Complementary and alternative medicines such as supplements, chiropractic manipulation, acupuncture and massage are becoming more popular with adults and children world-wide. But how safe are these practices when being used in children? Does the research show it can be helpful or is it potentially harmful? The risks and benefits of complementary and alternative medicine are reviewed during our discussion on this topic. In this first episode on this subject, we discuss the popularity of non-vitamin, non-mineral supplements and natural products and their potential benefits and risks.
This episode written by Dr. Lena van der List and Dr. Dean Blumberg.
We thank Maxine L. Barish-Wreden, M.D., ABIHM, Holistic and Integrative Medicine at Sutter Health in Sacramento; Dr. Jennifer A. Griffin, Holistic/Integrative Medicine at Sutter Health in Roseville CA; Dr. Akilesh Palanisamy, Holistic/Integrative Medicine at Sutter Health in San Francisco; Marc D. Velez, L.Ac., Acupuncture practitioner at Sutter Health in Sacramento; and Eric I. Hassid, M.D., Holistic/Integrative Medicine at Sutter Health in Sacramento for reviewing this episode, although Drs. Lena and Dean take responsibility for any errors or misinformation.
We also thank Dr. Stephanie Yen, pediatrician at UC Davis Children’s Hospital, for sharing her experiences during this episode.
Supplemental materials:

* National Institutes of Health National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health 10 Things To Know About Dietary Supplements for Children and Teens

* Cheryl Hawk et al Best Practices for Chiropractic Care of Children: A Consensus Update

* Amitha Kalaichandran, M.D., Sunita Vohra, M.D. and Roger Zemek, M.D. New York Times article Talking to Your Child's Doctor About Alternative Medicine

Find a practitioner:

* The University of Arizona Andrew Weil Center for Integrative Medicine Find an Integrative Medicine & Health Practitioner

* The Institute for Functional Medicine Find a Practitioner

Photo from the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network