Are Supplements As Effective As Prescription Medication?
In recent years, it is clear that our attitude towards orthodox, prescription medicine is changing. Courtesy of increased media coverage highlighting the side-effects of conventional drugs, we are now turning more and more towards alternative forms of medication to prevent being intoxicated by powerful prescription drugs.
Just some of the well known side effects of common medication include:
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Ibuprofen - Stomach Bleeding, Stomach, Ulcer
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Statins - Nausea, Joint Pain, headaches, fatigue
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Beta Blockers - Fatigue, dizziness, Stomach upset
Treating Arthritis - the Inconvenient Truth of NSAID's
Perhaps most startling of all, yet rarely given much press coverage are the serious side effects experienced by people taking pharmaceutical medication for arthritic pain. Every day, millions of people worldwide rely on Nonsteroidal Anti-inflammatory Drugs (NSAID's) to help alleviate the pain in their joints. Whereas their efficacy to treat pain cannot be questioned, their side-effects can be crippling yet very little warning is given to regular users.
So how bad can these side effects be? Surely, the occasional side effect is worth putting up with if the pain in the joints is alleviated? I'd argue not, especially when you consider the following startling fact:
"Every year at least 70,000 people are hospitalised due to liver and kidney damage as well as digestive diseases such as stomach ulcers, as a direct result of taking NSAID's. In addition to these hospitalisations, the FDA (Food and Drugs Administration) estimate that NSAID's are responsible for up to 20,000 deaths every year. "
These are serious side effects, especially when you consider the availability of these drugs. Although you may never have heard of the term NSAID's, I'm sure you are all too familiar with the names Ibuprofen, Nurofen and Advil? They are the same thing!
As alarmist as this may sound, if these anti-inflammatory drugs are used correctly and the dosage guidelines are adhered to, these severe side effects are rare and most of time they can be used safely and effectively, though it certainly highlights the potential dangers associated with such medication and the precautions regular users must take.
So what answer do nutritional supplements have for common ailments such as arthritis? Are they as effective and do they have such potential extreme side effects? Let's take the example of perhaps the most common ailment experienced in many baby boomers - Osteoarthritis.
Glucosamine v's NSAID's
In recent years, the supplement glucosamine sulphate has been researched extensively and shown to be highly effective at providing pain relief in osteoarthritis sufferers. In fact, very recent studies have been carried out directly to evaluate the comparative effectiveness of glucosamine sulphate versus NAIDS.
In one study over a 4 week trial period, 200 people with osteoarthritis of the knee were given either 500mg of glucosamine sulphate three times a day, or 400mg of ibuprofen three times a day. Consistent with previous studies, the group taking the ibuprofen experienced faster pain relief. No real surprises there. However, by the end of the second week the group taking glucosamine sulphate experienced results just as effective as the group on ibuprofen. In addition, not only was their level of pain relief comparable to the ibuprofen group, their experience of side effects was just 6%, compared to 40% experiencing uncomfortable side effects for the ibuprofen group.
Although thousands of other studies have been conducted comparing conventional medicine and nutritional supplements, the studies involving anti-inflammatory drugs and glucosamine sulphate are perhaps the most interesting. Research involving these rival medications has regularly shown that there is growing evidence that NAIDs may in fact have chronically damaging and detrimental effects to arthritic joints if used regularly. One of the properties of NAIDS that we are conveniently not told by the drugs companies, is that despite their effectiveness at relieving the pain of arthritic joints, in the long run, they actually inhibit cartilage formation and accelerate the destruction of cartilage, which is ironically the exact opposite to the properties of glucosamine sulphate.
Studies and comparisons of these two forms of treatment and many others are ongoing and new findings are discovered every year. Although I can safely say with a degree of certainty that no one product will ever be pronounced the overall winner, one of the benefits of these studies demonstrates that we have a choice on how to treat our ailments as we age.
As nature takes it course, the fragility of our bodies increases as the years pass by and if alternative forms of medication have been proven to help and treat common conditions, free from side-effects and intoxication of our livers, surely they are worth trialling. However, that is not to say that nutritional supplements are 100% safe and free from side-effects. They may be less damaging than many conventional drugs but in some cases supplements can pose very serious health problems, especially if you are also following a course of medication prescribed by your Doctor.