I asked Dr. Shane-McWhorter to include a chapter about benfotiamine in the next edition of her book. “I hope there will be another edition,” she told me, “and if I get that opportunity I will include benfotiamine. When I was writing this book, I wasn’t sure what to include, since hundreds of products have merits. It turns out that benfotiamine may help glucose stay in the normal pathways.”

One of the most important things that she told me was how CAM relates to the prescription medicines that almost all of us take. It happened that just before my scheduled interview with Dr. McWhorter, a correspondent wrote me about alternative medicine.

“I don't want medications that shake down my pancreas,” this correspondent wrote. She wanted alternative herbs instead.

“But complementary and alternative medicine is a medication,” Dr. Shane McWhorter replied when I passed on my correspondent’s request. “Many people believe that these products are not drugs, but they have pharmacological ingredients.” She said that for example we got both metformin and aspirin originally from herbs.

Note the sub-title of the book, “A clinician’s guide.” That’s important because the intended audience is health care professionals, not lay people like you and me.

What’s the difference? Money. Professional books sell for a whole lot more than what they can expect to get from us. In this case the ADA is asking $39.95 for the book in the U.S. On the other hand, investing in it could save you a lot of money and grief.