All of us have heard it said, “Let your doctor know about any supplements you may be taking.” In general, this is not a bad idea and I endorse doing so only because your doctor should know about everything you are taking which could impact your health. The problem is that this is one of those suggestions that sounds good but is actually fairly worthless. This would be like someone telling you to let me know about the plants you plan to put in your garden with the underlying theme of having me give you my opinion as to whether they are good or bad. The fact is that I know VERY LITTLE about gardens. There is little doubt that I have a “brown thumb” when it comes to plants.

So, why in the world would you ask me my opinion about plants when any suggestions I may give will be based on a total lack of knowledge? That would make no sense at all. The same is true when it comes to letting your doctor know about the supplements you are taking. Most doctors will freely admit that they know little about supplements. Why, then, do we continue to bring our supplements to them to seek their approval? I believe that we do this because of the deep seeded trust we have in our doctors that has been imprinted upon us since we were children. This trust is so deep that we will even accept their opinions on subjects about which they know nothing or very little.

We have to get over the inaccurate thought that our doctors know everything and start taking charge of our own health care. This means that you should go to your doctor with the attitude of asking numerous questions. When it comes to getting their opinion about supplements, does it not make sense to first determine their level of knowledge about the subject? I suggest that instead of just asking what they think about taking any supplement, that you first ask your doctor these questions: “How much have you studied natural supplements and do you know a lot about their use?” If your doctor’s response is that they do study supplementation and that they have a good understanding of their use, then ask them specifically about the supplements you want to take. If it is obvious from their answer that they have a limited knowledge about this subject, what good will it do to ask them their opinion?

To summarize, my suggestion is to first determine if your doctor has any significant understanding of natural supplementation. If not, give them a list of what you are taking an leave it at that without asking for their opinion. If they indicate to you that they are well versed in natural supplementation then ask them for their opinion. Keep in mind that their opinion may be tainted by significant bias against natural approaches.

If you want my opinion about any the supplements you are taking, email me. As always, I will give you my opinion along with the supportive reasoning for my point of view.