Special Diets

Drug Content Contributors

Aisle7 publishes content on medicines selected from data included with permission and copyrighted by First DataBank, Inc., a subsidiary of The Hearst Corporation, and a leading provider of electronic drug information. For more than two decades, they have delivered proven knowledge bases for integration into varied healthcare applications, with particular expertise in clinical decision support.

Our drug-nutrient interaction content is written by an Aisle7 team of experts in the fields of medicine, pharmacy, naturopathy, and public health. This information covers the ways in which common prescription and over-the-counter drugs interact with herbs, vitamins, and foods, including potential nutrient depletions, interference with drug actions, reduction of drug side effects, and interference with drug absorption (bioavailability) when taking herbs, nutritional supplements, or food with certain medications.

Incorporating research gathered from scientific studies published in hundreds of medical and scientific journals, updating of Aisle7 content is overseen by Alan R. Gaby, MD, Chief Medical Editor

Alan R. Gaby, MD, Chief Medical Editor

An expert in nutritional therapies, Chief Medical Editor Alan R. Gaby is a former professor at Bastyr University of Natural Health Sciences, where he served as the Endowed Professor of Nutrition. He is past-president of the American Holistic Medical Association, served as a member of the Ad-Hoc Advisory Panel of the National Institutes of Health Office of Alternative Medicine, and gave expert testimony to the White House Commission on Complementary and Alternative Medicine on the cost-effectiveness of nutritional supplements. Dr. Gaby has conducted nutrition seminars for physicians and has collected over 30,000 scientific papers related to the field of nutritional and natural medicine. In addition to editing and contributing to The Natural Pharmacy (Three Rivers Press, 2006) and the A–Z Guide to Drug-Herb-Vitamin Interactions (Three Rivers Press, 2006), Dr. Gaby has authored Preventing and Reversing Osteoporosis (Prima Lifestyles, 1995) and Nutritional Medicine (2011), a comprehensive textbook he worked on for 30 years.

Forrest Batz, PharmD, Contributor

Dr. Batz received a doctorate degree in pharmacy from the University of California, San Francisco, and completed a clinical pharmacy residency at the Tucson VA Medical Center. He has served as an assistant professor of pharmacy practice at the University of Hawai’i at Hilo College of Pharmacy; as a natural products information consultant; and a contributing editor to the Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database. He also coauthored the A–Z Guide to Drug-Herb-Vitamin Interactions (Three Rivers Press, 2006).

George Constantine, RPh, PhD, Contributor

Dr. Constantine, a professor emeritus at the College of Pharmacy, Oregon State University, has extensive knowledge of natural products and herbal medicine. Dr. Constantine has taught pharmacists, physicians, nurses, and allied healthcare professionals throughout the United States and lectured at the National College of Naturopathic Medicine and Western States Chiropractic College. A past-president of the American Society of Pharmacognosy, Dr. Constantine has authored 52 professional and scientific articles and has served as a reviewer for the American Herbal Pharmacopoeia. He authored Tyler's Tips—the Shopper's Guide for Herbal Remedies (Haworth, 2000), has chaired the Naturopathic Formulary Council for the Board of Naturopathic Board of Examiners, and cofounded the Benton Hospice in Corvallis, OR.

Colleen Hogg, BSC, Pharmacist, Contributor

Ms. Hogg earned her bachelor’s degree in pharmacy with honors from the University of British Columbia pharmacy school and has specialty training in asthma treatment and interprofessional collaboration, documentation, and information research. She has worked in community pharmacy since 1995 and has owned-operated a pharmacy that was one of the first full-time telepharmacies in Canada, servicing four communities. She has served as a member of the British Columbia pharmacy association and Canadian pharmacy associations.

Chris Turf, RPh, Contributor

Chris Turf trained at the University of Colorado in Boulder, where he earned his pharmaceutical degree and received the University of Colorado Clinical Pharmacist Award. Mr. Turf studied prescription compounding at the Professional Compounding Center of America (PCCA) and has also extensively studied integrative therapies, such as herbal medicine, nutrition, and homeopathy. He has been a contributor to Aisle7 In-Store and Aisle7 Online, and to the TraceGains Newswire.

Robert Savage, PharmD, Contributor

Dr. Savage earned his doctorate degree in pharmacology and is a Board Certified Pharmacotherapy Specialist. Since 1995, Robert has been a clinical pharmacist in both the US and Canada in a variety of practice settings, including most recently adult psychiatry, emergency medicine, and infectious disease. Special areas of interest include psychiatry, natural products, antibiotic stewardship, and teaching patients and their families about safe and optimal use of medications.

Rick Chester, RPh, ND, DiplAc, Section Editor & Contributor

Dr. Chester earned his pharmacy degree from Oregon State University and his doctorate in naturopathic medicine from the National College of Naturopathic Medicine. He operated an eclectic group practice in Arizona for seven years, has served as president of the Arizona Naturopathic Medical Association, and has taught pharmacology, geriatrics, pulmonology, and practice management. He received his acupuncture certification through the National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine and completed a master's in acupuncture and Oriental medicine at the International Institute of Chinese Medicine in Albuquerque, NM.

Jeremy Appleton, ND, CNS, Contributor

Dr. Appleton is a licensed naturopathic physician and certified nutrition specialist. He was formerly Aisle7's Senior Science Editor and was a founding contributor to TraceGains Newswire. He received his bachelor's degree from Reed College and his doctorate in naturopathic medicine from the National College of Naturopathic Medicine. Dr. Appleton was the Nutrition Department Chair at the National College of Naturopathic Medicine and has also been on faculty at Bastyr University of Natural Health Sciences in Kenmore, WA. He has worked extensively in scientific and regulatory affairs in the dietary supplement industry and as a consultant to that industry through his company Praxis Natural Products Consulting and Wellness Services. Dr. Appleton has coauthored MSM—The Definitive Guide (Topanga, Freedom Press, 2003).