Category: Herbs & Supplements

Should You Take Vitamin K With Your Vitamin D?

Vitamin K is increasingly marketed with Vitamin D. But is this combination evidence-based?

/ June 5, 2025
A vintage illustration shows two frogs in a lab; one reads a book and holds a flask, while the other uses a mortar and pestle. Text reads "Pond's Extract: The Peoples Remedy." Lab equipment and bottles are in the background.

Self-Treating with Serious Drugs on the Rise

One of the greatest innovations benefiting public health was regulation. In the pre-FDA “patent medicine” days, there were countless products on the market that ranged from useless to directly harmful. This was a time when you could sell radioactive tonics, cocaine-laced elixirs, and products containing poisons, like turpentine. The sellers of these products made many unsupported claims and preyed disproportionately on the...

/ April 23, 2025
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Vitamin A, Infections and Measles

I have always had a bias towards the Appeal to Nature Fallacy: An Appeal to Nature Fallacy happens when someone argues that something is good, better, or more authentic simply because it’s natural, while brushing aside anything man-made as inferior or harmful. Or last my version of it. I have always thought of the human body as more or less tuned by...

/ March 18, 2025
A tall pine tree with lush green needles is set against a clear blue sky, capturing the sunlight filtering through its branches.

Pycnogenol – Does maritime pine bark extract live up to the hype?

Prescribed medicines are somewhat resistant to fads. Marketing can certainly drive demand and use, but long-term use tends to be driven by effectiveness. Some medicines used routinely today are decades old (e.g., penicillin for strep throat) because nothing better has been identified. Other drugs may be used for decades, only to largely disappear as newer, more effective treatments are introduced (I’m thinking...

/ December 5, 2024
Close-up of raw, rolled oats displaying their flat, oval shape with beige and white shades. The texture appears dry and flaky, typical of uncooked oatmeal.

Widespread Use of Dietary Supplements Linked to Liver Damage

Millions of Americans are taking herbal remedies that may be toxic to the liver.

/ October 24, 2024

Elderberry (What is it good for)

Accumulated evidence does not demonstrate that elderberry has meaningful beneficial effects.

/ October 10, 2024
NCCIH Logo defined

The NCCIH embraces the quackery that is “functional medicine”

The process of "integrating" quackery with medicine continues apace as the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health embraces the quackery that is "functional medicine."

/ September 30, 2024

Magnesium oil: Not so magical

Despite the hype, there is no evidence to show magnesium oil is effective for any purpose.

/ July 18, 2024

No Benefit to Daily Multivitamin Use

A 20-year analysis of almost 400,000 generally healthy adults shows that vitamins do not help you live longer.

/ July 4, 2024