Very interesting book about vitamins and supplements (allergy, pain, infect)

[BlueSkyHoliday]

I just finished reading a book called 'Natural Causes' by Dan Hurley. It has really made me think hard about our barely-regulated vitamin and supplement industry, and the way the public responds to it.

Just because a vitamin or supplement is 'natural' doesn't mean it is safe!

[CosmicWizard]

While the safety issue in regard to vitamins, supplements, & herbs is a valid concern, I am more concerned with the safety of prescription drugs, which kill thousands of people every year. A more significant concern in regard to vitamins, supplements, & herbs is having them REGULATED AS DRUGS.


blessings...Franco

[Mattie Jo]

I always buy some of the better brands of vitamins and minerals. I have more concern about prescription drugs myself. Never met one that didn't cause a bad side affect in me or my husband. I do my best to get around them and if the doctor wants me on long term drugs, i say NO.

[CosmicWizard]

Jessaka wrote:

if the doctor wants me on long term drugs, i say NO.

Good to know that some folks have the wisdom to see thru the white coats and recognize that MD does not stand for Medical Deity. Common sense still prevails. I tip my hat to you!

Few people will admit it, but long term drug use is ADDICTION! As Jerry Seinfeld would say, Not that there's anything wrong with that.

blessings....Franco

[emilybh]

Originally Posted by BlueSkyHoliday

I just finished reading a book called 'Natural Causes' by Dan Hurley. It has really made me think hard about our barely-regulated vitamin and supplement industry, and the way the public responds to it.

Just because a vitamin or supplement is 'natural' doesn't mean it is safe!

I probably should read the book before I comment but if his premise is what you say then I beg to differ. It sounds like he is just trying, like so many from the conventional medical establishment that feel threatened that people are gradually beginning to think for themselves and gradually realizing the medical doctors don't have all the answers and using alternatives instead to get people afraid of using natural medicine because it will cut into their profit potential

Many safe things aren't safe if they aren't used properly. Bread isn't safe if you eat 20 loaves a day. Plastic bags aren't safe if you put them over your nose and mouth and leave them there.

Vitamins and herbs may not be safe if you don't use discretion and use them as instructed on the bottle or according to what a natural health care practioner recommends.

The difference is vitamins have never killed anyone or if it has happened it is VERY rare and it has NEVER HAPPENED from normal use --- THAT IS FOR SURE!

Prescription drugs on the other hand ARE DANGEROUS to BEGIN WITH, that is why they have to be prescribed by a physician. PRESCRIPTION DRUGS KILL OVER 100,000 people EVERY YEAR FROM NORMAL PRESCRIBED USE BY A PHYSICIAN!

Think about it. The last thing the medical establishment wants is for people in a big way to figure out that they themselves have the ability to cure whatever ails them using natural substances. If people made themselves healthy, then there would only be a need for emergency room doctors, surgeons and primary care doctors who'd best be Naturopathic Doctors. There would be little need for cardiologists, oncologists and many of the conventionally trained specialists because people would figure out that they could treat and eliminate their health problems with natural medicine.
The Quackwatch website is devoted to maligning natural medicine and trying to get people to go ONLY to conventionally trained medical doctors. the website considers any other kind of practitioner of care a Quack.

[CosmicWizard]

emilybh wrote:

Prescription drugs on the other hand ARE DANGEROUS to BEGIN WITH, that is why they have to be prescribed by a physician. PRESCRIPTION DRUGS KILL OVER 100,000 people EVERY YEAR FROM NORMAL PRESCRIBED USE BY A PHYSICIAN!

Thank you for chiming in with this. I posted similar information on another thread and one reader said he/she didn't believe it! Can you believe that?



emilybh also wrote:

Think about it. The last thing the medical establishment wants is for people in a big way to figure out that they themselves have the ability to cure whatever ails them using natural substances. If people made themselves healthy, then there would only be a need for emergency room doctors, surgeons and primary care doctors who'd best be Naturopathic Doctors. There would be little need for cardiologists, oncologists and many of the conventionally trained specialists because people would figure out that they could treat and eliminate their health problems with natural medicine.

The Quackwatch website is devoted to maligning natural medicine and trying to get people to go ONLY to conventionally trained medical doctors. the website considers any other kind of practitioner of care a Quack.

Well said. I have posted links and comments to numerous articles written by Mike Adams on the www.NewsTarget.com website. It is good to have someone else writing about these kinds of issues. Many people have been so brainwashed by the AMA, FDA, & big pharma that they simply cannot & will not believe that natural cures work BETTER than allopathic medicine in most situations. I have been called irresponsible and worse for even suggesting natural methodologies in favor of asking your doctor.

blessings....Franco

[emilybh]

Originally Posted by NewAgeRedneck

emilybh wrote:

Prescription drugs on the other hand ARE DANGEROUS to BEGIN WITH, that is why they have to be prescribed by a physician. PRESCRIPTION DRUGS KILL OVER 100,000 people EVERY YEAR FROM NORMAL PRESCRIBED USE BY A PHYSICIAN!

Thank you for chiming in with this. I posted similar information on another thread and one reader said he/she didn't believe it! Can you believe that?




emilybh also wrote:

Think about it. The last thing the medical establishment wants is for people in a big way to figure out that they themselves have the ability to cure whatever ails them using natural substances. If people made themselves healthy, then there would only be a need for emergency room doctors, surgeons and primary care doctors who'd best be Naturopathic Doctors. There would be little need for cardiologists, oncologists and many of the conventionally trained specialists because people would figure out that they could treat and eliminate their health problems with natural medicine.

The Quackwatch website is devoted to maligning natural medicine and trying to get people to go ONLY to conventionally trained medical doctors. the website considers any other kind of practitioner of care a Quack.

Well said. I have posted links and comments to numerous articles written by Mike Adams on the www.NewsTarget.com website. It is good to have someone else writing about these kinds of issues. Many people have been so brainwashed by the AMA, FDA, & big pharma that they simply cannot & will not believe that natural cures work BETTER than allopathic medicine in most situations. I have been called irresponsible and worse for even suggesting natural methodologies in favor of asking your doctor.

blessings....Franco

I have noticed that too Franco! For a health and wellness forum it seems like more of the participants just get on the board and talk about how well their prescriptions work for them. Aren't they worried about long term side effects at all?

Oh well, between you and I and some of the other posters here with good posts that indicate they know there is more than "miracle drugs" and surgery out there and that the miracle drugs really aren't so miraculous AT ALL -- (in fact they create more problems than they solve)-- we'll bring them around !

[CosmicWizard]

emilybh wrote:

Oh well, between you and I and some of the other posters here with good posts that indicate they know there is more than "miracle drugs" and surgery out there and that the miracle drugs really aren't so miraculous AT ALL -- (in fact they create more problems than they solve)-- we'll bring them around !

We'll give it good shot anyway! As always, everyone will make their own choices....but at least we'll let everyone know they have a choice.

blessings....Franco

[BlueSkyHoliday]

Well, I am actually on both sides of the fence on this issue.

First of all, I look upon a prescription drug as an absolute last resort. My body doesn't tolerate medications well, and the only time I will take a prescription drug is when I have a confirmed infection, and even then I will only accept erythromycin because I know from experience that it is the antibiotic that my body tolerates best (I'm allergic to anything resembling penicillin, and sulfa drugs are ineffective for me). As for painkillers, steroids, or anything else -- I refuse to take them. I take Advil for pain and stiffness, and plain chlorpheniramine maleate (brand name: Coricidin) for allergy symptoms. Both over the counter. But as far as drugs go, that is IT.

So I am definitely on the 'anti-prescription-drug' bandwagon.

However... the premise of the book I read is not that conventional drugs are preferable to supplements. It is that the dietary supplement industry itself is essentially un-policed except by its own, which brings up the fox-guarding-the-henhouse scenario. Most people do not realize or don't bother to investigate the supposed 'clinically proven' positive effects of anything ranging from vitamins to compounds like ephedra. Many (not all, but enough to give pause) studies that purportedly show something to be either beneficial or safe, were performed by research facilities with a connection (if you take the time to really investigate it) with the manufacturer of the item or the person seeking a patent for it. To my mind, that throws the entire credibility of the study into question because it is not 100% objective and unbiased testing. I personally would not have confidence in its conclusions. Not that I trust the drug companies' testing either, mind you! They too have an financial axe to grind -- but I do trust studies that have been done by independent research such as the FDA. Unfortunately the FDA has no oversight on herbal remedies and vitamin supplements. Personally I think they should have.

Of course anything in excess can be harmful. The problem is that some people have a tendency to think "if some is good, then more is better". Vitamin C toxicity is not unknown by any means, but what is stopping someone from taking too much of a high-potency pill that is available in any retail store for less than $10 a bottle? Of course people abuse prescription drugs as well, but at least it's not AS easy or affordable for them to get (or so one would hope).

As far as the FDA classifying supplements as drugs, this is something I have thought desirable for a long time. I do NOT agree with carrying it to extremes such as the linked website above describes (re: water and small medical devices). But I do think that the supplement industry today is too much like the Wild West with no effective sheriff. There needs to be extensive and independent research into whether or not these things really (a) Do any good, and (b) Do not have the potential to do serious harm in reasonable dosages. If it will take reclassifying them as drugs in order to get that kind of oversight, then IMO that's what should be done.

People are up in arms right now about toys, foods and other items imported from China containing lead and other harmful components, and rightfully so. This is happening because the manufacturing industry in China lacks competent and unbiased oversight that is aimed toward protecting the consumer from fraud and health hazards. The supplement industry in the USA currently operates in the same way: self-policing. Others may disagree with me but I don't consider self-policing to be sufficient when there is so much money to be made (just like the China outsourcing).

By the way, one of the interesting facts in this book is that out of the over 90,000 dietary supplements currently available (not brands, but actual ingredients), only two have been shown by extensive independent and unbiased research studies to have proven beneficial effects. One is fish oil. The other is vitamin D in certain dosages (NOT the mega-doses the industry usuallly promotes). Health claims for EVERY other herb or vitamin supplement remain unproven or unsubstantiated by independent research using current accepted scientific standards.

[CosmicWizard]

BlueSkyHoliday wrote:

The supplement industry in the USA currently operates in the same way: self-policing. Others may disagree with me but I don't consider self-policing to be sufficient when there is so much money to be made (just like the China outsourcing).

Apparently you are not aware that the FDA is the self policing arm of big pharma. If you believe that the FDA exists to provide consumer protection, then I'd like to talk to you about buying my ocean front property in Arizona. I'll cut you a good deal.


BlueSkyHoliday also wrote:

By the way, one of the interesting facts in this book is that out of the over 90,000 dietary supplements currently available (not brands, but actual ingredients), only two have been shown by extensive independent and unbiased research studies to have proven beneficial effects.

Some of these unproven ingredients have been used for hundreds and even thousands of years in many cultures. To me, that carries far more credibility than so-called independent research. Independent research generally validates the predetermined outcome of the person or organization funding the independent research. Take it with a grain of salt!


blessings...Franco