Customer Reviews

PDR for Nutritional Supplements

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As a medical technician who helps advise patients with nutritional problems, I have read nearly every major dietary supplement guide that has been published in the last decade. This PDR is, by far, the best such guide I have found. The doctors I work with are equally enthusiastic about its in-depth analysis, full citations to the supporting literature and its refreshing objectivity. This is the first time, to my knowledge, that nutritional supplements have been accorded the same in-depth treatment given, in other guides, to prescription drugs. This book should be "must" reading for every doctor, dietician, pharmacist and for every lay person who wishes to intelligently share in the management of his/her own health. There has never been a resource like this before.

For those interested in herbal medicine, there is a separate PDR dealing with herbs; although I do not find the herbal PDR as useful as The PDR for Nutritional Supplements, which covers all the other nutritional/dietary supplements, as well as some of the active constituents of popular herbs, the herbal book is also better than most. Initially I wondered why Medical Economics, the highly respected publisher of the PDR series of books, did not combine the herbs with the other dietary supplements and cover all of them in one reference book. An editor at Medical Economics told me that had they done so they would have had to sacrifice much of the in-depth treatment they have provided--far in excess, as I have previously noted, of anything available in any of the other books--in order to squeeze all of the supplements discussed into one marketable tome. We can all be thankful that they did not do this. Both books are indispensable, as is every word in them.

With all the claims and hype about one supplement or another, it's very hard to know what is legit. This book answers the need perfectly. In one or two pages (occasionally more) it condenses the chemical nature of the supplement, claims made for it, laboratory and animal and human research, risks and precautions and doses. If there is no credible basis for the claims, it says so; if there is support, it says that, too! There are indexes by supplement name, brand name, categories, needs ("indications"), side effects, etc. This is a truly handy, useful, and solid reference guide. You'll be glad to have it!

Tired of getting your supplement information from the vitamin shop clerk? This is state of the art stuff. Finally here is a book that both the lay person and the physician can safely turn to. The author has no axe to grind. He neither overstates nor understates, but is carefully objective in his presentation and allows the evidence to speak for itself. Dr. Hendler brings to his subject an open mind, wide ranging intelligence, and a rigorous training in all of the relevant disciplines. He refuses to be a shill either for entrenched medical orthodoxy or starry eyed alternative approaches. The result is a cornucopia of information.

This text is really a Masterpiece - the work of a Master. Hendler is a most rare talent, combining the skills of a scientist, physician, and scholar. This book is authoritative. When I read it, I really get the feeling like I am learning the truth (all that is known) about these compounds/products. I get the sense that it goes beyond "opinion", more about something I can trust in - the facts. This work has helped to answer questions that I have had for years and have not had the time to research on my own. The material is easily accessible for both the scientist and the home maker. It is a must read for physicians and anyone interested in protecting their own health. I highly recommend this text.

The PDR for Nutritional Supplements is the most well organized and substantive publication that I have ever used in over twenty years as a supplement consumer and one of the best literary purchases that I have ever made.

While other publications may purport to be "encyclopedic," they fall short of the mark in paying attention to detail. Dr. Hendler's PDR for Nutritional Supplements is a critical and necessary resource for anyone using nutritional supplements, functional foods and or herbs. The knowledge imparted here will allow you to take control of your life as it relates to health care and maintenance.

The PDR For Nutritional Supplements is one of a kind! There are alot of other books available on Nutritional Supplements for less money but most are based on opinion not facts. This book more then pays for itself because it lets me know, based on scientific evidence, what claims are legitimate and what have no basis. I can now use the PDR For Nutritional Supplements when making decisions on what supplements I should be buying for myself and my family. With this book, I no longer have to sort though all the claims that are made regarding nutritional supplements and guess which are true and which have no merit. The PDR For Nutritional Supplements does it for me.

This book is fantastic. Finally a scientific approach to the complex and often confusing information about supplements. Dr. Hendler makes no unfounded statements and he provides unbiased and objective facts understandable to both the lay person and physician. He even shows us the molecular structures of the supplements. This is a great work by one of the long time leaders in the field.

The book is a magnum opus which is written in an extraordinarily lucid fashion which effectively simplifies even the most complex concepts.

Note: First of all, there are 2 natural remedy PDRs, one for Nutritional rRemedies and Supplements, and another specifically for Herbal Remedies. You will NOT find herbal info in the nutritional PDR, nor nutritional supplements in the Herbal PDR.

I have subscribed to the PDR for Nutritional Supplements, as well as the PDR for Herbal Remedies, since they first were available. The Nutritional supplement volumes seem to come out with editions more often than the Herbal Remedies, probably because there are simply a limited number of herbs, and their uses have been well-documented for centuries, if not millenia. The updates of those volumes contain more updated research, and more information about side effects and interactions. The Nutritional Supplement volumes require revision sooner due to the greater amount of research into so many of the newly identified nutrients and their effects on the human body.

As a holistic practitioner who engages in multiple natural healing modalities, in addition to earning a Bachelor of Science in Nursing Degree, I use natural healing methods in treating my own medical disorders, and have successfully assisted clients to control blood pressure, reduce harmful cholesterol, eliminate allergic responses, quell the bouts of asthma, promote improved respiratory tract function, improve intestinal function and elimination, and restore restful sleep, as just a small sample of what can be achieved using natural methods, nutritional and herbal remedies.

My scientific background and training in nursing makes me especially cautious of overinflated claims about certain remedies, but it is wonderful to have the research listed in a respected and responsible publication, such as the PDRs, to provide allopathic physicians, among others, with the rationales and research that provide the basis for using the nutritional and herbal supplements in a holistic regime for healing.

I certainly do also keep up with the research and information from leaders in the natural health care field, but in presenting information that will be convincing to allopathic practitioners, and win them over to the side of the benefits of natural remedies, the information that comes from the PDRs holds a lot of weight, as it is a resource most physicians are used to depending upon.

I am now ordering the latest Nutritional PDR, and passing on my older volume to a nurse practitioner who is another formerly strictly allopathic practitioner to be won over to the side of natural interventions. This was due to the inability of one of her indigent clients to be able to afford the medication the NP was prescribing for her, and in desperation she was looking for someone well-versed in herbal or natural remedies. This person typically was presenting with blood pressures in the vicinity of 200/130, very very high. Someone referred her to me, and after careful assessment and medical history-taking, she was placed on a regimen of Omega-3/6/9 capsules, CoQ10, milk thistle, hawthorn, and a good multivitamin. By procuring this regimen online, at a low-cost site, the entire monthly regimen cost her less than $40, a fraction of what the pharmeceutical medication would have cost her. Within one week her blood pressures were in the range of 120/70, and stayed in that range. I provided both the client and her NP with thorough information supporting the use of every nutrient and herb, and much of it came from the PDRs.

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As a long time consumer of Nutritional supplements and a believer in natural foods and vitamins, today's 2nd Edition of Dr. Hendler's PDR for Nutritional Supplements is a treasure trove of useful and meaningful information, data, and valuable research. As part of the large numbers of Americans currently supplementing their regimen with various vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients, Dr. Hendler has truly answered the need of providing a reliable, research-based source of information on these supplements. I particularly found the section on functional foods and drinks that condenses the chemical nature of the supplement, claims made for it, laboratory animal and human research, risks and precautions and doses extremely valuable.
Dr. Hendler approaches both claims proven and not proven, and the reasoning behind what and why it is disproved.
If you are interested in your own or your family's welfare, and you feel supplementation of your food sources is important, then you don't need to be a physician to find answers to questions of continued health, but it wouldn't hurt to recommend the PDR to your physician either after all.