Eighteen, to be exact: Adverse effects of dietary supplements

Dr. Richard Nathan, a dental surgeon in San Francisco, wrote in January about a patient who needed a tooth extracted and minor periodontal surgery. She told Dr. Nathan that she was taking two drugs, for cholesterol and blood pressure, neither of which he said would present a problem to safe surgery and normal healing.

Thus, Dr. Nathan was perplexed when the patient returned five days later unhealed, with an unattached flap of tissue, severe bleeding and an infection.

"Based on my 30 years of experience, it looked as though the patient was an out-of-control diabetic or had a severely compromised immune system," he said. "Neither was the case. However, when I asked the patient again what medications she was taking, she admitted that she was on multiple – 18 to be exact – over-the-counter supplements, for a total of 43 pills and capsules a day."

Six of these – green tea, grapeseed, ginkgo biloba turmeric, salmon oil and vitamin E, he said, "are known to increase bleeding due to inhibition of platelet aggregation," the first step in forming a clot. Within a week after discontinuing all supplements, her mouth began to heal normally.

Advice: Ask your pharmacist if your dietary supplements might have unwanted side effects.

Browse for related stories in the index at the very bottom of this page, or read a zinc supplement story.

Thanks to Jane Brody for the source article in Tuesday's issue of the New York Times.

Vaccines, Autism, and Our Daughter, Hannah

Our daughter, Hannah, developed normally until receiving nine vaccines at once. She immediately developed a fever and encephalopathy, deteriorating into what was diagnosed, based on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, or DSM IV, as autism.

The federal government, not an "unusual court," made the concession. The decision wasn't careless. It was based on a thorough review of Hannah's records by Health and Human Service doctors.

The National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program does rely on a "preponderance of evidence" standard, which Hannah's case met. It doesn't necessarily compensate families "quickly, generously and fairly." We filed our claim six years ago. Pain and suffering are capped at $250,000, and Hannah has yet to receive compensation.

Dr. Offit's assertion in his recent Op-Ed article that "even five vaccines at once would not place an unusually high burden on a child's immune system" is theory and risky practice for a toddler's developing brain. No one knows if Hannah's mitochondrial dysfunction existed before receiving vaccines. Dr. Offit's claim that Hannah had "already weakened cells" is unfounded.

We support a safe vaccination program against critical infectious diseases. We need straight facts, serious science and speedy answers on these important issues.

Dr. John Poling is a neurologist; Terry Poling is a lawyer and nurse.

According to Dr. Paul Offit, Chief of the infectious diseases division at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, in the past few years, parents of 4,800 autistic children have filed claims to the vaccine court which have yet to be heard. Average awards in other recent vaccine cases have been more than $800,000.

Advice to parents of young children: Until the science becomes conclusive, request mercury-free vaccines for your children.

Browse for related stories in the index at the very bottom of this page, or read a vaccination_story.

Thanks to the Polings for their letter to the editor in today's NY Times.