Consumer's Guide to Dietary Supplements and Alternative Medicines

The term "dietary supplement" can include vitamins, minerals, herbal, and botanical products. Consumers freely use supplements for the promoted claims of benefits, but often without consideration of the potential risks. "Servings of Hope: Consumer's Guide to Their Rational Use" is a critical, balanced look at the different classes of supplement products and whether many claims of benefits are true or simply product hype. Respected supplement authority Dr. W. Marvin Davis exposes what is truth, what is fiction, and what is not known for many supplements you may be taking. If you take dietary supplements - or even think about taking them - this book clears the mystery behind the product claims. "Servings of Hope" brings you the benefit of Dr. Davis's extensive knowledge about physicians, the pharmaceutical industry, and research in pharmacology and toxicology in order to shatter misconceptions about supplements and the supplement industry. The book's no-nonsense discussion about this much-hyped industry is even-handed and straightforward, and provides clear-headed advice every consumer of supplements needs. The guide explores various supplements' interactions with prescription drugs, the placebo effect as a factor for beneficial claims, historical instances of supplements that have proved hazardous to consumers, and receiving directions for supplement use from an unconventional medical/healthcare practitioner. It clearly explains the potentials of supplements through the use of illustrative clinical case studies from medical literature in simplified, easy to understand language. This extensive source is comprehensively referenced and includes tables of supplements with their possible benefits and hazards. "Servings of Hope" may be the best available resource of important information for every concerned, health-conscious consumer considering dietary supplements of any kind.