Comment on Prescription

• Apytele@sh.itjust.works ⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

  so I looked into this because your comment sparked some curiosity and from what I can tell it’s less about the chemical itself and more about how your brain regulates and uses it. There’s also limited evidence as to whether GABA as a dietary supplement is even crossing the blood-brain barrier (where it would cause these effects). The other thing you need to keep in mind with most “natural” supplements is that the FDA regulates them under the F, not the D! Things like melatonin (which I even take personally) are regulated as FOOD, not DRUGS. Drugs have to

  • be exactly the chemical they say they are
  • in exactly the amounts they say they are per. pill.
  • and as over the counter medications have to have approved safe dosages and frequencies on the packaging
  • and all pills prescription or not have to have a unique alphanumeric imprint on each pill that can be used to identify it if it is separated from its packaging. Even different doses need unique imprints.

  Food needs to:

  • mostly probably be the thing it says it is. If it’s a plant it might be a different strain between different manufacturers.
  • that plant also might have a variety of other chemical structures in it that aren’t advertised on the bottle.
  • say almost whatever the manufacturer slaps on it in terms of dosage or frequency.
  • have no imprint whatsoever to identify it if it’s not in the original packaging.

  Like I said I use several supplements myself that even have good evidence behind them in terms of safety and efficacy. But you need to be aware of the ways in which they’re regulated differently than drugs and know that you’re gonna have to do a little more research for yourself to really find what’s going to be safe and effective for you. Finding a physician who’s educated in holistic and integrative therapies can be super helpful for something like this.

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  • SubArcticTundra@lemmy.ml ⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    Interesting, although it somehow doesn’t suprpise me that the FDA would regulate supplements as food.

    melatonin (which I even take personally)

    Yes, I also take melatonin very personally.

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