradigm for evaluating supplements in traditional MD offices, not unless patients specifically request it.
• And finally, traditional MDs do not generally have the relationships built with nutraceutical companies. Without this, it can be difficult to know who is producing the high quality products on the market.
• In comparison, a Naturopathic Doctor has over 1,000 curriculum hours in Naturopathic Therapeutics; they have a paradigm of evaluating supplements with every new patient — not only for quantity of doses but quality of ingredients; and have established relationships with industry leading nutraceutical companies.

 
It’s good advice to visit with your MD about your supplements. But, it can be hit and miss depending on your MD’s previous experience. It seems much better advice to have your supplements evaluated by a professional who has experience evaluating supplements — like Naturopathic Doctors.

The most important final thought is this: no one is saying all supplements are created equal. In fact, Naturopathic Doctors have known for years that there is a very big difference in the quality of supplements on the market. That is why they are such staunch advocates for evaluating supplements. Quality is an issue. It’s important to know which brands to choose. But what is even more important, a topic not covered by the CBS report, is that it takes very specialized training to use supplements therapeutically.  Let’s take Cancer Treatment Centers of America. They have dedicated specialists, NDs, that make sure a regiment of supplements enhance traditional cancer therapies, support patient systems, and have positive and synergistic drug interactions. This take years of training and experience. So, instead of creating a scare around supplement therapy, it seems much more empowering to encourage people to contact trained Naturopathic Doctors who can sort out the cloud of confusing information.

I do not go to the Doctor’s office very often for myself. I probably should go more often, at least once a year to have my blood work done, get a basic physical. But, like most physicians, I am busy taking care of everyone else and it is only when something goes wrong, something that I can’t fix myself, that I hunt around for someone’s caring hands, someone’s mind and thought processes to be turned to my own personal health. Were I in a place abundant with Naturopathic Physicians I would of course go and see one of my colleagues. But here in Florida there are only about 15 for the whole state…and without a license for NDs here, they could not order my blood work or actually do any sort of exam or therapy, so I, like so many others, had to hunt down the most promising of would be care-takers for myself.

What an ordeal, and it is still ongoing…I will no longer be so nonchalant when giving my patients advice to “simply” go find a primary care doctor. I have seen two doctors who have spent less than 15 minutes with me, offered me pain pills and steroid shots BUT I did get the lab slip so I could get a bit of blood work done. With a little patience, I could have ordered it for myself in OK or NH…but I do have insurance I thought I would let them pay for a change. Plus, I am trying to relate to my patients and what their experience is in finding a primary care physician. I just requested a copy of my chart from the last doc and will continue to shop around for someone…more like the kind of doctor I am? Yes, I know they exist, I am just having trouble finding one.

I left school after teaching a homeopathy class the other day and there was a wasp on the window of the door of my car. I was very careful not to disturb it as I opened the door and got in, I thought it would blow away as I started to drive.

I only drove about 15 mph down the little service road and it was clearly not fast enough as that little wasp continued to hang on. Soon, I was headed down the main road at 35 mph and still, my passenger was on board. I started to smile thinking about it hanging on in the face of what must have been tropical force winds to it’s little body.

I started to worry that it would wait to let go until I was driving 45 or 50 and then it would get smashed into a windshield behind me. So I started to open and close the window a bit to shake it loose, of course swerving all over the road because I was watching the wasp and not where I was going…and before I knew it, I was getting on the interstate.  

55, 60 , 65, 70 still that little one hung on, for TWENTY minutes at 75 mph, that wasp hung on, now surely it was experiencing hurricane force winds, and then, finally, just as I was approaching my exit, it let go.

Tenacity – that’s what it was. And I started thinking about what it must take for folks really struggling with a chronic illness – changing diet, changing lifestyle, changing thoughts and patterns, learning to live in a new way – it takes that kind of tenacity…and I have a renewed respect and understanding for how difficult the journey must be.

If I knew how much fun having a blog was going to be I would have started one years ago. I have kept a journal for over 20 years and often go back and read through my entries as they help me remember how far I have come in my personal journey. I wonder if others read any of those entries if they would resonate with my struggles and triumphs and in the communion find strength when strength was needed.

So, I work a lot, all the time, and I really enjoy it. But I also enjoy my family and friends – I just always seem to make choices that put work before the people I love. Not that I do not care for my patients, I do, it just seems that my behavior over the years may have been telling my family that they come second. It is sooo not true, but I guess everything and everyone cannot be the first priority and that is how I have always lived my life. I have, as a result, made some significant changes in my life. I sounded simple to do – make some changes, prioritize, create free time for the people I love – but what an agonizing process it was. Especially since I thought everything should be assigned ”the most important” priority.

I will share how I did this but right now there is a little four-legged creature, my puppy Asia, who has decided I have worked long enough for today. In keeping with my new plan, off I go to commune with her. Yes, yes, I am on my way to play frisbee….