Can a Supplement Help Your Health Issues?

Credit: Zane Hollingsworth

Beware the claims on supplement labels – there is often little scientific evidence to support them

If you regularly experience migraine headaches, is there a supplement that can help you?

Turns out there is. An herb called Feverfew, also known as Wild Chamomile of Medieval Aspirin, can be effective in preventing migraines in people who frequently get them.

I learned this by reading through the Examine.com Supplement-Goals Reference Guide. This excellent resource was complied by the same team behind Examine.com.

Health Goals and Supplements

While you can search through the free Examine.com website for information on supplements, the Reference Guide costs $39. The biggest benefit to the guide over the website is the ability to search by the health issue you’re interested in. The results show you a list of supplements that can help that condition along with the level of scientific evidence for each supplement. Then you can truly personalize your supplementation to meet your individual needs.

For example, bone mineral density is a common concern with women. Looking up the condition brings up a chart listing the vitamins, minerals, herbs and other compounds that may help. Vitamin K tops the list with scientific evidence showing a notable effect in improving bone density. At the other end of the spectrum, fish oil, Yerba Mate and black cohosh don’t really help.

However, there is solid evidence for fish oil in aiding depression so it could be a useful supplement for people seeking help with that issue. Of course, you should always talk to your doctor about taking supplements for specific medical conditions, especially if you’re taking medication.

Hype-free Information

The guide comes with lifetime updates and its handy search feature will save you a ton of time. In this era of information overload it can be difficult to filter out unreliable content. If you like to use supplements, this guide can help you sort out which supplement health claims are credible and which aren’t.

One thing that stands out in the Reference Guide is the lack of hype. There are no supplement ads or sponsors. Reading through the charts you quickly realize how little scientific evidence there is for many of the claims touted by nutritional supplement manufacturers. In many cases you just might be flushing money down the drain by buying unproven products.