Herbal medicine and dietary supplements – the good, the bad, the ugly - Ep - 5

Can vitamins, minerals and supplements improve your health? Does complementary and alternative medicine help cure disease? Why do so many western healthcare providers feel uncomfortable recommending alternative medicine to their patients?
More than half of adults in the U.S. have reported using supplements (vitamins, minerals, herbs, etc.). Are multivitamins good (or necessary) for you?

Integrative medicine practices such as meditation and herbal treatments are becoming more mainstream, but how much (and who) do they help?
With a dizzying array of dietary supplements to choose from, figuring out what works and what’s safe can be daunting. Is it even worth researching?
Of course, supplements are not magic pills. No one thing will lead to your healthiest life — that takes a mix of healthy mental, physical and spiritual lifestyle choices.

But there is a place in a healthy lifestyle for supplements and alternative medicine. In this episode, Dr. G and his guests, Julia Afridi, DO, and Ashwani Garg, MD, will discuss common herbal remedies, dietary supplements and alternative treatments and provide insight on how they can support wellness.

Guests
Julia Afridi, DO - Double board-certified in family medicine and integrative holistic medicine, medical director of Integrative Medicine, Elmhurst Memorial Medical Group.

Ashwani Garg, MD - Double board-certified in family medicine and lifestyle medicine, medical director of the Physicians Assistant Program at North Central College and member of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine.