Posted on 04/09/2008 9:12:57 PM PDT by neverdem
A form of substance abuse rampant in this country is rarely discussed publicly or privately. It involves abusing legally sold dietary supplements — vitamins, minerals, herbals and homeopathic remedies — all of which can be sold over the counter without prior approval for safety and effectiveness.
Although there was much publicity about the hazards of ephedra, once widely used as a weight-loss aid until it was found to be deadly, many other heralded dietary supplements have the potential for harm, especially when taken in large doses or in various combinations with one another or with medically prescribed prescription drugs.
Still other problems can arise when these poorly regulated supplements are taken by people with known or hidden health problems or when patients fail to report their use to health professionals who treat them.
For example, Dr. Richard A. Nathan, a dental surgeon in San Francisco, wrote in January about a patient who needed a tooth extracted and minor periodontal surgery. She told Dr. Nathan that she was taking two drugs...
--snip--
Led by testimonials and articles in health food publications and on the Internet, consumers also tend to confuse structure and function claims with medical benefits. They are not the same. Just because beta-carotene in carrots aids normal vision does not mean it can correct nearsightedness. Or a substance for forming blood cells will not necessarily be useful to prevent or treat a disease of blood-forming tissue like leukemia.
A National Institutes of Health panel in May 2006 noted: “The F.D.A. has insufficient resources and legislative authority to require specific safety data from dietary supplement manufacturers or distributors before or after their products are made available to the public. The constraints imposed on F.D.A. make it difficult for the health of the American public to be adequately protected.”
Caveat emptor.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
“The constraints imposed on F.D.A. make it difficult for the health of the American public to be adequately protected.”
Sheesh... This says it all. The nanny state. The American public can’t be trusted to make their own decision about their health.
So, why don't the doctors ask?
My doctor asks and then asks again-”are you sure that’s all?”
After they picked McCain and either Stalin or Trotsky, I'm glad you have a lot of confidence in them.
“Potential for Harm in Dietary Supplements”
People should educate themselves...even dietary supplements (improperly
made and/or taken) can pose a threat.
The old phrase from an early toxicologist should be heeded:
“It’s the dose that makes the poison” (i.e., any substance taken
in sufficiently high amounts will endanger human health).
E.g., the tryptophan problem from some years back.
Tryptophan supplements and EMS
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tryptophan
That’s why folks should do their homework, only take the supplements
in a sane amount and discontinue if they experience problems.
This was found to cause cancer in rats at a rat of pounds per day of ingestion.... not grams per day...
It was banned, leaving only saccharin for sugar sensitive folks. Problem... later research found this to be more dangerous.
Now we find that Canada permits Cyclamates but the US does not. Canada, the last I heard does not permit saccharin. So.... Cyclamates cause Cancer in the US, but NOT in Canada. Saccharin does NOT cause cancer in the US, but it DOES in Canada...
It gets better...
Years ago, I recall reading an FDA publication that admitted that the FDA made a mistake on Cyclamates.... BUT it could not admit it...
That would cause the FDA to lose credibility. I only wish I had saved and scanned that publication.
But I saw it. These people lie and will continue to do so.
Yes, let us make all the health care decisions for you because we, the government, know all.
Taking anything is high doses can be a dangerous thing.
“Six of these — green tea, grapeseed, ginkgo biloba turmeric, salmon oil and vitamin E, he said, “are known to increase bleeding due to inhibition of platelet aggregation,” the first step in forming a clot. Within a week after discontinuing all supplements, her mouth began to heal normally.”
A competent dentist would have asked a patient about any supplements used before performing any invasive procedure. I’m been asked that several times, and told to stop taking vitamin E and low dose daily aspirin several days before any procedure.
This dentist, cited as some sort of authority, should be investigated for incompetence and for endangering his patients. Millions are using those supplements, and MDs are recommending low dose aspirin and fish oil left and right. It has been standard for years to ask patients about any blood thinning supplements or OTCs they use.
The EU and some international organizations are priming to begin regulating supplements. Maybe the august NYT is just helping pave the way. But this article was written (as so many are) by someone lacking sufficient knowledge of the subject matter.
And, homeopathic remedies can claim efficacy for specific conditions because homeopathy has been around for more than 150 years, and preceded the FDA and most all of modern medicine and drugs. It works for some things, and has worked for 150 years for some things. The guidelines for labeling of homeopathic remedies was probably grandfathered in a century or so ago. And though it is used by few in the US, it is used by tens of millions worldwide. I recently found two sure fire homeopathic remedies for my occasional headaches, and for flu symptoms. Work every time.
The way I can easily determine if a supplement has any effect at all is to check if there is a movement to ban it.
Many of the really effective supplements have been completely banned.
Some do. How many? I don't know. Why don't they all ask? There are a number of reasons. Why didn't God make all doctors perfect? This is the first time I remember reading about a neuropathy from taking vitamin B6.
“E.g., the tryptophan problem from some years back.”
The tryptophan problem was a production problem from a specific Japanese producer, of the sort that could occur with any supplement, drug, food item, or any other product sold for human or animal consumption.
“:So, why don’t the doctors ask? “
Utter incompetence and negligence. That should be actionable. And this so-call dentist should be sued as common as many of these supplements and low dose aspirin are.
I’ve been asked by several different practitioners, dentists and other professionals.
Yeah....like we should trust the FDA (government)....who okayed Premarin - pregnant mare’s urine - for use by women....in a pill form that flushed into a woman’s body and through her liver/kidneys quickly - uh huh....but, now....is considering banning NATURAL, bio identical compounded hormone creams (which are applied externally, and the uptake is slow) because they MIGHT possibly not be regulated enough!
Maybe we can regulated supplements to the point only large pharmaceutical companies can afford to distribute them.
Like say trucking, meat packing and other industry and services regulated to the point that small business can't compete.
The corrupt F.D.A. has no intrest protecting the public, their only intrest is collecting bribes from drug companys.
It's even weirder than that. (I'm a Canadian who lived and worked in the U.S. for many years.) In Canada cyclamates were used in diet pop, where they were often mixed with saccharin. Both cyclamates and saccharin have aftertastes that displease some people; mixing the two, usually in a ratio of about 10:1 cyclamate to saccharin, masks both those aftertastes. That's how diet pop was made in Canada in the 1960s. However, today in Canada you can buy cyclamate as a powdered sweetener (Sucaryl or SugarTwin), and it can be used in medications to mask bitter tastes BUT soft drink manufacturers can't put it into pop, which is really its ideal use. And, in spite of the fact that one of the advantages of cyclamate is that you can cook with it, food processors aren't allowed to use it. Ironically, the original flawed and unreplicated studies on lab rats (yes, the ones where every day they fed the rats the amount of cyclamate used in 350 cans of diet pop) were done in Canada.
While we're at it, I've noticed a distinct pattern in the way the New York Times and other major newspapers report certain stories. If a study shows a potential problem with a vitamin or food supplement, that story receives very prominent play on the front pages. Later on, when further studies fail to confirm the problem, that news is relegated to back pages or not covered at all. This isn't a new development -- it was first pointed out to me over 20 years ago and I've observed it many times since. Things that make you go hmmm...
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