Natural medicines (herbs, vitamins, and supplements) are trendy across most of the developed world. According to a 2019 report,1 the global natural medicines market was valued at about 140 billion USD in 2018 and could reach over 216 billion USD by the year 2026, at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.5 percent. The report indicates, “Asia-Pacific is expected to be the largest market for dietary supplements in 2026, accounting for a significant share of the global market, followed by North America and Europe. However, the market in Europe and North America will continue to be very profitable due to the lack of price pressure, which is common in the Asia-Pacific region.”2 Even more optimistic research estimated that the global dietary supplements market is expected to reach over 220 billion USD in 2022 while growing at a CAGR of 8.8 percent.3
The amount of information regarding options for almost every problem known is overwhelming, and unfortunately, as I’ll show you, much of it is inaccurate. Nevertheless, for the conditions covered in this book, I’ll provide you with evidence-based recommendations from the most recent and reliable medical studies.
Because no one person could be an expert in all of the topics I’ll address, I’ll quote dozens of trusted natural medicine specialists from around the globe. I’ve enlisted the assistance of respected healthcare professionals (listed in the acknowledgments) to review this book to help ensure that the information it contains is accurate, evidence-based, objective, and medically reliable. I will tell you not only what is safe and effective but even more importantly what is potentially unsafe or ineffective—as well as what therapies have no or insufficient reliable evidence one way or the other.
As I detail in the appendix, I’ve evaluated aproximately 1300 natural medicines and interventions for about 550 conditions or indications. You may be quite shocked to learn how few can actually be recommended. Two-thirds of the extensively advertised and commonly sold substances I’ve reviewed for this book don’t have evidence of safety or effectiveness. They would not only be a waste of time and money but in some cases could also be dangerous.
I’ll also reveal to you the often hard-to-find information about the least expensive natural medications that are safe and effective for these common conditions.
| Of the ~1,300 natural medicines and interventions I evaluated for ~550 conditions/indications | ||||
| ★★★★★ | 83 | 6% | 150 | 11% |
| ★★★★ | 67 | 5% | ||
| ★★★ | 88 | 7% |
260 |
22% |
| ★★ | 69 | 5% | ||
| ★ | 103 | 10% | ||
| ☹ | 888 | 67% | 888 | 67% |
Key
| ★★★★★ | I recommend considering in almost all cases (Effective & Likely Safe) |
| ★★★★ | I recommend in many to most cases (Likely Effective & Likely Safe) |
| ★★★ | I recommend in some cases (Effective & Possibly Safe) |
| ★★ | I recommend in a few cases (Likely Effective & Possibly Safe OR Possibly Effective & Possibly Safe) |
| ★ | I recommend in unusual cases (Possibly Effective & Possibly Safe) |
| ☹ | I recommend against using (Insufficient Evidence, Possibly Ineffective, Possibly Unsafe, Ineffective, or Unsafe) |
It’s important to note that the recommendations in this book are only for adults who are not pregnant or breastfeeding. Many natural medicines have different safety and effectiveness ratings for pregnant women, breastfeeding women, and children.
I’m extremely grateful for the invaluable assistance of the experts in natural medicines from two organizations, ConsumerLab.com and Natural Medicines™, which provided me with access to their vast internet resources. In addition, each chapter, each recommendation, and each warning that I give you has been reviewed by these experts.
I want to provide you with the most up-to-date, accurate information that will allow you to not only find safe, effective, and economical options to consider but also avoid potentially dangerous, unproven, and money-wasting natural medicines.
I could not practice medicine the way I do (nor even begin to think about writing a book like this) without the practical materials these two organizations make available, by subscription, to me, my patients, and you, my readers.
ConsumerLab.com
ConsumerLab.com, LLC, is a leading provider of independent test results and information to help consumers and healthcare professionals identify the best-quality health and nutrition products. It publishes results of its tests in comprehensive reports at a subscription website, www.ConsumerLab.com, along with expert answers to many common questions about natural medicines. They frequently post news reports and information about recalls and warnings. ConsumerLab conducts an annual “Survey of Vitamin & Supplement Users,” and its research is cited regularly by the media, in books, and at professional meetings.
ConsumerLab claims to have “perhaps the highest testing standards of any third-party group certifying the quality of dietary supplements” and to be “the only third-party verification group that freely publishes its testing methods and quality criteria/standards.” Their standard is to test products, whenever possible, for each of the following:
Products that pass all four of the tests are approved and are eligible to bear the ConsumerLab “Approved Quality Product Seal” on their labels, which guarantees to consumers that the specific product carrying the seal has met ConsumerLab’s standards and has passed all of ConsumerLab’s tests for ingredient quality. The seal also indicates the specific ingredients of the product laboratory-tested by experts. In addition to the merchandise it selects to review, ConsumerLab enables companies of all sizes to have the quality of their products tested for potential inclusion in its list of approved products.
I especially like that ConsumerLab also gives the typical cost (in USD) of each product they review, which helps consumers compare the price of products. It’s an invaluable resource to help readers determine which products contain what they need at the best value. To this end, they also provide their “Top Picks” for each natural medicine tested.
For example, ConsumerLab updated its review of vitamin C products in July 2020. All twenty-one tested products were “Approved.” This is quite an improvement from their 2017 tests, which revealed problems with 20 percent of vitamin C supplements (none of the failing products were included in the current review). ConsumerLab chose three products as their “Top Picks” in the categories of pill, gummy, and powder.
The cost to obtain 500 mg of vitamin C from each product they tested, based on the price they paid, ranged from one cent to $2.80. However, among these products, the suggested daily doses ranged from 63 mg to 5,000 mg. With so broad a range, it’s clear that you can’t just follow instructions from a label; therefore, you have to choose a product that will provide the amount of vitamin C you actually need. ConsumerLab’s “Top Picks” will help you do that. Their reviews also list vegan, gluten-free, and kosher products.
Since its founding in 1999, ConsumerLab has tested more than 5,600 products, representing over 850 different brands, and nearly every type of popular supplement for adults, children, and pets. Subscribers to ConsumerLab also have access to the online Natural and Alternative Treatments™ Encyclopedia.
Natural Medicines™
Natural Medicines, formerly known as the Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database, is also a subscription website and provides authoritative, independent information and resources on natural medicines as well as complementary, alternative, and integrative therapies. They provide health professionals and the public with interactive tools and over 1,250 monographs on the safety, effectiveness, and cautions for food, vitamins, herbs, and supplements and an additional 150 monographs on health and wellness topics. For each condition or diagnosis, Natural Medicines advises about each substance or therapy with two ratings:
These ratings are explained in detail in chapter 4. One caution from Natural Medicines about the “Possibly Effective” rating: “A product might be rated ‘Possibly Effective’ for one condition but be rated ‘Likely Ineffective’ for another condition, depending on the evidence.” Furthermore, by “Possibly Effective,” they mean “this product has some clinical evidence supporting its use for a specific indication; however, the evidence is limited by quantity, quality, or contradictory findings. Products rated ‘Possibly Effective’ might be beneficial, but do not have enough high-quality evidence to recommend for most people.”
Natural Medicines also has extensive information on health and wellness topics (i.e., everything from “Acupressure” to “Zero Balancing”), including many complementary and alternative medicine therapies. I also love their industry-leading NMBER® (Natural Medicines Brand Evidence-based Rating) for over 185,000 commercial brand products. NMBER provides an objective, scientific rating for most commercially available natural medicines and rates each from 1 to 10, with 10 being the highest. I do not recommend any product unless it’s rated 8 out of 10 or higher by NMBER. Natural Medicines licenses its content to WebMD®, so much of what you read on WebMD about natural medicines comes from Natural Medicines.
I’m delighted that these two organizations granted me permission to use and adapt some of their wide-ranging content. Both organizations make most of their information available via subscription, and I think each subscription is worth its weight in gold. Group subscriptions are available to organizations such as faith communities, community groups, and social clubs. Also, many public libraries have (or upon request will purchase) a subscription that will allow you access to them.
However, please note that the ConsumerLab and Natural Medicines reviews are continually updated; therefore, you should strongly consider subscribing (or having access) to one or both if you want the latest information on these topics or products and if you want their other content (i.e., latest recalls and warnings, answers to common questions, interactions with tests or other medications, etc.). For example, in April 2020 I turned in the manuscript for this book. When I reviewed it again in October 2020, I had to make numerous updates. By the publication date of April 2021, there will likely be even more. So you’ll need to keep up with any new information on conditions you may have or supplements you are either taking or considering.
To that end, ConsumerLab is offering readers of this book a free twenty-four-hour pass to review three major ConsumerLab.com product reviews mentioned in the book: Multivitamins & Multiminerals, CoQ10, and Fish Oil. You can access them at www.ConsumerLab.com/DrWalt. Also, Natural Medicines is offering a discount on the consumer editions of their online resources. Visit www.naturalmedicines.com and use promo code LARIMORE10 at checkout to receive a 10 percent discount on a subscription to Natural Medicines.