With the help of my neighborhood GNC Nutrition Superstore, I
have devised a plan to live forever.

It’s simple, really. All I need to do is to eat garlic to
prevent heart disease, and have a little folic acid and selenium to
keep the cancer at bay. Some melatonin to help me sleep at night, a
tablet or two of ginseng so I can get up in the morning, ginkgo
biloba so I can remember if I took the ginseng, and a pinch of St.
John’s wort to help fight against depression.

Led by the growing interest in megavitamins, herbal supplements
and folk remedies, the alternative medicine industry blossomed
throughout the 1990s into a raging $8.5 billion money-making
machine.

In the most recent U.S. surveys, up to 40 percent of respondents
have noted regular alternative therapy use. Because these
alternative regimens are considered natural, and therefore healthy,
they are often perceived as safer than conventional medication.

Unfortunately, many who use such remedies are not aware of the
lack of testing undergone by these “miracle drugs.”

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration considers these products
neither food nor drug, thus there is only minimal governmental
regulation of their manufacture, sale, and miraculous claims.

This lax standard, along with only scant research into the true
effects of alternate medications, leaves consumers to their own
devices in negotiating the dangers of unregulated supplements.

One of the most popular herbal additives in today’s market
is ephedrine, the epitome of this toxic mixture of false
advertising and inadequate research.

Ephedrine (also known as ma-huang, herbal ecstasy, and desert
shrub) is an extract from the dried branches of the Ephedra
gerardiana shrub, growing mainly in Mongolia and bordering areas of
China.

Although scientific studies relating to its physiologic effects
have rarely been published, there is some observational evidence
suggesting that ephedra can be used to combat asthma and nasal
congestion.

Sadly, ephedrine is most popular in the United States as a
weight loss drug, a purpose for which there is absolutely no sound
scientific evidence.

Since it is an active ingredient in many types of diet pills,
often added without warning, its consumption may go unnoticed by
dieters.

Among the less serious side effects of ephedrine are headaches,
nausea, vomiting, sleeplessness, confusion, irritability and
urinary tract problems.

The more grave complications that are often noted with ephedrine
include rapid or irregular heartbeat, fainting, high blood
pressure, convulsions, chest pain, heart attack, stroke, psychosis
and even death.

Studies have shown severe side effects and death even in young
patients without any underlying disease. In addition, the amount of
ephedrine contained in a shrub can vary so much that even the same
dosage of the supplement can cause differing effects and possible
overdose.

Another alternative therapy associated with high sales but many
misconceptions is ginkgo, an extract from the leaves of the Ginkgo
Biloba tree (maidenhair tree).

As music to the ears of many college students, ginkgo’s
purported effects include improving mental alertness, memory and
overall brain function.

Although ginkgo is considered alternative therapy in this
country, it is one of the most widely prescribed drugs in Western
Europe,. It is given for cerebral insufficiency (difficulties with
concentration and memory, confusion, lack of energy, anxiety,
headaches and more) associated with dementia, degenerative
disorders in the brain, and Alzheimer’s disease.

Research with regard to the actual chemical effects of ginkgo
are of poor quality in Europe and sparse in the United States, yet
scientists seem to have established that the drug increases blood
flow to the brain.

Despite showing some improvement in people with mental
impairment, there is no evidence suggesting ginkgo can help a
young, healthy person boost memory (or pass a midterm).

Although it would be easy to write off all herbal supplements as
harmful, such as in the case of dieters’ use of ephedrine, or
ineffective, as with college kids taking gingko, some alternative
medications show great promise.

Another popular extract called Echinacea, comes from a purple
coneflower native to the Americas (Echinacea purpura). Echinacea
has recently become popular as a natural cure for the common
cold.

Despite most evidence for its effectiveness being anecdotal, the
few sound experiments that have been performed show that the
extract does indeed have the ability to activate elements of the
immune system. With future research, echinacea may be a valuable
agent in the fight against viral infections.

The most important thing to remember when taking any natural
remedy, whether its ephedrine or echinacea, is the age-old rule of
“buyer beware;” natural does not always mean safe and
an advertiser’s word is not always his bond.

With a daily regimen of St. John’s wort, ginkgo, selenium,
garlic and ginseng, you may be doing more to improve GNC’s
quarterly earnings than your own health.

Amin is a first-year medical student at the UCLA David Geffen
School of Medicine and a writer for The Diagnosis, an organization
comprised of UCLA medical students. Send questions, comments and
topics you’d like addressed to [email protected]. “Your
Health” will publish every even week of winter quarter.