The emergence of herbal medicine for disgruntled self-medicating Westerners

The health care reform debate that is currently being waged in Washington has led to a great number of discussions that have exposed the public's frustration with the business practices of the profiteering Big Pharma and Big Insurance industries. Our collective distrust of companies in these sectors has led many of us to seek out less expensive, at-home treatment methods for the diseases and disorders that affect many of us. Traditional herbal medicine provides us with the means to stick it to the fat cats and potentially find relief for pesky allergies, sleeplessness, depression, obesity, and a huge variety of other disorders. Our increasing focus on alternative and traditional means of self-medicating has definitely not gone unnoticed by supplement companies and entrepreneurs who can prey on the populist rage by essentially marketing whatever supplements, teas, and drugs they want however they want without much need to focus on accountability. I often comment on specific supplements or dietary modifications for specific diseases and disorders, but in this post, I would like to focus on the current reality of traditional herbal medicine in the western world.

The drug industry in the western world has seen increased regulation and oversight in the past hundred years or so. M.D.s, the FDA, and pharmaceutical companies are increasingly focused on accountability in the litigation-happy United States. Therefore, the amount of research and development required to bring a seemingly effective new drug entity (new chemical compound with potential drug action) to market with little to no toxic side effects has dramatically increased, which is accompanied by more dollar signs than I can wrap my head around. 2003 estimates put the number at over 800 million USD, and now that number could be as high as 1.7 billion. The average timeline for bringing a new drug entity to market is approximately 12 years according to Covance Inc. Many pharmaceutical companies claim that 1 in 5000 of potential drug molecules will actually make it to market. It is important to note that marketing accounts for a large percentage of pharma expenditures. Specific numbers are hard to nail down, since it could potentially lead to very negative PR, but John Mack has provided some estimates in his blog on pharma marketing (Print ads, free lunches). However, another major cost for pharma companies is paying to screen the estimated 4999 failed drugs for every 1 successful one, potentially short patent lifespan depending on whether formulation and development takes 5 years or 20 years, and FDA approval as it relates to screening for all potential toxicities that may result from the drug. The end result for us consumers is a drug product or products that we can take to cure what ails us and the ever-important peace of mind that we're not going to lose a kidney or die from it. The public has spoken and the government now enforces that this must be true in order to gain FDA approval and the trust from M.D.s to prescribe the drug. This represents how Americans and other westerners insist that our drugs must be researched, developed, prescribed, and regulated. However, the costs of this type of system have gotten to be too large for many of us, especially those of us (5, 17, or 40 million, it's hard to tell these days) without insurance. Execs seem to be getting richer while we all broke the piggy bank about a year ago and are still sick. Enter herbal self-medication.

Traditional herbal medicines can be found all over the world with written records that predate the Shang dynasty (for you slackers that never learned your Chinese history that's 1700 to 1027 BC. I take that back. You're not really slackers, I didn't know that before today either). Potentially, no herbal tradition is richer than that of the Chinese herbalist. Hundreds of Chinese herbs have been recorded for use in the treatment of nearly every illness. However, in Chinese herbalism and that of other cultures, many herbal indications for use are accompanied by mechanistic explanations that include energy balance, spiritual manipulation, and other pseudoscientific ideas. Regardless of the mechanism of action, many herbals are still in use, because, well, many of them just work. In the modern world of molecular biology in the age of proteomics, we do not accept pseudoscientific explanations when our lives are on the line. In the western world, the FDA and M.D.s who may be exposed to liability suits are not willing to gamble without hard science to support the use of herbals. The integration of over-the-counter herbal medicine and supplementation into our current schedule of drugs for chronic conditions suggests the need to understand how herbal supplements or medications might interact with the drugs we're already taking such as lipitor, nexium, plavix, birth control (think: Surprise! You've got a bun in the oven), and potentially others. We also need to know how to dose herbal supplements. A mixed bag of tea from your neighborhood herbalist would likely make your primary care provider faint. How much of each active drug component are you getting and how often? Does it vary for each cup you drink? We require these answers before herbals can make it to the broader western market.

Some companies have taken note of these requirements, and more importantly, the market size of our drug-reliant populous to capitalize on the huge variety of herbals that are currently in use. I would like to give a few examples of some herbal products that have begun the process of assimilating many of our American standards and regulations towards the production of viable drug products or supplements.

- Circumin is one of the key ingredients in turmeric. It is a staple in Indian and middle eastern cuisine for its color, flavor, and food preservation qualities. Over time, cooking with turmeric has been adopted in dishes throughout most of the eastern hemisphere. In traditional medicine, curcumin has been used to treat a huge variety of conditions, however it wasn't until the late 20th century that researchers began to investigate the biochemical mechanisms behind its efficacy. As of today, 3953 peer-reviewed papers are retrieved in a search for curcumin. From all of this research, we now know that curcumin has legitimate anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant properties. These properties have been deemed so sufficient that there are now indications for dozens of western diseases including Alzheimer's disease and various forms of cancer. Several clinical trials have been completed for many of these indications, which means that there is real data to say how much curcumin is needed to achieve desired effects or toxic effects. In addition to its efficacy and minimal toxicity, foods made with turmeric are absolutely delicious, so search the googlewebs and find yourselves some recipes that you can work with. I even made chex mix with it this past weekend (spare me your Suzie Homemaker comments, everybody loves homemade chex mix).

-Artemisinin is a drug originally derived from Chinese wormwood which has been researched extensively for treatment of multi-drug resistant malaria. A derivative of artemisinin, artesunate, is now being researched for anti-cancer activity. As in the case of curcumin, the administration, distribution, metabolism, and excretion profiles have now been established which lets us know at what levels the compound is effective and what levels it is toxic.

In summary, herbal medicine traditions have a lot to offer in the way of effective natural products. I believe that this is an area where research dollars are appropriately being spent and should continue to be spent as there may be a good amount of "low hanging fruit" that turns out to be very good for us as potential supplements or drugs. However, validation of their use, as in the case of curcumin or artemisinin, is absolutely critical before self-medicating. This is especially true for those of us self-medicators without insurance who couldn't afford to have our unexpected drug-herbal reactions landing us in the hospital or the poor house.

Max GXL - cures all that ails you in six daily supplements

Max GXL is a heavily marketed product under the expertise of Dr. Robert H. Keller, M.D.. No self-respecting medium-sized corporate marketing campaign can ever be successful without a smart-looking guy telling you that their product can cure everything that ails you. Max GXL is now being administered to athletes to improve recovery, big-boned folks to help them cut weight, insomniacs to make them sleep better, sick people to help them fight infection, and everybody else who just wants to feel better. Sure, it would be great to take one pill anytime you get sick, hurt, or just can't sleep. However, it boils the mercury out of my bullshit meter, and yes I use mercury due to its proven accuracy. Max GXL is not a drug product that utilizes patented novel compounds, but rather combines a number of commonly used compounds outlined in this patent document. These compounds include the following:

-N-acetylcysteine - It is a bioavailable source of amino non-essential amino acid cysteine. Broken down, a bioavailable molecule is one that can be eaten or taken orally and make it from your GI tract into your blood. A non-essential amino acid is one that is not required in the diet because it can be produced on-demand by the body. Despite its "non-essential" status, the body's production of many critical compounds requires it to wait on the production of sufficient amounts of cysteine. This is especially true in the production of glutathione, a detoxifying compound in nearly all cells of the body. N-acetylcysteine is currently marketed as several major drug products by several major pharma companies. Companies like Glaxo-Smith-Klein and Bristol-Myers Squibb do not take risks on compounds that do not work according to their internal data. This information coupled with a mountain of scholarly literature leads me to believe that N-acetylcysteine is safe, and actually does support enhanced production of glutathione when it is needed. Glutathione concentration is transient, and is ramped up in response to injury, oxidative stress, or toxin exposure. Normally, your cells have stores of glutathione. When needed, these stores are released, used up, then reproduced again on the order of minutes to hours. Depletion of these stores requires the body to rely on other detoxifying mechanisms, which are not always as effective or safe. Therefore, the ability to quickly synthesize new glutathione is very important and useful. This is the premise for using N-acetylcysteine as a drug product/supplement.

-Vitamin C - Vitamin C is another detoxifying compound that serves a similar mechanism to that of glutathione, in that it reduces "oxidative stress" from free radicals within your body's cells. The question is really how much Vitamin C do we need? Normal daily vitamins contain about 90mg per recommendations from the US National Academy of Sciences, the World Health Organizations and at least 2 dozen other major organizations. However, some other organizations, such as the Linus Pauling Institute (Linus Pauling was a strong Vitamin C advocate among thousands of other efforts and accolades including a Nobel Peace Prize), and the Vitamic C Institute recommend as much as thousands of mgs/day. Max GXL contains at least 1000mg Vitamin C in any given single dose. Not to worry, though. You would not begin to see symptoms such as diarrhea or indigestion until you reach about 2000mg in a day (~14 oranges). The lethal dose in 50% of lab animals is 11mg/kg body weight. If that translates perfectly to humans, you have a 50% chance of dying from 770,000mg Vitamin C consumed in a given day. In short, taking Max GXL would make Dr. Keller and Dr. Pauling happy, but the Vitamin C definitely won't hurt you.

-alpha-lipoic acid - Alpha-lipoic acid is another bioavailable antioxidant. It is produced by the body in nearly every cell and enhances the activity of Vitamin C. Alpha-lipoic acid, when administered as a drug, can actually counter the impact of Vitamin C or Vitamin E deficiency (product info from Thioctacid(R) and Pleomic-alpha(R)). It is important to note that in diabetic animals, alpha-lipoic acid actually reduces blood sugar levels, and in humans, can cause fluctuation in pyruvate levels.

-sylimarin - Sylimarin (AKA silimarin, silimarila and other names) is the active ingredient in milk thistle and milk thistle extract supplements. This is an herbal supplement that is often marketed alone as a way to boost liver health (useless and non-specific information). The idea is that this compound scavenges free radicals and is therefore an anti-oxidant, a recurring theme with Max GXL (AKA the ol' shotgun approach). Sylimarin is orally bioavailable, and is shown to reduce oxidative damage in liver cells in response to some toxin challenges but not all. However, it has also been shown that sylimarin crosses into the brain to reduce oxidative stress in multiple regions of the brain in lab animals (Food Chem Toxicol. 2009 Oct;47(10):2655-60). This is a mechanism of interest in reducing the formation of beta-amyloid plaques and tau proteins in Alzheimer's disease and other neurodegenerative disorders.

-quercitin - Quercitin is a plant-derived flavonoid that can be found in capers, apples, tea, and onions. It is an herbal supplement, and as such, does not have a large body of literature upon which I can base a firm opinion. The limited literature that does exist shows that quercitin can reduce inflammation through inhibiting the activity of mast cells. These are the cells that release histamine and fill your nose with the gooey stuff following challenge with allergic stimuli. Quercitin has begun to show some impressive anti-cancer activity on a variety of tumors to such a degree that the American Cancer Society has taken notice in a big way. They released a statement saying, "Recent studies suggest that quercetin can slow the growth of cancer cells and can help foster apoptosis, a form of natural cell death that doesn't happen in most cancer cells. Some studies in animals have shown that quercetin may help protect against certain types of cancer, particularly colon cancer." However, this statement was coupled with this one, "Most of the research on quercetin and cancer has been done in cell culture or animal studies. These types of studies can suggest possible helpful effects, but they do not provide proof that such effects can be achieved in humans. It is still unclear how well quercetin is absorbed by the human body when taken by mouth. Controlled clinical trials are needed to show whether quercetin has helpful properties in humans." These missing pieces of data are a common problem for herbals (more on that in a future post detailing my opinion and knowledge about herbals taking over the world).

-L-glutamine - L-glutamine is another bioavailable non-essential amino acid associated with nearly all processes in the body. Of particular interest is the impact of L-glutamine that is not absorbed by the body, but that which interacts with the gut lining specifically. L-glutamine has been implicated in maintaining critical nitrogen cycling in the gut during and following surgical trauma (J Surg Res. 1990 Apr;48(4):383-91). Also, L-glutamine has been associated with reducing healing times after surgery (http://journals.lww.com/annalsofsurgery/Abstract/1998/02000/Total_Parenteral_Nutrition_With_Glutamine.22.aspx). So, it seems that the term "non-essential amino acid" is a bit of a misnomer, because it is conditional essential in some instances.

-N-acetyl-D-glucosamine - This is a precursor for the glycoproteins produced by the bacteria in you large intestine. N-acetyl-D-glucosamine is a component of what is known as the glycocalyx, a major component in the films that your gut bacteria bathe themselves in for an optimum environment. In my opinion, anything that makes my gut bacteria comfortable supports regularity and is usually good. However, the research on N-acetyl-D-glucosamine as a supplement is scant at best.

Based on my training, I am forced to first look at the toxicity of a given substance, then its efficacy in doing what it's supposed to do. Firstly, I believe that all of these compounds in Max GXL are safe. Secondly, and surprisingly, I do believe that most of these compounds are effective in doing what they are supposed to do on a per-component basis, that being detoxification primarily through reducing oxidative stress on individual cells. Make note of that last statement, because I seldom buy what's being sold to me in the form of highly marketed supplements and drug products. That being said, Max GXL has no peer-reviewed and published clinical trials on record to support their claims for weight loss, muscle building/recovery, promoting sleep, etc.. There is only some unpublished data on the company's own website, which I never trust, so you're not getting a link. However, if you buy into the hypotheses that state that oxidative cell damage and excessive inflammatory activity is the cause of most western disorders, then Max GXL may help to combat these issues. The end result is as yet unknown due to lack of published research. These hypotheses have gained significant ground in the "Age of the Proteome", whereby we are relearning, at the molecular level, all the things that we thought we knew about inflammation. One example of the progress in our understanding of the effects of inflammation on our bodies is this review of the connection between inflammation and cancer that has been cited 1,847 times since 2002! I, for one, do believe that there is a great deal of validity to these mechanisms, and Max GXL may very well be one way to fight against them tearing down the body cell by cell. However, the research is not yet crystal clear and widespread, so take it at your own risk.

Thanks to my dad and stepmom for the idea for this post. The research was fun, but I'm still coughing from all the dust I stirred up from my old books and notes.

Nexium or Favrosec?

To my fellow Sconnies, I know that we all get that warm desire to consume products backed by Brent Favre (intentionally mispelled, screw you Brent). Especially, when he's doing awesome man stuff, like chopping down trees somewhere in Northern Wisconsin on day 9 of his Prilosec regimen. However, yet again, Brent may or may not be misleading the American public. Prilosec is Nexium. Nexium is Prilosec. They are both comparably and extremely effective at reducing heartburn and even ulcers resulting from chronic heartburn. Also, they are produced by the same company, AstraZeneca. So why are these two products in direct competition? The obvious difference is that Prilosec is over the counter, while Nexium is not. However, the similarities between these two products tell an interesting, scandalous, blogworthy story.

On the science end, Prilosec (omeprazole) can be produced in two subtly different chemical forms (isomers). Let's call these forms S and R. To the untrained eye, S and R look exactly the same. However, these two forms differ from one another just as your left (S) and right (R) hands differ. Such is to say that they are mirror images, but not quite the same. The original patented method used to produce omeprazole produces equal amounts of S and R, and the final pill that we take is a racemate, meaning that it includes equal amounts of S and R (a few process patents that relate 1,2,3,4). Often times, S and R forms of many natural and synthetic drug compounds produce different effects. So, scientists at AstraZeneca thought they may be able to make an even more effective drug by separating S and R, then selling the better one back to us all over again. Well, they figured out a way to isolate S-omeprazole (another process patent). This led to the creatively named, esomeprazole, which we all know as Nexium. This process patent was conveniently filed within rather close proximity to the termination of the original process patent for producing original omeprazole. Also, this was around the time that Prilosec went to over-the-counter status. Following production of a packaged drug product and human trials of Nexium, AstraZeneca launched a massive marketing campaign. You are certainly familiar with their commercials, because AstraZeneca is still airing them. Prilosec and Nexium are very similar products from the same company, so the question is which one is better?

Several studies were conducted using peculiar dosing regimens such as 20mg Prilosec versus 40mg Nexium, or even equal amounts of each. It might make more sense to test 80mg Prilosec versus 40mg Nexium, because 80mg Prilosec is actually 40mg of S-omeprazole/esomeprazole/Nexium. This dosing comparison has yet to be tested (or published) by anybody, but nevermind that. All documented literature on the topic has shown that patients tolerate both drugs equally well due to a nearly non-existent side effect profile. The results about stomach acid production and reduction of heartburn symptoms showed that Nexium works better than Prilosec. Here are a few examples of the peer-reviewed literature that makes these claims: Lind et al 2001, Rohss et al 2002. Please note that Kersten Rohss, a scientist at AstraZeneca, was the principle investigator on the first paper, and the primary author on the second. As a general rule, I never trust stand-alone research about a product from the same company who is producing said product. Despite AstraZeneca's claims, the general consensus among clinicians is that patients struggling with heartburn or other symptoms of GERD (gastroesaphogeal reflux disease) should take whichever product they can afford. Generic omeprazole, and Nexium can be obtained with a prescription. In this case omeprazole is almost certainly going to be much cheaper, with or without insurance. From there, it is up to the patient to decide whether over-the-counter name brand Prilosec is cheaper than generic omeprazole.

Let's recall that when drugs work, they market themselves. This is a classic case of drug companies double-dipping on a single idea to extend the profit on a single drug, process, or idea. I have heard drugs like Nexium called "me-too" drugs, and there are many other agregious examples from other companies. The general goal of the pharmaceutical industry and pharmaceutical research is supposed to be for scientists and companies to serve unmet needs. This not only allows a company to corner a market, but they also improve the quality of life for patients battling ailments that previously could not be treated without surgery or some other less than desirable alternative. If you cannot treat an unmet need, then the second goal of pharmaceuticals is to improve on the treatments that exist. AstraZeneca did not achieve either of these goals, and for that they are fully deserving of my shame. For all of you, don't believe the hype and go generic.

Image:
http://www.visit4info.com/sitecontent/LG/fullZZZZZZTVC070208204829PIC.jpg

Alteril v. Melatonin, Melatonin ftw

One of the easiest markets to tap into has to be those of us struggling to fall asleep and stay asleep. Not falling asleep is frustrating and stressful, so we usually turn to the ol' idiot box for a distraction that will hopefully whisk us into the land of slumber. So, all you have to do is place your ads between 11pm and 3am, the cheapest time for commercials, and you've cornered the sleepless market.

Alteril is the "all natural sleep aid" that you've been seeing commercials for. The attractive male MD with his attractive researchers in the lab or attractive "interviewers are making a claim that the "all natural" active ingredients are superior to prescription sleep aids or other "chemical" over-the-counter (OTC) sleep aids. Unlike most products advertised on television, I do think this product will work. However, you should know why, because you can achieve the same results at 1/4 the cost.

The marketing team wants you to know, first and foremost, that Alteril contains L-tryptophan (or just tryptophan), which has been associated with post-Thanksgiving feast fatigue. Tryptophan in our diet is essential for normal body function, because the body cannot make it. You can get tryptophan from a huge variety of foods including rice, flour, fruits, or any meat product. Most people believe that turkey contains really high amounts, but it is actually quite comparable to beef, pork, or fish. Many researchers have more closely associated our collective fatigue following turkey gorging to the items that we often binge upon along with it, such as potatoes, stuffing, cranberry sauce, dinner rolls, and other carbohydrate-heavy foods. A series of reactions associated with carbohydrate metabolism actually do increase the brain's exposure to tryptophan. The amounts of tryptophan in the body are irrelevant to drowsiness, but the amount of tryptophan in the brain is key, and brain exposure is facilitated by carbs. In the brain, tryptophan is converted into seratonin (feel good) and then into melatonin (feel tired), the body's "it's time to sleep" hormone. So, yes, tryptophan in turkey, or any food product, indirectly makes you sleepy, but can only do so if you also gorge on carbs as well. If you still believe that tryptophan alone will help you sleep, just note that Alteril contains 700mg of tryptophan, while an average banana would give you 800-1000mg tryptophan.

Alteril also contains melatonin. As mentioned above, melatonin is a hormone that is produced by the body to induce drowsiness. Melatonin gives rise to the idea of our "internal clocks". Melatonin production is increased in the absence of light as an evolutionary mechanism to ensure that humans fall asleep, safe and sound, when the animals that eat humans are awake. If sleep cycles are consistent over a period of several days, melatonin will continue to be produced at approximately the same time each day according to studies conducted in windowless facilities. Thomas Edison came along to ensure that we unnaturally disrupt our bodies responses to the setting of the sun, and now we all have the sleep problems that you and I experience regularly. Fortunately, melatonin is now produced as an OTC supplement. When taken orally melatonin is readily taken into the blood and the brain. Furthermore, some controlled release formulations are available that will maintain high levels of melatonin throughout the night to keep you asleep. Melatonin has shown strong evidence in countless clinical trials for inducing natural sleep where tryptophan has not.

Therefore, you have a consumer decision to make. A 60 count bottle of Alteril (containing melatonin and tryptophan, which gets converted to melatonin in the presence of high carb diet) will run you about $20 through any online supplier. OTC melatonin supplements, the only worthwhile sleep aid contained in Alteril, will cost you $20 for 240 tablets.

**I have not included citations in this post, because melatonin and tryptophan have been extensively studied to such a degree that the public literature that is readily available to all of us is relatively reliable and will corroborate the above claims.

Wobenzyme - junk science

This post is in response to an email from my brother, Kris, who is the Manager of a family practice clinic in Milwaukee. He received a recommendation from one of their MDs to use Wobenzym for pain. She has since been fired for reasons unrelated to her "drug" recommendations. Here is what I wrote to him in return.

I'm glad your BS radar went off. I had never heard of Wobenzym before just now. I ran through google and got nothing but advertising and shopping hits. That's a bad sign. Just do a search for Prilosec or something and look at the difference (drug info, chemical compound info, scholarly literature, etc.). So, I moved over to look through the scholarly literature as well as some well researched pharmaceutical resources.

Wobenzym is a cocktail of digestive enzymes inside a coating (enteric coating) that allows the enzymes to be relatively unaffected by the stomach, but then released in the small intestine. The specific enzymes included are pancreatin (contains amylase, lipase, and protease) trypsin, papain, chymotrypsin, and others. These are all enzymes known for breaking down sugars, fats, and mostly proteins. The prices are not surprising because enzymes/proteins are very expensive to produce and maintain. The only relevant FDA approved indication is for one enzyme included in that cocktail called pancreatin. Pancreatin is only approved for "exocrine pancreatic insufficiency". As I understand it, this is a situation where your pancreas just isn't making enough of the digestive enzymes you need to take up certain components from your food. Wobenzym is also successfully being used off label for bronchitis in children. In that case, I presume the mechanism of action in the case of bronchitis is that these enzymes will break down the goo in the airway. As you can see, the indications, on and off label, relate to how these enzymes effect the GI tract and upper GI tract. Enzymes, being proteins, cannot be absorbed into the body through the GI tract in tact. That means that you can easily absorb the breakdown products of these enzymes (individual amino acids), but there is no uptake into the blood or tissues of actual enzymes, just the amino acids.

I've read all about these claims regarding reduction of inflammation and "improved immune function". This may be the basis for claims about pain reduction. I found some claims in the scholarly literature about "systemic enzymes" (enzymes getting into blood, see above) administered orally. There is no data to show how these enzymes impact enzymatic or other biochemical activity in the blood or in the tissues. All other scholarly articles were published in the International Journal of Immunotherapy. I was not able to actually access this journal, but the papers were all published out of labs in Latvia, Georgia, and Russia. There was one paper in Medical Hypotheses, suggesting a potential reason for how this mechanism MIGHT work. Note that's a journal of hypotheses, not actual data. The hypothesis stated that Wobenzym enzymes might be cleaving products off from the bacteria in the colon, and those cleavage products are being absorbed toward some kind of impact on the blood and tissues. The bottom line is that nobody has said ANYTHING about pain. There are some claims about inflammation that I find suspicious and would consider unreliable.

In summary, indications for use within the GI tract do appeal to my intuition and make a lot of sense to me. Indications for anything systemic (in blood or tissues) sounds like bullshit. In my mind, the impact on the blood and tissues of ingesting these enzymes is essentially the same as taking a very expensive protein shake.

Another great way to determine if something might be garbage is when there are fancy graphics on the bottle. My heartburn can't see the stupid graphics on my prilosec box/bottle, but my eyes can. Since it actually works, there is no need to push a placebo effect on my brain by putting fancy graphics and big lettering on the bottle. If it's some garbage pill that a company wants me to really believe works, they'll put a colorful 3D picture of a human body with some kind of "physiology" occurring and some big lettering so that the brand is ingrained in my head.

Junk science, medicine, and your money

My name is Kyle Kleinbeck. I am a PhD candidate in Pharmaceutical Sciences with a research focus on wound healing and biomaterials. Throughout my studies, I have encountered three major issues that I feel are blogworthy (yes, I am comfortable with contributing made up words to our collective, web 2.0 lexicon). Firstly, there are a lot of dietary supplements and pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical products that are absolutely snake oil. These products and it eats up a lot of your money unecessarily. Secondly, there a number of pharmaceutical products that are chemically and pharmacologically identical, especially when money is concerned. Finally, because I study pharmaceutical sciences, almost everybody says one of the following two things to me. "Soooo, you're a pharmacist, right?" This is almost always followed up by some kind of question about their great aunt's crohn's disease. No, I'm not a pharmacist, and I am not one for a large number of reasons. Maybe I'll entertain any curiosities about this at a later date, but I don't want this to be a self-serving blog. The other comment is, "I'm sure you know something about X. Tell me about it. Is it worth my time?" X is usually one of the products I alluded to above. I have either never heard of X, or I don't recall the tiny details about X from my mountain of pharmacology notes that I took during my undergraduate experience. Questions about X always intrigue me. I fully recognize that I will soon be a professional in the field of pharmaceuticals. I also fully recognize that I don't know all that much about pharmacy, pharmaceuticals, pharmacology, or supplements, and I have been intensely studying this stuff for going on seven years. Therefore, when stopped with questions about X, Y, or Zed, I have to look this stuff up just like everybody else. A couple of assets that I do have is a frustration with the three dilemmas described above, full access to any and all scholarly resources, and a desire to keep you from wasting your time, money, and digestive system on junk products. In this blog, I intend to inform you, to the best of my ability, about various products that I think are complete garbage and wasting your money.

I invite all questions, and critical comments. Enjoy.