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Mixing with caution
4 Plays8 months ago
It’s Herbal Prescription Interaction Awareness Month—yes, that’s a thing! In this episode, April and Alicia discuss some of the most famous homeopathic remedies that may not be playing nice with the prescriptions in your medicine cabinet. From flu season fixes to natural mood boosters, our hosts dig into the pros, the cons, and the "wait, this does what?!" moments. Spoiler alert: just because it grows in your garden doesn't mean it's risk-free.
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Transcript
Introduction and Personal Updates
00:00:00
Speaker
If I ever die and somebody looks in my Google searches, I don't know what you would be able to tell about me because I Google some of the wildest things.
00:00:07
Speaker
But I did look, do ducks have rabies?
00:00:10
Speaker
This is On Call.
00:00:12
Speaker
This would be really cool to just wear scrubs all the time.
00:00:14
Speaker
Then you don't have to think about what you're going to wear to work.
00:00:16
Speaker
That is awesome.
00:00:17
Speaker
We're here to answer your questions.
00:00:19
Speaker
We can sit down and discuss them.
00:00:21
Speaker
Wait, I got to go.
00:00:22
Speaker
I'm on call.
00:00:23
Speaker
Wait, you're on call?
00:00:23
Speaker
I thought I was on call.
00:00:28
Speaker
Hey everybody, welcome back to another episode of On Call with April and Alicia.
00:00:33
Speaker
I'm Alicia.
00:00:34
Speaker
I'm April.
00:00:35
Speaker
And we're happy to be back.
00:00:37
Speaker
We are.
00:00:38
Speaker
April.
00:00:39
Speaker
Yes.
00:00:39
Speaker
Still cicadas.
00:00:41
Speaker
There's still cicadas.
00:00:42
Speaker
Still?
00:00:43
Speaker
Yep.
00:00:44
Speaker
Ugh.
00:00:45
Speaker
Yep.
00:00:45
Speaker
I feel like every day I look up if there's still going to be cicadas, just in case maybe Google or whatever AI is telling me that they're supposed to be gone mid-June has changed their mind and maybe it'll be a week earlier.
00:00:57
Speaker
But I do feel like it's starting to get a little bit later.
Travel Plans and Geography Misunderstandings
00:01:00
Speaker
They are.
00:01:01
Speaker
They're bad.
00:01:02
Speaker
So this is the only time of the year.
00:01:06
Speaker
I would favor colder weather.
00:01:08
Speaker
If it got rid of them.
00:01:11
Speaker
That's a lot for you to say that.
00:01:12
Speaker
Because you hate the cold.
00:01:14
Speaker
I hate the cold.
00:01:14
Speaker
And I love rain if it's like storming.
00:01:17
Speaker
I don't love rain.
00:01:20
Speaker
Like when it just rains all day.
00:01:22
Speaker
And then you can't get out.
00:01:23
Speaker
And you know.
00:01:23
Speaker
Your kids are stuck inside.
00:01:24
Speaker
And all that kind of stuff.
00:01:25
Speaker
But.
00:01:27
Speaker
The rain, they go away.
00:01:29
Speaker
But then that sun comes out and it gets humid and they're in full force.
00:01:32
Speaker
I was talking to you yesterday.
00:01:33
Speaker
How many times I get hit in the face?
00:01:35
Speaker
I know.
00:01:36
Speaker
I'm like, ah!
00:01:37
Speaker
You were having like a rough 10 minutes outside with your cicadas yesterday.
00:01:41
Speaker
Yes.
00:01:41
Speaker
Well, I got to follow up.
00:01:43
Speaker
I got to follow up to the pets in my yard.
00:01:47
Speaker
But I want to start.
00:01:48
Speaker
I want to ask you first.
00:01:49
Speaker
How are you?
00:01:50
Speaker
And how's the fam?
00:01:52
Speaker
What's new before I get into this shenanigans?
00:01:54
Speaker
Oh, jeez.
00:01:56
Speaker
I'm good.
00:01:56
Speaker
Things are good.
00:01:57
Speaker
We're enjoying summer break.
00:01:59
Speaker
Looking forward to vacation.
00:02:00
Speaker
Kids are finally out of school.
00:02:02
Speaker
I mean, they're finally out of school.
00:02:03
Speaker
They were still in.
00:02:04
Speaker
Yep.
00:02:04
Speaker
Yep.
00:02:05
Speaker
They're all done.
00:02:07
Speaker
They're excited.
00:02:09
Speaker
We are.
00:02:10
Speaker
Well, we're going to Florida for a short trip, but then our big trip is we're going to Japan and Hawaii.
00:02:16
Speaker
Wow.
00:02:17
Speaker
Yeah.
00:02:18
Speaker
So we'll be gone for like three weeks and we're super excited.
00:02:21
Speaker
So.
00:02:23
Speaker
I just looked at Japan on a globe the other day.
Plane Comfort and Wildlife Encounters
00:02:30
Speaker
Should I say this out loud?
00:02:32
Speaker
I don't know.
00:02:33
Speaker
I don't know what you're going to say.
00:02:35
Speaker
I don't know why I thought it was embedded.
00:02:37
Speaker
Gosh, geography failed me.
00:02:40
Speaker
I think we only looked at the United States where I went to school.
00:02:42
Speaker
But yeah, it's like an island.
00:02:46
Speaker
Yeah, I didn't get that.
00:02:49
Speaker
It's funny you say that because I think that one of the girls said that.
00:02:51
Speaker
Like when we first were like, we're going to go to Japan.
00:02:54
Speaker
And one of us said something about it being an island.
00:02:57
Speaker
The other one goes, it's an island.
00:02:59
Speaker
I was like, oh, good Lord.
00:03:00
Speaker
Yeah, but don't good Lord or maybe she's getting the same base education I got.
00:03:05
Speaker
I just assumed somewhere in Asia is China and Japan.
00:03:11
Speaker
Okay.
00:03:12
Speaker
So, I mean, that was just the way my brain worked.
00:03:14
Speaker
Also, I think we all do this, but while we're talking about geography, you know,
00:03:19
Speaker
we, we, how often we like refer to Africa as a country and it's not, it's a continent, but we'll be like, they're from Africa.
00:03:27
Speaker
You know what I mean?
00:03:28
Speaker
Yeah.
00:03:28
Speaker
I think it's just, but I just saw Japan.
00:03:31
Speaker
Maybe I was looking at VPNs.
00:03:32
Speaker
I don't know what it was.
00:03:33
Speaker
I saw Japan.
00:03:34
Speaker
I was like, Holy smokes.
00:03:34
Speaker
Hold on.
00:03:35
Speaker
Wait, wait, wait.
00:03:36
Speaker
Japan's off to the right like that in the middle.
00:03:38
Speaker
It's an island.
00:03:39
Speaker
I was so it's kind of embarrassing, but whatever.
00:03:41
Speaker
Embarrassing for the world now.
00:03:43
Speaker
Cause there's no going back on, on saying it.
00:03:46
Speaker
Your, your secret is out now.
00:03:49
Speaker
But yeah, we're going.
00:03:50
Speaker
We're excited.
00:03:52
Speaker
Long flight to get there.
00:03:54
Speaker
How long?
00:03:55
Speaker
Now, it's easier for you to go from Hawaii to Japan, though.
00:03:58
Speaker
That's why Pearl Harbor happened, right?
00:04:00
Speaker
Because it was... They snuck around.
00:04:02
Speaker
Because Hawaii and Japan aren't far away.
00:04:05
Speaker
Yeah, the flight to...
00:04:08
Speaker
From Hawaii to Japan is about, I think six or seven hours.
00:04:12
Speaker
So like when, so, but we're going all the way out to Japan first and then going to Hawaii and then back to the East coast.
00:04:17
Speaker
Cause we figured we would just do the longest circle of the whole world and then slowly adjust the time back.
00:04:25
Speaker
So to get from Baltimore to Tokyo, we actually go through like Minneapolis.
00:04:31
Speaker
I think it's like 14 hours.
00:04:33
Speaker
So, but how, how far is it from you to Hawaii?
00:04:39
Speaker
From the East Coast to Hawaii, it's about, I don't, our flight coming home is so broken up that I don't know the total flight time.
00:04:48
Speaker
It's like 10, because it's like four hours to Seattle, and then Seattle to Hawaii is like six.
00:04:54
Speaker
No, Seattle's like six hours for me.
00:04:57
Speaker
Oh, yeah, I was just talking about, so 10, but so 14, yeah, all right, so it's just long.
00:05:02
Speaker
Yeah, it's long, but, you know, it's okay.
00:05:06
Speaker
Did you get comfortable seats?
00:05:07
Speaker
We did.
00:05:10
Speaker
I said, I can't.
00:05:11
Speaker
Okay.
00:05:11
Speaker
This is first world stuff.
00:05:12
Speaker
I don't want to start sounding bougie.
00:05:14
Speaker
I just, I don't think I could sit upright for 14 hours.
00:05:20
Speaker
I can't sleep on a plane.
00:05:22
Speaker
I cannot.
00:05:23
Speaker
I just can't not sleep on a plane.
00:05:25
Speaker
It doesn't matter if I have a window seat.
00:05:26
Speaker
It doesn't matter if I'm in first class.
00:05:27
Speaker
It doesn't matter.
00:05:28
Speaker
I can't sleep on a plane and I can't sleep in a car.
00:05:32
Speaker
So all I know is like, I will get to that delusional point where I'm like, I just want to sleep so bad.
00:05:39
Speaker
I just need to recline and lay down.
00:05:41
Speaker
If I can lay down, I think I could sleep.
00:05:44
Speaker
Yeah.
00:05:45
Speaker
I am.
00:05:46
Speaker
I used to be able to sleep on and I can, I can sleep on a plane.
00:05:49
Speaker
I can sleep in a car, but lately, like when I fly, even if it's a shorter flight, like maybe two hour flight, I get so restless and I'm like sitting, I'm like stretching my legs and I
Weather and Herbal Interactions
00:06:00
Speaker
want to just get up.
00:06:01
Speaker
I don't know what it is, but lately I've been struggling.
00:06:05
Speaker
So we did get comfortable seats where we can put our feet up a little bit.
00:06:08
Speaker
So.
00:06:09
Speaker
We should be good.
00:06:10
Speaker
Yeah.
00:06:11
Speaker
When we sent my mom to Egypt for her 70th, that was like it was her combined Christmas and birthday gift.
00:06:20
Speaker
I got our first class flight to Egypt because I was like, well, I wasn't first class.
00:06:25
Speaker
I think it was like business class, whatever.
00:06:26
Speaker
It was the pod.
00:06:28
Speaker
But I think some of those are like business class pods too.
00:06:30
Speaker
They're not necessarily first, but she's got just all these like health issues.
00:06:34
Speaker
And I was like, she basically, she doesn't have a joint that's not like manufactured somewhere.
00:06:40
Speaker
And I was like that year it's good.
00:06:42
Speaker
And I just worried about like DVT and like that kind of stuff.
00:06:46
Speaker
And I was like, just go lay down and like enjoy your flight.
00:06:50
Speaker
And she was like, I don't know if I could ever like not fly that way for like long flights now.
00:06:55
Speaker
And I was like, yeah, that's,
00:06:57
Speaker
I haven't even done a long flight yet.
00:06:58
Speaker
I'm already planning it.
00:06:59
Speaker
I'm going to have to be able to lay down.
00:07:01
Speaker
Yeah.
00:07:01
Speaker
I need a pod.
00:07:02
Speaker
I don't need it for the luxury.
00:07:03
Speaker
I just, I need it so that I'm not delusional.
00:07:06
Speaker
Well, yeah.
00:07:06
Speaker
And like, I mean, if you, you know, you get there and you're jet lagged and if you're exhausted too, it's just not a good start to the trip.
00:07:13
Speaker
So what do you do?
00:07:15
Speaker
14 hours sitting in the same seat.
00:07:16
Speaker
I don't even like to sit at my desk for an hour.
00:07:18
Speaker
So that's problematic.
00:07:20
Speaker
And I know people get up and walk and the international planes are bigger, but yeah.
00:07:25
Speaker
Yeah, there's a lot more movement in them, I think.
00:07:27
Speaker
Well, thanks.
00:07:28
Speaker
I just want my own cubby where nobody can bother me, too.
00:07:31
Speaker
You got to knock on the door.
00:07:34
Speaker
That's my love language.
00:07:35
Speaker
Knock first or call.
00:07:37
Speaker
Call before you come to my pod.
00:07:40
Speaker
Okay, okay.
00:07:41
Speaker
We don't have that much time today, but I do want to follow up on a story I told you last week.
00:07:46
Speaker
Okay.
00:07:46
Speaker
Do you remember when I told you I was getting ready to go to Chicago?
00:07:50
Speaker
It wasn't last week or last episode.
00:07:52
Speaker
Yeah.
00:07:53
Speaker
And the cicadas were over the car and I pull out the hose and this duck flies at my face.
00:07:58
Speaker
Okay.
00:07:58
Speaker
So the duck is still hanging around in the morning time.
00:08:03
Speaker
Although I've not seen it as much because the second time I found it, I did spray just in there like, get out.
00:08:11
Speaker
Yeah.
00:08:13
Speaker
So I'm out doing yard work this weekend.
00:08:16
Speaker
It sounds like I do yard work a lot.
00:08:17
Speaker
I really don't.
00:08:18
Speaker
I do it to get out of the house
Herbal Supplements and Health Risks
00:08:20
Speaker
sometimes because I'll be like, I can't take you to wherever they want to go buy trading cards, whatever the kids want.
00:08:26
Speaker
I'm like, I got all this stuff in the yard to do and I just go out there and find things to do.
00:08:30
Speaker
But whatever, I don't know why.
00:08:33
Speaker
Oh, I was trying to move some mulch around and I put a ton of mulch on the side of the house.
00:08:38
Speaker
And I know my neighbors are annoyed because it's just a heaping pile of mulch.
00:08:41
Speaker
I've not even spread it out yet.
00:08:42
Speaker
I at least got it there, though.
00:08:44
Speaker
And so I start moving it.
00:08:46
Speaker
I was going to move some of the mulch to this front bed and I put this new plant in.
00:08:50
Speaker
And I.
00:08:51
Speaker
Get it with the shovel.
00:08:53
Speaker
Egg.
00:08:53
Speaker
It's an egg.
00:08:54
Speaker
But immediately I do like that kind of a scream.
00:08:59
Speaker
Throw the shovel because my first thought was it was a snake.
00:09:03
Speaker
I just hit a snake's nest or something.
00:09:06
Speaker
And I was like paranoid.
00:09:08
Speaker
I stalked that mound all day.
00:09:13
Speaker
I would just take like sticks and try to move.
00:09:15
Speaker
I wanted to know how many eggs were in it.
00:09:16
Speaker
Then all of a sudden it occurred to me.
00:09:19
Speaker
It's not where the duck flew at my face.
00:09:21
Speaker
But I wonder if that duck is laying eggs in my yard.
00:09:24
Speaker
And I am finding eggs all in my flower beds now.
00:09:29
Speaker
Like those front beds where it first flew out at me.
00:09:32
Speaker
And just yesterday I caught those little rascals, the male and the female, in the yard, hanging out, checking on their kids, and then going over to the neighbor's house.
00:09:42
Speaker
I have it on video.
00:09:44
Speaker
And again this morning, they're back.
00:09:45
Speaker
So they're duck eggs.
00:09:48
Speaker
And that duck that assaulted me is now bringing her children rent-free into my yard.
00:09:55
Speaker
Oh, but you're going to have little baby ducks.
00:09:58
Speaker
Yeah.
00:09:59
Speaker
You need to put a little swimming pool out for them.
00:10:02
Speaker
No, I don't.
00:10:03
Speaker
There's a pond right across the street.
00:10:07
Speaker
Oh, I was wondering why they were there.
00:10:08
Speaker
Because you said the other day they had no water nearby.
00:10:12
Speaker
I mean, the pond is...
00:10:13
Speaker
I mean, you walk 800 feet to the left down the road.
00:10:18
Speaker
But their geese are everywhere down there because all their babies hatch.
00:10:22
Speaker
So they're all over the place.
00:10:23
Speaker
But their babies don't look like babies anymore.
00:10:24
Speaker
They're not cute.
00:10:25
Speaker
They now look like little terrorists.
00:10:26
Speaker
But the ducks, I don't know if they've got pushed out.
00:10:32
Speaker
I told you we're turning into Animal Planet.
00:10:34
Speaker
If they got pushed out of the pond.
00:10:36
Speaker
And into the yard.
00:10:38
Speaker
But I didn't disturb her eggs.
00:10:40
Speaker
Nobody called PETA.
00:10:41
Speaker
I didn't touch anything.
00:10:43
Speaker
I left it all.
00:10:43
Speaker
Of course I'm going to let her have her babies.
00:10:46
Speaker
I'll give her a bill later.
00:10:47
Speaker
But it's just weird.
00:10:50
Speaker
It's weird that they wouldn't do it by a water source.
00:10:53
Speaker
It is weird that they did it in your yard.
00:10:54
Speaker
Yeah.
00:10:55
Speaker
Then I was like, dude, do ducks get rabies.
00:10:58
Speaker
I'm telling you, if you look at my Google search, it's
00:11:01
Speaker
If I ever die and somebody looks at my Google searches, I don't know what you would be able to tell about me because I Google some of the wildest things.
00:11:08
Speaker
But I did look, do ducks have rabies?
00:11:10
Speaker
Because I wanted to know why they're in a flower bed.
00:11:14
Speaker
And then I was kind of figuring out, like, why are you just depositing one at a time at different places?
00:11:21
Speaker
That's not necessarily what I think has happened.
00:11:23
Speaker
I never checked that mound fully because I also did read.
00:11:27
Speaker
That like if you disturb it too much, then the mom will abandon the nest.
00:11:30
Speaker
And I didn't want that to happen.
00:11:32
Speaker
But what I needed to make sure was that it was not a rat snake nest.
00:11:36
Speaker
And that's what I spent about eight hours over the weekend one day.
00:11:38
Speaker
Googling photos, trying to match the picture of the egg to the photo.
00:11:43
Speaker
Like trying to take a light to it to see was it leathery?
00:11:46
Speaker
Was it oblong?
00:11:47
Speaker
Could I see?
00:11:48
Speaker
And then but also then had to have my children stand guard.
00:11:53
Speaker
Like if you see a big rat snake come up, like give me a warning.
00:11:56
Speaker
Like.
00:11:56
Speaker
I was so worried that or then I read like fox hide eggs.
00:12:00
Speaker
So then I was like, is this fox going to come out of nowhere and just attack me because I'm getting its food source?
00:12:06
Speaker
I was like in a full blown terror.
00:12:08
Speaker
I shouldn't be terrorized on my own property.
00:12:11
Speaker
I do feel like this is America.
00:12:12
Speaker
It shouldn't happen that way.
00:12:15
Speaker
So when they hatch, we need pictures of the babies.
00:12:17
Speaker
I don't know that I'll be that close, April.
00:12:20
Speaker
You can do it through the window.
00:12:22
Speaker
Well, no, I can't actually, but from this part where it is, but I do check it.
00:12:27
Speaker
I don't check the egg because I don't want to disturb it.
00:12:30
Speaker
But every morning I see those little mascals.
00:12:32
Speaker
They were, like I said, this morning.
00:12:34
Speaker
And I do have the video.
00:12:35
Speaker
I'll send it to you.
00:12:36
Speaker
It's actually kind of funny.
00:12:37
Speaker
Like the brown, I'm guessing the brown duck is a mallard.
00:12:42
Speaker
Are mallards brown?
00:12:43
Speaker
I don't know.
00:12:43
Speaker
Do they?
00:12:44
Speaker
Yeah, I think so.
00:12:45
Speaker
But mallards are also, I guess the male are the pretty green.
00:12:49
Speaker
So it was like the brown duck and the green duck.
00:12:52
Speaker
And so Maddox and I were out throwing a baseball last night.
00:12:56
Speaker
And the mallard, the male, was walking around everyone's front yard.
00:13:00
Speaker
And he was like, he's such a pimp.
00:13:02
Speaker
And I was like, what?
00:13:03
Speaker
He's like, he's such a pimp.
00:13:06
Speaker
Look at all the ducks just follow him.
00:13:07
Speaker
Everyone.
00:13:12
Speaker
Like Donald and Daisy in your yard.
00:13:14
Speaker
I know.
00:13:16
Speaker
That's what I should name them.
00:13:18
Speaker
Yeah.
00:13:19
Speaker
I just don't want them to stick around.
00:13:20
Speaker
I don't want them to think I like them.
00:13:23
Speaker
You do.
00:13:24
Speaker
No, I really don't, April.
00:13:27
Speaker
They're cute to look at from a distance.
00:13:28
Speaker
I like them when they're down at the lake and I'm like, oh, well, look at the ducks.
00:13:32
Speaker
I don't like when they follow you.
00:13:33
Speaker
And I don't love geese at all because we've all been attacked by them.
00:13:36
Speaker
They're pretty aggressive here.
00:13:39
Speaker
I think they may be pushing them out.
00:13:40
Speaker
That's my theory.
00:13:42
Speaker
Maybe.
00:13:43
Speaker
Yeah.
00:13:44
Speaker
So anyway, more to come on the duck update.
00:13:48
Speaker
Nothing happening in the Atlantic Basin and other news in the Weather Channel.
00:13:51
Speaker
Nothing happening in the Atlantic Basin.
00:13:52
Speaker
But there was a potential hurricane that almost came into Mexico.
00:13:56
Speaker
So there's our Animal Planet and weather news update.
00:13:59
Speaker
What do you have on tap for us today, April, for a topic?
00:14:03
Speaker
Oh.
00:14:05
Speaker
All right.
00:14:05
Speaker
Well, topics for this episode, as I thought about it, I looked and it looks July is actually herbal prescription interaction awareness month.
00:14:15
Speaker
That's a mouthful.
00:14:16
Speaker
It is a mouthful.
00:14:17
Speaker
What's that mean?
00:14:18
Speaker
It means that all those supplements and vitamins that we take that are over-the-counter and herbal supplements, they can actually interact with prescription medications.
00:14:30
Speaker
And so this month is all about bringing awareness to that and
00:14:34
Speaker
talking about what those interactions are and just making sure that people are aware.
00:14:38
Speaker
So I thought it would be fun if we talked a little bit about the most common herbal supplements that people use and what they're commonly used for and how they could potentially interact with some medications that we take on a daily basis.
00:14:51
Speaker
I like that.
00:14:52
Speaker
I also like that.
00:14:53
Speaker
I like that idea.
00:14:56
Speaker
I do want to do one plug though, April.
00:14:57
Speaker
I want to just say
00:14:59
Speaker
There's nothing wrong with herbal medications either.
00:15:01
Speaker
So I know that some people have some really strong opinions of naturopath or whatever.
00:15:07
Speaker
And I don't.
00:15:08
Speaker
I don't have that.
00:15:09
Speaker
I think whatever works for you works for you.
00:15:12
Speaker
But I think if we drive nothing else home here,
00:15:16
Speaker
What I'd want to get out of this is that even if it's over the counter, it's still medication.
00:15:23
Speaker
Even if it's herbal, even if it's plant, even if it's from the world, from the earth, from the wherever, the universe, the creator, whatever you call it, it's still med.
00:15:33
Speaker
So yeah, I kind of like that.
00:15:34
Speaker
And I like the approach of here's a safe way to take it.
00:15:37
Speaker
So yeah, I'm in.
00:15:38
Speaker
I'm in for that.
00:15:39
Speaker
Yeah.
00:15:39
Speaker
And to your point, you know, it is still a medication, so there are still potential side effects.
00:15:43
Speaker
There's potential interactions.
00:15:45
Speaker
But also there's a lot of herbal supplements that have not been tested on humans.
00:15:51
Speaker
You know, like some of them have been tested on animals, things like that.
00:15:54
Speaker
But, you know, prescription medications are approved by the FDA, right?
00:15:58
Speaker
So there have been tested and all those things.
00:16:01
Speaker
And so a lot of these herbal ones haven't.
00:16:03
Speaker
So
00:16:04
Speaker
That's also just something for people to keep in mind as they're taking it.
00:16:07
Speaker
I also think if we get in that debate too of like, and I've had this with patients too, where, well, let me say this a different way.
00:16:17
Speaker
Not just with patients.
00:16:18
Speaker
I think in healthcare in general, you know, you're reconciling a medical, like a med rec, right?
00:16:23
Speaker
And a patient comes in and they list, they, we say, tell us everything you're taking.
00:16:27
Speaker
I do find
00:16:29
Speaker
one of two things.
00:16:29
Speaker
One, the patient doesn't necessarily include herbs or supplements like vitamins even in that medication list, because to them, I think the, the way they perceive that request is what prescription medications am I taking?
00:16:47
Speaker
Then also when you have patients that come in and they do report, Hey, I'm taking a B1, I'm taking a,
00:16:52
Speaker
or all of these, I'm taking St.
00:16:54
Speaker
John Moore, I'm taking blah, blah, blah, that we strike through that.
00:16:59
Speaker
Like either one, we'll just continue it because we're not doing necessarily due diligence to say like, is this potentially interacting with anything and what could it, no harm, no foul, it's an herb.
00:17:08
Speaker
Or it's a vitamin or it's whatever.
00:17:10
Speaker
Or we just like discontinue everything and wait till they discharge home, at least in that acute setting.
00:17:15
Speaker
I'm not saying all people practice this way.
00:17:17
Speaker
I've just seen these as outliers.
00:17:21
Speaker
But I think it's great just not for patients on this one, right, that we talk about what to look for for providers as well.
00:17:28
Speaker
Yeah.
00:17:29
Speaker
Yeah.
00:17:29
Speaker
No, that's a good point.
00:17:30
Speaker
It's funny that you say that too, because I had a patient recently that, and when I ask about medications, I always ask about like over-the-counter stuff.
00:17:36
Speaker
And this patient I had recently was on quite a few supplements.
00:17:40
Speaker
And to them, it was super important to continue one of them specifically every day in the hospital, because they said, you know, I was started on this for a reason by my provider.
00:17:50
Speaker
And I want to, when I go back to my follow-up, I want to be able to say that I took it every day.
00:17:54
Speaker
And I was like, okay.
00:17:56
Speaker
We have to do good about communicating that and putting that in records now that we can access all of these external records and things like that so that we are communicating for our patients and still being advocates in that sense.
00:18:09
Speaker
And if we have patients that are interested in this method, I do think it's important for us to take the time to understand it a bit.
00:18:21
Speaker
Well, actually, I have one I do want to start out with because this is one that...
00:18:26
Speaker
You know, in my weather channel, love and life, I tell you, I get all those like older commercials.
00:18:33
Speaker
When I say older, I mean targeted to an older audience.
00:18:36
Speaker
I think one thing we do is pander to fear, right?
00:18:39
Speaker
That's how we market everything.
00:18:40
Speaker
So it's like, hey, if you've got diabetes, this supplement's been shown to whatever.
00:18:44
Speaker
And then they show these graphs that like if you don't know how to read data or you don't understand like clinical significance or, you know, P values, et cetera, that, you know, as just the consumer, you're like, oh, my gosh, I have diabetes.
00:18:58
Speaker
This will work for me.
00:18:59
Speaker
Right.
00:18:59
Speaker
So there's this one it's called berberine.
00:19:02
Speaker
Have you heard of that?
00:19:03
Speaker
No.
00:19:04
Speaker
B-E-R-B-E-R-I-N-E, berberine.
00:19:06
Speaker
So it is supposed to be similar to a metformin.
00:19:11
Speaker
Okay.
00:19:12
Speaker
And people use it.
00:19:13
Speaker
It's like type 2 diabetic.
00:19:14
Speaker
Also, it can be used with people with high cholesterol.
00:19:17
Speaker
It can be for PCOS because, as you know, like we use metformin for PCOS patients, and that's polycystic ovarian syndrome for those that don't understand that acronym or any metabolic syndromes.
00:19:28
Speaker
And you can just find this in the supplement aisle at your grocery store.
00:19:32
Speaker
People in the United States use this as an alternative to metformin because it doesn't require a prescription and it's seen as more holistic and has been shown in some cases to effectively control glucose.
00:19:47
Speaker
Some of the benefits of it have shown that there's a decrease in the A1C and it reduces your LDL and there is some mild weight loss in some of those studies, but it can cause a lot of GI upset.
00:19:58
Speaker
It has interaction with blood thinners.
00:20:02
Speaker
And some of these patients that they're finding are still taking their diabetic regimen because they're either not telling their providers or they assume, hey, this is like adjunct treatment.
00:20:14
Speaker
So they may not be taking metformin, but they're taking their insulin.
00:20:17
Speaker
Maybe they're doing insulin and metformin.
00:20:19
Speaker
Maybe they're doing Genuvia or some other medications.
00:20:24
Speaker
And there's been really profound hypoglycemia or very low blood sugars that have resulted in
00:20:30
Speaker
from that.
00:20:30
Speaker
So, you know, it is in some respects from what I could find about it just comparable to metformin, just in some small, really randomized control trials, very small ones.
00:20:41
Speaker
It's well tolerated, it's plant-based, but it's not FDA regulated, as you mentioned.
00:20:46
Speaker
And there is some inconsistency with dosing.
00:20:48
Speaker
They're having a hard time trying to regulate like what dose would equal what.
00:20:52
Speaker
So and again, one of the risk would be that there's just not enough study.
00:20:57
Speaker
So if you are taking something like a berberine or something like that for your blood sugar and it's working for you, fantastic.
00:21:04
Speaker
Make sure that your endocrinologist or your
00:21:07
Speaker
primary care doctor, whomever is managing that for you is aware that you're taking it and what you're taking it for just so that you don't have some adverse outcomes.
00:21:15
Speaker
Providers, if you hear about a berberine, understand its use and understand that it's probably not a good concomitant med to be taking with other anti-diabetic medications.
00:21:28
Speaker
So that's what I learned about one.
00:21:29
Speaker
Interesting.
00:21:32
Speaker
What are your thoughts on that?
00:21:34
Speaker
Anything stand out to you with that?
00:21:37
Speaker
No, not really.
00:21:38
Speaker
I mean, I think it's just, I think it's good to point out, like, you know, because like we said, if you're not reporting your over-the-counter medications and your blood sugar is dropping, that's really dangerous.
00:21:48
Speaker
So you got to make sure that you tell your providers so they can adjust your other medicines.
00:21:54
Speaker
I was just thinking, like, if there was, like,
00:21:56
Speaker
some commercial that was like hey you never have to go for your speaking of like well check and we were talking to me here your well check visit you never have to do a yearly visit you just take this pill and it like everything will auto regulate if i wasn't in i'd be like sign me up i'm taking two um consumers are just that they're such a vulnerable vulnerable market when it comes to health so got to be careful got to be careful
00:22:23
Speaker
Yeah, well, there's also the desire for a quick fix, not even just in medicine, but in life, right?
00:22:29
Speaker
So, you know, that gets tangled in front of you.
00:22:32
Speaker
It's tempting, right?
00:22:33
Speaker
And hey, if berberine works better for you than metformin, come off the metformin.
00:22:37
Speaker
You know what I mean?
00:22:38
Speaker
Like, I'm not suggesting that.
00:22:40
Speaker
I'm saying if the herb works, let your provider know it works.
00:22:46
Speaker
Yeah, for sure.
00:22:47
Speaker
Yep.
00:22:47
Speaker
All right.
00:22:49
Speaker
Very true.
00:22:50
Speaker
I've got one.
00:22:51
Speaker
So this is a one that I think has been very popular over the years and in terms of being talked about.
00:22:56
Speaker
So St.
00:22:57
Speaker
John's wort is one.
00:22:59
Speaker
So that's a. Oh, that's a, if you don't know St.
00:23:02
Speaker
John's wort, you're not in medicine.
00:23:04
Speaker
I think that is like the, that's the, that's the one herb we use for every example.
00:23:09
Speaker
Yes.
00:23:10
Speaker
Yes.
00:23:10
Speaker
So, um, you know, it's been utilized over the years for like things like
00:23:15
Speaker
wound healing, insomnia, various kidney lung diseases.
00:23:20
Speaker
But today it's really mostly used for mild to moderate depression.
00:23:26
Speaker
And so there's limited data on it in terms of effectiveness for those with severe depression or suicidal thoughts, but there's more data around it for the mild to moderate depression symptoms.
00:23:38
Speaker
But as we mentioned, you know, it also really can interfere with numerous medications.
00:23:43
Speaker
So including if you're in any prescribed antidepressants, birth control, blood thinners, certain pain medications, some types of cancer treatments.
00:23:52
Speaker
So again, not something that you should take without talking to your healthcare provider about it and really looking at the other medications that you're taking, because some of those interactions with the drugs can actually be fatal.
00:24:06
Speaker
If you take it, it can be severe reactions.
00:24:08
Speaker
There's also some side effects that can cause some dizziness, confusion, dry mouth, increased light sensitivity, those type of things.
00:24:15
Speaker
But it has been shown to be effective.
00:24:18
Speaker
But again, you just need to be careful with what else you're taking.
00:24:23
Speaker
Interesting.
00:24:23
Speaker
St.
00:24:24
Speaker
John's War, I think where I heard it the most was with anticoagulation when I was on the speaker bureau for Zorolto.
00:24:33
Speaker
That was like one thing that they always drove home with us when we were, you know, either we were talking to clinicians in practice or, you know, doing just lectures in general.
00:24:41
Speaker
But St.
00:24:41
Speaker
John's wort, I think we hear that like with Eliquis or Zalto or, you know, Coumadin, its effect with blood thinners.
00:24:48
Speaker
And I think it was because it happened, right?
00:24:50
Speaker
Like people were taking it, we weren't paying attention.
00:24:53
Speaker
I say we, not you and I, but, you know, generally medicine at the time weren't really paying attention to that interaction.
00:24:59
Speaker
I think there were some, you know, poor outcomes.
00:25:02
Speaker
which led to some more study there.
00:25:05
Speaker
I swear my mother took St.
00:25:06
Speaker
John Ward.
00:25:07
Speaker
I can remember seeing that in her cabinet growing up as kids.
00:25:11
Speaker
Maybe.
00:25:12
Speaker
You don't remember that?
00:25:13
Speaker
Did your mom ever take that?
00:25:14
Speaker
I don't remember seeing it around my house, but.
00:25:17
Speaker
There's also one for menopause.
00:25:18
Speaker
I'm sure you probably, one of us have it on a list somewhere.
00:25:21
Speaker
I don't for today, but another one that had some interactions.
00:25:24
Speaker
But one of the ones I wanted to talk about was elderberry.
00:25:29
Speaker
Have you heard people talk?
00:25:31
Speaker
I feel like it ebbs and flows.
00:25:33
Speaker
I heard it maybe in the early, like 2010, 2011.
00:25:38
Speaker
kind of went away.
00:25:39
Speaker
And that was like when we had the swine flu, that endemic of swine flu.
00:25:46
Speaker
And then COVID, it came back and I started seeing elderberry, especially because everybody was home and we were all like hydroxychloroquine, bleach, elderberry, like whatever solutions people were trying to come up with.
00:26:01
Speaker
But elderberry came into mind and that was actually one I studied because they were making
00:26:06
Speaker
like over-the-counter elderberry syrups and stuff for children.
00:26:10
Speaker
And I wondered, oh, like, tell me a little bit more about elderberry.
00:26:13
Speaker
But a little fun fact, though, elderberry was used during the 1995 flu epidemic in Panama.
00:26:21
Speaker
And they were actually using elderberry juice to treat flu symptoms because they had a shortage of medications, which I thought was pretty interesting.
00:26:30
Speaker
But overall, elderberry is used for
00:26:34
Speaker
cold and flu.
00:26:34
Speaker
Sometimes it's prevention.
00:26:36
Speaker
They'll label it as flu prevention or flu treatment, immune support or any like inflammation.
00:26:43
Speaker
That's very nonspecific because the body can be inflamed internally a lot of different places.
00:26:48
Speaker
But people use it because it's marketed in a natural way to like shorten colds and flus, especially during the winter months when we see more of that.
00:26:55
Speaker
But it's widely available in the syrup.
00:26:57
Speaker
Like I told you, you can also get it in gummies and you can get it in teas and you can get it in capsules.
00:27:03
Speaker
Elderberry is a plant, so it's rich in flavonoids, which inhibits, they believe, inhibits viral replication and modulates like a cytokine production.
00:27:14
Speaker
And then some lab studies suggest that elderberry can block the influenza virus, though the studies that I had reviewed...
00:27:23
Speaker
the p-value was not very strong there.
00:27:25
Speaker
So I'll just leave it there.
00:27:27
Speaker
Some studies show that elderberry may shorten the duration of colds.
00:27:30
Speaker
They also show that it could reduce the symptoms.
00:27:34
Speaker
But overall, I think they lean more into that antioxidant and anti-inflammatory property of it.
00:27:39
Speaker
But it does have some reactions.
00:27:40
Speaker
So if you have the flu and you've got some significant lung involvement and or you've got COVID with significant lung involvement, sometimes we get put on steroids, right?
00:27:50
Speaker
So if you're taking elderberry with steroids, it can stimulate the immune system and actually counteract the drug.
00:27:56
Speaker
It will block the effect of the steroid.
00:27:59
Speaker
Also, it can worsen immune status with patients that are on autoimmune medications.
00:28:03
Speaker
And that's one thing that I did turn that box with the kids and look at it.
00:28:07
Speaker
And it gave warnings about a couple things, but that was one that I thought was a little tricky.
00:28:12
Speaker
Now, this is one brand that was marketing it, but it was tricky to me because if you see something that's promoted for immunity,
00:28:19
Speaker
and you have an autoimmune condition, I think it can be tricky where you go, oh, this will help my immune system.
00:28:26
Speaker
You know what I mean?
00:28:26
Speaker
Yeah.
00:28:27
Speaker
And then you end up taking it, but it actually, like, has a, it backfires.
00:28:32
Speaker
So...
00:28:33
Speaker
We also have to remember that elderberry is a plant and it's kind of raw berry and bark type of a plant, but it's a toxic plant.
00:28:40
Speaker
So it can cause nausea, it can cause vomiting, diarrhea.
00:28:44
Speaker
It's got like cyanogenic glycosides in it.
00:28:48
Speaker
So if it's not compounded appropriately, it's a deadly plant.
00:28:53
Speaker
So you just gotta be careful there.
00:28:56
Speaker
Lots of debates on it, but ultimately, again, this is one of those things where you talk to your provider,
00:29:02
Speaker
Do your homework and your provider should do theirs.
00:29:04
Speaker
And if it works, great.
00:29:06
Speaker
But just be mindful of the conditions that you're treating and make sure that we're not adding any other medications to that that could make it worse.
00:29:14
Speaker
Yeah.
00:29:15
Speaker
And a tip could be just look for a standardized elderberry extract.
00:29:20
Speaker
There's one called Sambucol, S-A-M-B-U-C-O-L.
00:29:24
Speaker
And that's one of the only ones that has been lab tested and is preservative free.
00:29:29
Speaker
So any raw or homemade versions, which happens, they were selling these in jars during COVID.
00:29:34
Speaker
I'll never forget this.
00:29:35
Speaker
Like,
00:29:36
Speaker
Somebody was home pressing elderberry, making them in jars, putting them out on their porch.
00:29:40
Speaker
They were ordering through social media and people were going and picking up these jars of elderberry and giving them to their kids.
00:29:46
Speaker
That's the ones where they say, be careful, because you're not measuring how much elderberry you're using.
00:29:51
Speaker
And again, toxic plant.
00:29:53
Speaker
So you really need to look for more regulated sources there.
00:29:58
Speaker
Yeah, no, that's a good point.
00:29:59
Speaker
And I think, you know, the toxicity is more in that raw form, right?
00:30:02
Speaker
Rather than if it's kind of processed and cooked and things like that.
00:30:06
Speaker
Right.
00:30:08
Speaker
Okay.
00:30:09
Speaker
All right.
00:30:10
Speaker
Well, one that I had on my list is ginkgo bilboa.
00:30:15
Speaker
Ginkgo biloba.
00:30:17
Speaker
Yeah, biloba.
00:30:18
Speaker
That's an old people commercial too.
00:30:19
Speaker
Yeah.
00:30:21
Speaker
Yeah.
00:30:21
Speaker
So this is native to China.
00:30:24
Speaker
It was traditionally used back in Chinese medicine for thousands of years.
00:30:28
Speaker
Um, and,
00:30:30
Speaker
More traditionally now, it's used for things like heart disease, dementia, mental difficulties, sexual dysfunction.
00:30:39
Speaker
Although it really hasn't, you know, the studies haven't, again, haven't been there to prove really if it's effective for any of these conditions, but it is used.
00:30:47
Speaker
But interestingly enough, this is another one that can be mildly toxic, the seeds of it.
00:30:53
Speaker
So people can eat the raw fruit and then there's the toasted seeds, but those seeds are actually the toxic part of this one.
00:30:59
Speaker
and should only be eaten in small amounts, if at all.
00:31:04
Speaker
And then this is another one that can interact with a lot of medications.
00:31:08
Speaker
So it can interact with our blood thinners, so anticoagulants, antiplatelets.
00:31:13
Speaker
So if people who have had blood clots or heart disease are on those medications, you need to think about that.
00:31:19
Speaker
It can also reduce the effectiveness of certain antidepressants.
00:31:22
Speaker
So if you're on antidepressants and you're noticing that
00:31:25
Speaker
you're taking the ginkgo and then your depression is getting worse.
00:31:29
Speaker
It could be because there's an interaction with your medication.
00:31:31
Speaker
That's a tough one though, April.
00:31:34
Speaker
Don't you think?
00:31:35
Speaker
It is.
00:31:36
Speaker
Having, we've talked about this on the podcast, but having talked to, you know, had postpartum depression, that's such a tough space because when you have depression,
00:31:49
Speaker
And then somebody says, hey, I'm going to give you this medication.
00:31:51
Speaker
Let me know if it gets worse.
00:31:53
Speaker
You really kind of disassociate having happened to me personally.
00:31:57
Speaker
I didn't know I was getting worse.
00:31:59
Speaker
So that's just one area that I'm always like, it's not just always up to you as the patient to know.
00:32:06
Speaker
It's probably this is why you want to tell your providers and why you want to tell your family or things like that.
00:32:10
Speaker
So they can begin to notice changes too.
00:32:12
Speaker
Just sorry, senseless plug.
00:32:14
Speaker
No, I mean, it's a good one.
00:32:15
Speaker
I mean, it's true.
00:32:16
Speaker
I mean, you might not.
00:32:18
Speaker
personally have the insight to kind of see that, right?
00:32:20
Speaker
Like, because you're not watching yourself from outside, right?
00:32:24
Speaker
It's you.
00:32:24
Speaker
So it's hard to sometimes see what's going on with yourself.
00:32:28
Speaker
And then some other potential interactions are with seizure medications, some cholesterol medications, diabetes, HIV medicines, omeprazole, which is what we use for kind of reflux, GERD.
00:32:41
Speaker
So all of these
00:32:43
Speaker
can potentially have interactions and actually Domperidone as well, which can actually cause some changes in your EKGs, you know, in your heart rhythms.
00:32:55
Speaker
So, so all things to consider if you're taking that.
00:32:59
Speaker
So again, just another driving home the point that, you know, if you're taking these, this, you need to make sure your provider knows and they can look at your list of medications and make sure it's not interacting with anything.
00:33:08
Speaker
Yeah.
00:33:09
Speaker
Yeah.
00:33:10
Speaker
Good info.
00:33:11
Speaker
Hmm.
00:33:12
Speaker
Okay, I'm going to ask a question.
00:33:14
Speaker
Sure.
00:33:15
Speaker
Would you take a medicine if you knew it was going to turn you blue, but it would prevent viruses?
00:33:22
Speaker
No.
00:33:24
Speaker
Well, some people do.
00:33:25
Speaker
Now, I'm very interested in this one for a couple reasons.
00:33:30
Speaker
One, do you remember when we were kids?
00:33:32
Speaker
Did your parents watch Oprah?
00:33:35
Speaker
No.
00:33:36
Speaker
Okay.
00:33:37
Speaker
Oprah was on, gosh, I don't remember what time.
00:33:39
Speaker
Somebody's going to correct me here, but I think it was like four o'clock.
00:33:42
Speaker
There was like Phil Donahue, Oprah.
00:33:44
Speaker
My mom had these starting at noon with her soaps all the way through the afternoon.
00:33:49
Speaker
I could pretty much tell you what was going to be on TV.
00:33:52
Speaker
But Oprah had this guy on, um, and his name was like, I think Paul cares, Paul cares in Paul cross cross and something like that.
00:34:00
Speaker
But he was famously blue for ingesting colloidal silver and it had turned like his whole skin blue.
00:34:09
Speaker
And I remember that as a kid, but what sparked my interest was there was a recent, um, documentary called mother God.
00:34:15
Speaker
And it was a woman that was trying to sell this colloidal silver for immune support and, and claiming that it, it,
00:34:23
Speaker
like took care of infections and sinusitis and we do use it sometimes for wound healing.
00:34:28
Speaker
I have seen it in that space, but never like for ingestion.
00:34:32
Speaker
But people use it because it's promoted as a cure-all for bacterial or viral or fungal infections, especially in the natural, like by natural health enthusiasts that are, these are people in this space that from what I'm researching, and again, anybody out there, correct me if I'm wrong, but
00:34:49
Speaker
These are like more of the extreme spaces where they're like absolutely anti-Western medicine, right?
00:34:54
Speaker
That they're going to use just stuff from the earth.
00:34:57
Speaker
So they are, it can be marketed as a liquid.
00:35:00
Speaker
It can be a nasal spray or it can be topically.
00:35:02
Speaker
Topically, I'm familiar with the other two.
00:35:04
Speaker
I'm not.
00:35:05
Speaker
But then within it, there's these silver ions and they bind to proteins.
00:35:09
Speaker
allegedly, in bacterial cell membranes, and then they cause death to the cell.
00:35:14
Speaker
And that does happen in wounds, but again, not studied internally.
00:35:18
Speaker
Some of the benefits, topically, they do help for wound healing, and some users do report improvement with sinus relief if they do it as a spray.
00:35:28
Speaker
But there's no credible evidence that any oral or inhaled colloidal silver treats truly any condition.
00:35:34
Speaker
And in fact, the FDA did declare colloidal silver as not safe.
00:35:38
Speaker
Like,
00:35:39
Speaker
all caps, not safe or effective for any disease.
00:35:43
Speaker
And they usually don't come out that hard, right?
00:35:45
Speaker
They will normally come out and go, it's not studied, you know, but this one, they're like, absolutely not.
00:35:52
Speaker
Like, please don't do it.
00:35:54
Speaker
It can bind to certain medications.
00:35:56
Speaker
It can decrease their effectiveness, specifically things like levothyroxine and your thyroid medications.
00:36:01
Speaker
And the heavy metals of the silver accumulate within the body.
00:36:06
Speaker
So that's when that
00:36:08
Speaker
permanent bluish gray discoloration of the skin forms, and you can't get rid of it when that happens.
00:36:13
Speaker
It also causes kidney damage, neurological issues, and GI distress.
00:36:18
Speaker
It does absorb, I mean, interfere with absorption of antibiotics, but I don't think people that are taking this at least regularly are
00:36:25
Speaker
taking antibiotics or probably using this instead.
00:36:28
Speaker
Um, and there is no regulatory body that I could find across the world that, um, endorses this use for internal use.
00:36:36
Speaker
So this is just one that I'm, I might put my foot down a little bit more like, please, please, please don't, um, until the data comes out.
00:36:43
Speaker
Even if your doctor says yes, read, read, read.
00:36:47
Speaker
Um, there are some integrative practitioners that argue that topical or naval use and chronic sinus infections, um,
00:36:55
Speaker
that this is successful and those for that in wound care.
00:36:58
Speaker
Again, within the same integrative community, I've yet to find anyone that goes, but yeah, let's like just drink it like crazy.
00:37:05
Speaker
But it's still, it is available.
00:37:06
Speaker
And in that documentary, it actually ends very tragically.
00:37:10
Speaker
She passes away.
00:37:11
Speaker
She's like 40 years old, turns blue.
00:37:14
Speaker
Just like this guy that I saw in Oprah, she turns blue.
00:37:18
Speaker
But she's pandering this to her community that she's like, again, like natural, naturopath.
00:37:23
Speaker
And there's a lot of other
00:37:25
Speaker
stuff that's occurring during this, but for purposes of just the silver, it's, you know, she's got all these people that are like hawking it and they're selling it.
00:37:31
Speaker
And all these people around the world are buying it and taking it.
00:37:35
Speaker
So, um, she passes away and, um, she's severe alcoholic as well.
00:37:40
Speaker
So it's hard to tell what, what went where first, but if you're getting multi-system organ failure from this heavy metal accumulation, it's probably not, not a great thing.
00:37:49
Speaker
So, um,
00:37:51
Speaker
For me, my takeaway from this April was just more like, let's stick to the silvers in the wound.
00:37:56
Speaker
We know those work.
00:37:57
Speaker
If you're anybody that's doing wound changing at, you know, LTACs or anybody in wound care, you know that we use silver in that setting.
00:38:05
Speaker
It's a great topical agent.
00:38:07
Speaker
But let's avoid drinking or inhaling it.
00:38:09
Speaker
And that's for everybody listening.
00:38:11
Speaker
When in doubt, you know, like,
00:38:13
Speaker
We don't want you to turn Smurf blue, you know, for any of it.
00:38:17
Speaker
Anything that turns you blue is probably telling you it's accumulating somewhere.
00:38:21
Speaker
But this is not a vitamin, guys.
00:38:23
Speaker
This is like this.
00:38:24
Speaker
This one is not a supplement.
00:38:25
Speaker
This one.
00:38:26
Speaker
This one's a heavy metal.
00:38:28
Speaker
And for that, like really, really, really do your research.
00:38:32
Speaker
And if you've got a provider that is pushing you, I don't know, April, what you'd say here.
00:38:35
Speaker
My advice would a provider that's saying this is safe.
00:38:39
Speaker
I would ask what studies they're looking at.
00:38:42
Speaker
Yeah.
00:38:44
Speaker
Yeah, no, I think that's fair.
00:38:46
Speaker
fair to ask that.
00:38:48
Speaker
You know, look at the studies and look at the evidence to see what the basis behind the recommendation.
00:38:55
Speaker
I think that's always a fair question.
00:38:57
Speaker
Well, just figure, you know, if your liver fails, you build up bile, you know, and you get jaundice or you turn yellow.
00:39:04
Speaker
Turning a color is never a great sign.
00:39:07
Speaker
Pancreatitis, orange.
00:39:09
Speaker
You're turning blue.
00:39:11
Speaker
Just for me, and I'm not even poking fun of it.
00:39:14
Speaker
I'm being very serious.
00:39:15
Speaker
you're accumulating something that you're not supposed to be, you know?
00:39:19
Speaker
So it's not worth not getting a cold or the flu to accumulate what the silver obviously, but to accumulate and turn a whole different color.
00:39:29
Speaker
And actually I should send you a picture of that guy.
00:39:31
Speaker
It's, it's fascinating.
00:39:33
Speaker
It's fascinating.
00:39:34
Speaker
It's blue.
00:39:35
Speaker
It's really blue.
00:39:36
Speaker
Huh?
00:39:37
Speaker
Interesting.
00:39:38
Speaker
Yeah.
00:39:40
Speaker
All right.
00:39:40
Speaker
Well, should we do one more to wrap it up?
00:39:42
Speaker
Yeah.
00:39:43
Speaker
Let's do one more.
00:39:44
Speaker
So this one, I actually am going to combine two together because I have been... Cheater.
00:39:50
Speaker
Just kidding.
00:39:52
Speaker
This one's not a race, so I'll let you... I'm hearing a little bit about both of these for actually newer reasons than what historically they've been used for.
00:40:01
Speaker
So two things, turmeric and ginger.
00:40:07
Speaker
Oh my gosh, I use these all the time.
00:40:08
Speaker
Tell me.
00:40:09
Speaker
Yeah, so it's not an uh-oh.
00:40:12
Speaker
I don't use them all the time.
00:40:13
Speaker
I use them to juice.
00:40:16
Speaker
Like I'll add them to juicing.
00:40:18
Speaker
You're going to tell me something bad here.
00:40:19
Speaker
No, it's not bad.
00:40:22
Speaker
But so, Tumeric historically has been used to treat things like chronic inflammation, pain, metabolic syndrome, anxiety,
00:40:31
Speaker
Ginger, you know, I think the most common use of that is like, you know, nausea.
00:40:36
Speaker
Benihana's ginger sauce.
00:40:38
Speaker
Yeah.
00:40:39
Speaker
That's its common use.
00:40:41
Speaker
I mean, I remember like, you know, when I was pregnant and throwing up, I would drink ginger ale, you know, things like that.
00:40:47
Speaker
Or ginger chews.
00:40:48
Speaker
Yeah, the chews.
00:40:49
Speaker
That was our grandmother's April.
00:40:51
Speaker
They'd be like, come drink a little bit of ginger ale.
00:40:55
Speaker
Or warm 7-Up.
00:40:56
Speaker
I'm like, are you trying to make me puke or what?
00:41:00
Speaker
I'll drink it, you know, but, but yeah, so it's used for like relief with nausea, with the pregnancy, chemotherapy, medical operations, things like that.
00:41:08
Speaker
So there's also potential, some animal research that's suggesting that it may have been some potential benefits for treating and preventing heart disease, cancer, things like that.
00:41:19
Speaker
But those are still kind of being studied.
00:41:22
Speaker
But the reason I thought it was interesting is that, you know,
00:41:25
Speaker
You know, we now, I feel like my Facebook is always a quick fixes to weight loss, the special hormonal weight loss and with females.
00:41:34
Speaker
And there's all these new kind of supplements and things coming out.
00:41:37
Speaker
And there's a lot of, I've read a lot about how they think both turmeric and ginger can help because they can increase your metabolism.
00:41:45
Speaker
And it's being used in a lot of these supplements that you see now where people are saying, oh, you know, take this supplement for postmenopausal or perimenopausal weight gain.
00:41:54
Speaker
and it will help you lose it.
00:41:55
Speaker
So I thought that was interesting.
00:41:58
Speaker
But, you know, just like anything else, these can interact with medications that you're taking.
00:42:03
Speaker
So they can, and actually turmeric is a relative of ginger, so they have some similar properties.
00:42:08
Speaker
But so they can interact with medications, you know, like, again, blood thinners, those antiplatelet medications, some pain medications, like NSAIDs, things like that.
00:42:20
Speaker
So
00:42:21
Speaker
Um, really?
00:42:23
Speaker
Yeah.
00:42:24
Speaker
So just, you know, again, moderation, I know, I feel like we sound like a broken record today, but, um, everything in moderation and, and just being cautious of what you're, I guess it's different if you're using it to cook with, you know, versus, right.
00:42:38
Speaker
So yeah, that's a good point.
00:42:40
Speaker
So the amount that we would use to cook with is not,
00:42:43
Speaker
the amount that you would be worried about.
00:42:45
Speaker
It's those, if you're taking the supplements, you need to be cautious of how much you're taking and be aware of how much is in that.
00:42:51
Speaker
Well, I don't know about you, but ginger, I could tell you side effects of ginger immediately.
00:42:55
Speaker
It's all GI.
00:42:56
Speaker
Not all, but for me, I love ginger April, but it's Benihana's ginger.
00:43:03
Speaker
Like they have a ginger salad dressing and then they have like a ginger dressing like that you dip your other stuff in.
00:43:08
Speaker
But almost to a point that it's obsessively eat it, but it's an immediate GI upset if I have too much ginger.
00:43:19
Speaker
Turmeric.
00:43:22
Speaker
I've just seen turmeric a lot in like elixir, like juice elixirs if you go to a juicery or like I mentioned, we started juicing, but it's also included in a lot of Indian dishes just as a spice and pretty regulated.
00:43:38
Speaker
So that's why I think when you said that, I was like, don't tell me that.
00:43:41
Speaker
Like I'm just finally cooking from scratch.
00:43:43
Speaker
No, I think, like I said, I think it's fine to cook with it.
00:43:46
Speaker
You know, like in small, you know, those portions aren't big, right?
00:43:49
Speaker
But it's the...
00:43:51
Speaker
the supplements that you, um, taste terrible by the way.
00:43:55
Speaker
Oh, really?
00:43:55
Speaker
I haven't, I accidentally put too much.
00:43:57
Speaker
Yeah.
00:43:58
Speaker
Once upon a time I put too much and we were juicing and,
00:44:01
Speaker
It looked great.
00:44:02
Speaker
And then like the kids, we all took a drink and we all like looked at each other and ran right to the sink.
00:44:06
Speaker
And she was like, this tastes like metal.
00:44:08
Speaker
It did taste like metal.
00:44:09
Speaker
It was like metal in your mouth.
00:44:10
Speaker
We had the worst aftertaste.
00:44:12
Speaker
And the only thing we could chalk it up is we were just very, we were not very judicious.
00:44:17
Speaker
I'll say with, um, no, we were judicious of our use of, we just so much turmeric root.
00:44:24
Speaker
No good.
00:44:26
Speaker
That's interesting.
00:44:27
Speaker
I kind of liked that you took it to something that was going to challenge me with food.
00:44:31
Speaker
Yeah.
00:44:32
Speaker
Thank you.
00:44:33
Speaker
Full of surprises, you know?
00:44:35
Speaker
Yeah.
00:44:35
Speaker
Yeah, I could tell.
00:44:38
Speaker
I also, like, again, want to plug to everyone.
00:44:40
Speaker
This is no shame episode.
00:44:42
Speaker
This is just for your knowledge.
00:44:45
Speaker
And, you know, the way April and I approached this was we didn't know about a lot of these things, but it's definitely going to change the way I look at things with patients, too.
00:44:52
Speaker
Or maybe not change, but be a reminder.
00:44:56
Speaker
Am I looking at every med as a provider?
00:44:58
Speaker
Am I being thorough, especially as some of these, our goal for this was to, to use the ones that are not as common, right.
00:45:06
Speaker
Um, that we may start seeing, or maybe they're becoming a little bit more mainstream now.
00:45:11
Speaker
Um, as providers, we have to do our due diligence, make sure we're doing the right thing.
00:45:14
Speaker
And as patients, you have providers for a reason, lean into them and, and ask them those questions and, and do your own research, but just don't go off the hype.
00:45:24
Speaker
Absolutely.
00:45:26
Speaker
Yeah, for sure.
00:45:28
Speaker
I like the episode, eh?
00:45:30
Speaker
Yeah, it was fun.
00:45:30
Speaker
Now we'll have to tell you on the next one, do we have ducklings?
00:45:32
Speaker
I don't know how long they take, six to eight weeks, something like that.
00:45:35
Speaker
So it may be a couple episodes.
00:45:36
Speaker
I'm surprised as, you know, you Google everything.
00:45:39
Speaker
You don't know exactly how long they... It's six to eight weeks.
00:45:41
Speaker
I don't know when they were late.
00:45:42
Speaker
Oh, I see.
00:45:43
Speaker
I got you.
00:45:43
Speaker
So somebody said, put a trail cam up.
00:45:45
Speaker
I was like, I'm not that committed.
00:45:48
Speaker
You know?
00:45:49
Speaker
I'll put an air tag on a duck before I put a trail cam up.
00:45:52
Speaker
Well, on that note, thanks for listening, everyone.
00:45:55
Speaker
And as always, we would love to hear your feedback.
00:45:57
Speaker
If you have any suggestions on topics you want to hear about, please let us know.
00:46:00
Speaker
You can email us at oncallpodcastsoundphysicians.com.
00:46:05
Speaker
We're also on LinkedIn and Instagram with On Call with April and Alicia.
00:46:09
Speaker
And you can listen to us on any platform that you use to listen to your podcast on.
00:46:14
Speaker
That's right.
00:46:15
Speaker
That is absolutely right.
00:46:16
Speaker
Until the next time, you guys stay well and we'll continue to look at ginger and turmeric.
00:46:21
Speaker
No, just kidding.
00:46:22
Speaker
You guys stay well and we'll stay on call.
00:46:24
Speaker
You guys have a great, great, great, great week.
00:46:26
Speaker
Bye everyone.
00:46:27
Speaker
Bye.