On Beyond Zyrtec
Publishers of the PDR Issue a Guide to Supplements
Tuesday, June 26, 2001; Page HE05 [WPost]
Another sign that dietary supplements are occupying increasing space in the medical marketplace: the PDR for Nutritional
Supplements. Published by the same folks who issue the Physicians' Desk Reference -- the well-known bible of prescription
medications -- the new volume contains 300 products, from Acetyl-L-Carnitine, calcium and DHEA to whey, yeast
beta-d-glucan and, yes, yogurt. The 575-page volume is similar in format to the standard PDR and costs $59.95.
The goal? To help physicians and consumers get beyond the glowing press releases and find the facts in this $5 billion industry,
according to Sheldon Saul Hendler, a biochemist and physician who wrote, researched and edited much of the new reference
work.
"The biggest surprise is how much hype there is regarding certain dietary supplements, what they can do and how very little
foundation of scientific research there is," says Hendler, editor of the Journal of Medicinal Food. To compile the guide, Hendler
scoured the medical literature, talked with researchers and surfed the Internet for studies and information about various
nutritional supplements that have captured the public fancy.
For example: One of the most widely promoted -- and biggest sellers -- is chromium picolinate, a substance touted to do
everything from shedding weight to building muscle. "The substantiation for its claims is minimal if not nonexistent," Hendler says.
This new PDR joins the PDR for Herbal Medicines, whose second edition was published last year. While both volumes provide
useful information, both get knocks from experts.
Noted herbalist Varro Tyler, professor emeritus of pharmacognosy at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind., published a
critical review of the first edition of the herbal reference work. Writing in Herbalgram, a publication of the American Botanical
Council, Tyler criticized the volume for containing too many herbal medications, too much extraneous information and not
enough scientific citations.
The second edition is better, Tyler said. "But it is just overkill, it includes so many herbs that are not in used in any significance in
the United States. All it will do is just confuse physicians."
"Mediocre" is how Victor Herbert, professor of medicine at Mount Sinai Medical School in New York, describes the PDR for
Nutritional Supplements. "It exaggerates the theoretical upside of dietary supplements and minimizes the real downside. . . . I
think if physicians use it, they will be misled."
Hendler defended the work. "This is a guidebook," he said. "It's meant for the physician and the consumer to be able to get a
little more grounded information. One slice does not tell it all."
-- Sally Squires |
