Putting herbal supplements under the microscope. A new NIH initiative.

Like so many thousands of other cancer patients, I’m always scanning the news for the next great breakthrough that might keep my cancer in remission, and of course, herbal and dietary supplements will always be a part of that.

The media - both mainstream and online - is filled with ‘reports’ and ‘studies’ that purportedly demonstrate that one supplement or another has sure-fire anti-cancer properties. That’s when my nonsense detector goes into high gear. If it were only that easy.

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Tips and resources for vitamin and supplement smarts

There are hundreds of regulatory loopholes that allow makers of thousands of supplements to make outrageous claims and empty the wallets of the gullible. Here are some guidelines as well as some resources you can use to educate yourself, stay healthier and a bit richer:

Check with your health care provider: Don’t ever assume that supplements are always benign under all circumstances. Supplements can interfere with medications, but also interact causing harm. This is true of both prescription and over-the-counter medications. Also, supplements can have very different effects depending on the age of the user

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Sleep tight to avoid high blood pressure

According to a National Institutes of Health funded study of nearly 240 teens ages 13 to 16, those who had trouble failling asleep or who woke too early were 3-1/2 times more likely to have elevated blood pressure.

Sleeping fewer than 6-1/2 hours per night boosted risk 2-1/2 times. Experts found that 14 percent of the study participants actually had syptoms consistant with pre-hypertension - meaning they don’t have high blood pressure now but are likely to develop it in the future.

It is suggested that adolescents need about nine hours’ sleep a night.