Customer Reviews

Herb, Nutrient, and Drug Interactions: Clinical Implications and Therapeutic Strategies, 1e

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have been looking for a book like this for years. It not only discusses the methods by which herbs or supplements and drugs interact, it comprehensively discusses the way that supplements perform in the body. The 932 page, double columned book deals primarily with supplements (there are only 30 herbs), with detailed discussion of the substance including pharmacokinetics, pharmacogenomics and pharmacogenetics, interactions between them and how to manage the interactions.

For instance, the Vitamin K section is 10 pages long, packed with information on the nutrient (chemistry and forms, physiology and function,) the nutrient in clinical function (possible uses, deficiency symptoms including a discussion of the functional sources of reference intakes and controversies thereof, nutrient preparations available, dosage forms available, dosage ranges for various classes of patients, lab values), safety profile (adverse effects, specific populations at risk including pregnancy and nursing, infants and children, contraindications), an interactions review (Strategic considerations which provides excellent information on not only coagulation but also fibrinolysis and the use of probiotic therapy in its administration, and anti-coagulent overdose). The Nutrient-drug interactions section is over 8 pages long, discussing antibiotics and systemic antimicrobial agents by name with interaction types and significance, effect and mechanism of action, research, reports, nutritional therapeutics, clinical concerns and adaptations. And then repeats this information for bile acid sequestrants, corticosteroids, mineral oil, anticonvulsants and blood thinners. The section on theoretical, speculative, and preliminary interaction research (including overstated interactions) is separated from known issues, which is especially useful. There is also a nutrient-nutrient interaction table. And each chapter starts with a summary chart to make navigation easier.

The section on St. John's Wort is especially detailed, as it is one of author Jonathan Treasure's specialties and is perhaps the herb best known for interactions due to its influence on liver detoxification pathways. While only a limited number of herbs are considered, they are the most important in terms of potential interactions. And most importantly, the authors understand the difference between herbs and isolated constituents that may come from the herbs.

The authors' clinical expertise is especially useful as it pertains to managing the interplay between drugs and supplements. In fact some interactions can be positive, as the reshi article makes clear, by making medications more effective.

As a reference book goes, it is quite readable and the CD Rom included makes it searchable. (I was so fascinated by the zinc article that I immediately sent it to my non-medical son.) I highly recommend this book to any medical professional who is dealing with patients who take supplements, herbs or drugs (and that covers close to all of them.)

As an Acupuncturist and Chinese Herbalist who has worked in a Western Medical Clinic for the past nine years I find this book invaluable. Most patients that I see with complex medical concerns are on Pharmaceutical drugs and they and their Doctors need to know what herbs will and won't do. This book clearly explains herb, drug interaction, from the simple to the complex. It also exhaustively references every detail for those who are sticklers for the facts, myself included. It goes much further in scope and detail than the PDR Herb, drug reference which I have used in the past.

The title is a bit misleading, with the first word being "Herb" you might expect this book to emphasize herbs, however this book really covers nutrients of all forms. Vitamins, minerals, amino acids and a few other nutraceuticals are also covered.

The information is well presented. I am especially pleased to see good coverage of multiple forms of vitamins and information about their conversion and metabolism.

Unfortunately a lot of "common" herbs are not covered. There are 172 pages on herbs (30 herbs are covered). Popular but *missing* herbs include: Ashwagandha, Bacopa, Nettle and Rhodiola.

Vitamins and minerals are covered on another 480 pages. Amino acids (only six of them) cover another 53 pages. Other nutraceuticals are covered in another 126 pages.

The included CD is nearly worthless and malfunctions on my system.

This book is intended for professionals, the average layperson would probably have difficulty understanding some descriptions. I don't mean to discourage a layperson, in fact if you are serious about your health and want to be well informed about the supplements you are taking then you should buy this book (or consult with an expert who has this book).

If this book was released in hardback I would gladly buy a second copy. Yes, it's that good.

Since the late 1990s, when conventional medicine discovered the magnitude of the public use of herbs and supplements, a series of books on herbal safety, including drug-herb interactions, has appeared. This body of literature has been seriously flawed. Most of the authors were not themselves clinicians experienced with the traditional or contemporary literature on the agents being discussed and were equally unfamiliar with their actual clinical or commercial use of the items. Several texts written by alternative practitioners or herbalists either completely avoided the topic of drug-herb interactions, or tended to understate safety concerns. And ultimately, all these books failed to comprehensively evaluate the evidence for interactions or accurately distinguish between purely theoretical concerns and those based on clinical evidence.
Herb, Nutrient, and Drug Interactions corrects each of these problems, and is the first complete text on the subject, its predecessors being false starts or partial contributions in the field. The authors are all experienced practitioners. Stargrove is a licensed naturopathic physician and acupuncturist; Treasure is a professional herbalist, and McKee is a medical doctor board certified in integrative medicine and also certified in clinical nutrition. A board of 18 interdisciplinary reviewers, the great majority of them clinicians, adds further depth of practical and scholarly expertise.
The authors offer 1-3 page monographs on 70 therapeutic agents, including 30 herbs, 12 vitamins, 9 minerals, 6 amino acids, and 13 neutraceuticals. The monographs are extensive, and most are accompanies by summaries, so the book may be used for in-depth study or for quick reference.
The monographs first review the clinical and historical use of the item and its potential benefit and safety profile. They then review the potential interactions, and here is where the authors present their unique contribution in the field. The potential interactions are evaluated for probability on a six point scale ranging from certain to improbable, to unknown. More than 20 possible types of interactions are also evaluated, and finally, the strength of evidence is rated.
This is currently the best standard reference on drug-herb interactions, useful for clinicians whether they practice in herbalism, complementary medicine, or conventional medicine.

This book has an accompanying disk which should enable extensive computer searches and by doing so maximise the value of the information in the book.

Unfortunately the disk doesn't work on my Windows 7 computer.

If I can get a disk that will work in Windows 7 then I think my rating for this book could increase to 4 or even 5 stars

this book should be in every doc's office. this information is important in a time when many patients have taken to doctoring themselves with herbs and supplements. it can be used to show the pros and cons to patients of their courses of action. it will inform the docs themselves with regard to the efficacy of these substances and help them in their use. for example, i had no idea that vitamin C helped in the use of sinemet and i don't recall any doc or publication ever mentioning that. a terrific reference well organized.

In addition to the reviews here on Amazon, a dozen more have appeared in professional journals and health publications. Some are accessible through http://www.medicineworks.com/inter_book.html . An online forum providing recent research and others news concerning drug-herb and drug-nutrient interactions, drug-induced nutrient depletions and related issues can be found at http://forums.medicineworks.com/index.php?c=5. The content of this text will soon also be available through online subscription.

As a Pro.
The information that is provided is clearly written and concise, easy to understand, many helpful references.

thank you

Tons of information but so densely and technically written I can't understand a dang thing...