Category Archives: Herbs and Supplements

Introduction As regular readers will know, herbal medicine is the area within complementary and alternative medicine I am most sympathetic to. Plants obviously contain chemical compounds that can have significant physiologic effects, for good or ill. And many conventional medicine … Continue reading →

I originally wrote about the Chinese herbal product Yunnan Baiyao in 2010, concluding at that time that the evidence supporting its use to reduce bleeding was poor and largely anecdotal: So we have a treatment with uncertain and unregulated ingredients, … Continue reading →

One of the recurring subjects I have covered on this blog is the contention that cranberry supplements can help prevent or treat urinary tract infections. Each time I address the subject, the evidence points to pretty much the same general … Continue reading →

I have addressed the question of medical marijuana and the use of other cannabis-derived medicinal products twice before. My conclusion in 2013 was this: The current research evidence supports a couple of uses in humans, including treatment of nausea and … Continue reading →

There are an enormous number of unregulated over-the-counter remedies marketed to pet owners, often for serious health problems, and most of them have never been scientifically tested to see if they are safe or effective. It is difficult to evaluate … Continue reading →

In 2011, I reviewed a product called Neutricks that claimed to help dogs with cognitive dysfunction, a condition in old dogs roughly analogous to dementia in elderly humans. At the time, there was little evidence to support the claims made … Continue reading →

Back in 2010, in the early days of this blog, I reviewed the evidence for the Chinese herbal supplement Yunnan Baiyao. At the time, I found only very low-quality evidence concerning the potential risks and benefits of this product.  Some … Continue reading →

In 2013, I wrote about a particular medical marijuana product marketed for veterinary use, Canna-pet, as an illustration of the uncertainties and issues surrounding the potential medical use of cannabis-derived products. At that time, my conclusion was that 1) there … Continue reading →

A new systematic review has appeared discussing one of the most widely and longest used supplements in small animal medicine, the amino acid lysine, which is used to prevent and treat upper respiratory infections in cats caused by Feline Herpesvirus. … Continue reading →