June 10th,

When it comes to your health, many of us are turning to alternative treatments. But is this trend healthy or can it actually hurt you?How about one big----it depends! And what it depends on is what you use and how you use it.Although alternative, or what many call complementary, treatments can help out with both patient well being and patient recovery from something as small as back pain to something as big as cancer treatment---there are a few things that need to be considered. In some cases, herbs or supplements can actually interfere with ongoing treatments.This is still a controversial area. When it comes to cancer therapy, some experts believe antioxidants in supplements can actually interfere with chemotherapy or radiation therapy. Others think it might actually help. The problem is that herbs and supplements haven't been tested all that well so no one's sure.And other studies are showing that what you think might be in a supplement or herb bottle might not be what your really getting. Some bottles contain lead or even arsenic, other don't mention it but have traces of regulated medicines in them.The bottom line here is not to avoid these alternative treatments, but to include them when you talk with your doctor about your overall health care. In other words, treat them like you would any other medicine.