Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
The FDA has gotten more than 130 reports of anosmia in people using those products. Some of those people also reported a loss of their sense of taste, according to a warning letter the FDA today sent Matrixx Initiatives, Inc.,
And You can take whatever you want for your ailments but telling others that supplements don't work is irresponsible and immoral. You should be ashamed of yourself.
Just because you don't agree with me (and millions of other people) there is no need to be nasty and offensive.
And You can take whatever you want for your ailments but telling others that supplements don't work is irresponsible and immoral. You should be ashamed of yourself.
Just because you don't agree with me (and millions of other people) there is no need to be nasty and offensive.
This is a good topic to bring up. Often I hear how vitamins have been proven to be useless and a waste of money, but then when I see who runs the studies, it becomes blatantly obvious why they're getting the results that they are. What they don't tell you after one of these "studies" is what type of vitamin they used........
Most of the general public doesn't understand that there are whole food supplements and synthetic supplements. The whole food supplements are what you want as they absorb in your system better and begin to work. If synthetic vitamins are used for these "studies", then the results will be marginal at best which is why they can claim that supplements don't work. I never hear what type of vitamins they use......hmmmm why is that?
The FDA has spent billions of dollars testing supplements and 'alternative' medicine and has found most of 'em are not really useful.
I wouldn't throw out the baby with the bathwater, though...some of them do work. You just have to be careful, because without regulation and oversight, they could put dog poop in the pill, say it was 'ginko,' and no one can stop 'em.
I'm sorry, but I don't trust the FDA and their so called studies. I see them as just another corrupt form of our government. I can say from first hand experience that many have worked for me for a fraction of what a prescription would cost.
BUT, I do agree, I'm sure there are products out there that are worthless.......you do have to do your homework and look for products that have a good reputation. Most people don't want to take the time to do that or don't have the time. It's too bad that we don't have a trustworthy organization that can give people the proper guidance that they need. As the saying goes, if you want it done right, you need to do it yourself and not rely on outside sources.
Nobody to regulate safety and authenticity...You get what you pay for...
This is simply untrue. Supplements are heavily regulated for safety and authenticity.
Any serious adverse effects have to recorded and reported to FDA. It was this reporting that lead to the Hydroxycut recall. Supplements are also randomly tested for potency according to their label.
In addition there is a set of regulations set to take place next month and in a year that FDA itself has admitted will put many manufacturers out of business. I have seen estimates as high at 1/3 going out of business. These are not necessarily companies with bad products. They are companies that are too small to comply with the cost of the regulations. How can you afford an in-house lab if you are small company with a half-dozen employees? You can't. You go out of business or have your product made elsewhere. For some, however, the latter is not an option because their batch sizes are too small for the amount of testing required. The cost per bottle would simply be too high.
Where the regulations are less restrictive is on label claims. Currently a company can make "structure/function" claims on a label. As an example, this means you can claim Glucosamine promotes healthy joints but not that it treats arthritis. This also means that claims are supposed to have some basis for being made. Admittedly this is not always the case.
There is not government preapproval for supplements. However, any ingredient that was not being sold in the US before 1994 is supposed to be approved by FDA before it is sold here.
Personally, I would rather see a company be allowed to make any claim it wishes. I think people would be more skeptical of claims in general and that would be better than the attitude of "it must work or the government wouldn't let it be sold." In other words, "buyer beware" is a good mindset for consumers. It would also allow a company to tell the consumer what the product is allowed to do. Obviously, dangerous products would still have to be pulled. But there are bad products sold all the time. Last December my wife bought a cheap Christmas tree stand. It was a terrible product and wouldn't even hold the tree up. The bolts stripped out the plastic in the base almost immediately. Should the government have regulated that product and make it be recalled? I apply the same philosophy to health foods. Bad products, in the end, won't sell for long.
Think of it this way, if a person wants to buy what a company wants to sell, who is the government to step in and say no?
As far as Zicam, it was not a dietary supplement. Most people, including everyone on this thread, don't understand that. It was marketed as a drug, making drug claims about Colds. The reason why is because it was classified as a homeopathic drug. (Anyone want to bash drugs now based on Zicam?) Dietary supplements are not allowed to be sold as a nasal delivery. They must be ingested like food. The zinc was added to the product to make it more effective (or possibly to make it work at all; I am not sure what the studies show for homeopathic zinc.) There is evidence that zinc boosts the immune system.
My suggestion to those who love Zicam is to switch to an oral alternative like Cold-eeze. It works on the same principle.
Sometimes I think it's terribly sad for the FDA to jump the gun so quickly. Think about it.....how many people have used these Zicam products? Out of all these, probably thousands/tens of thousands? of people, less than 200 of them are suffering from anosmia? That's pretty good odds, right? Hmmmm should we try picking our battles more carefully? People need to take responsibility for their own choices. Look at the people who take Acetaminophen and other OTC pain relievers ... the label says "Do not use this product if you consume more than 2 alcoholic drinks per day." How many people heed that warning? ....probably about as many people as would heed the warning.... "use of this product may cause anosmia (loss of smell)" If it works, they will still use it, the disclaimer, however, now gives them something else to sue for!
Plenty of "over the counter" drugs do more damage then this but they just put warning labels on those and continue selling them. Not a hard concept to fix the problem. As I have said all along the goal is to have every supplement that works or otherwise pulled from the shelves. Supplements will all be illegal unless a doctor prescribes it.
Zinc works great for colds. Umcka works even better at stopping colds dead in there tracks. The best is to not get colds which is easy once you know the secret :-)
This is simply untrue. Supplements are heavily regulated for safety and authenticity.
Any serious adverse effects have to recorded and reported to FDA. It was this reporting that lead to the Hydroxycut recall. Supplements are also randomly tested for potency according to their label.
In addition there is a set of regulations set to take place next month and in a year that FDA itself has admitted will put many manufacturers out of business. I have seen estimates as high at 1/3 going out of business. These are not necessarily companies with bad products. They are companies that are too small to comply with the cost of the regulations. How can you afford an in-house lab if you are small company with a half-dozen employees? You can't. You go out of business or have your product made elsewhere. For some, however, the latter is not an option because their batch sizes are too small for the amount of testing required. The cost per bottle would simply be too high.
Where the regulations are less restrictive is on label claims. Currently a company can make "structure/function" claims on a label. As an example, this means you can claim Glucosamine promotes healthy joints but not that it treats arthritis. This also means that claims are supposed to have some basis for being made. Admittedly this is not always the case.
There is not government preapproval for supplements. However, any ingredient that was not being sold in the US before 1994 is supposed to be approved by FDA before it is sold here.
Personally, I would rather see a company be allowed to make any claim it wishes. I think people would be more skeptical of claims in general and that would be better than the attitude of "it must work or the government wouldn't let it be sold." In other words, "buyer beware" is a good mindset for consumers. It would also allow a company to tell the consumer what the product is allowed to do. Obviously, dangerous products would still have to be pulled. But there are bad products sold all the time. Last December my wife bought a cheap Christmas tree stand. It was a terrible product and wouldn't even hold the tree up. The bolts stripped out the plastic in the base almost immediately. Should the government have regulated that product and make it be recalled? I apply the same philosophy to health foods. Bad products, in the end, won't sell for long.
Think of it this way, if a person wants to buy what a company wants to sell, who is the government to step in and say no?
As far as Zicam, it was not a dietary supplement. Most people, including everyone on this thread, don't understand that. It was marketed as a drug, making drug claims about Colds. The reason why is because it was classified as a homeopathic drug. (Anyone want to bash drugs now based on Zicam?) Dietary supplements are not allowed to be sold as a nasal delivery. They must be ingested like food. The zinc was added to the product to make it more effective (or possibly to make it work at all; I am not sure what the studies show for homeopathic zinc.) There is evidence that zinc boosts the immune system.
My suggestion to those who love Zicam is to switch to an oral alternative like Cold-eeze. It works on the same principle.
Great points Niner's Fan, thanks for explaining. You're a well informed poster so your input is much appreciated!
This is simply untrue. Supplements are heavily regulated for safety and authenticity.
You make this claim, and then go on to paraphrase the DSHEA of 1994 which clearly DOES NOT HEAVILY REGULATE SAFETY AND AUTHENTICITY.
"Unlike drug products that must be proven safe and effective for their intended use before marketing, there are no provisions in the law for FDA to "approve" dietary supplements for safety or effectiveness before they reach the consumer"
That would be a direct quote from the FDA's DSHEA.....kind of puts a damper on your claim that supplements are "heavily regulated for safety and authenticity"....no?
Overview of Dietary Supplements (http://www.fda.gov/Food/DietarySupplements/ConsumerInformation/ucm110417.htm - broken link)
Quote:
As far as Zicam, it was not a dietary supplement. Most people, including everyone on this thread, don't understand that. It was marketed as a drug, making drug claims about Colds. The reason why is because it was classified as a homeopathic drug. (Anyone want to bash drugs now based on Zicam?) Dietary supplements are not allowed to be sold as a nasal delivery. They must be ingested like food. The zinc was added to the product to make it more effective (or possibly to make it work at all; I am not sure what the studies show for homeopathic zinc.) There is evidence that zinc boosts the immune system.
As the OP, "I" never called Zicam a "supplement"...so much for generalization
While Zicam is a drug...it is a homeopathic drug and included in the Homeopathic Pharmocopoeia....it is subject to a different classification by the FDA.
While the manufacturer of Zicam tries to claim in their own product information sheet that Zicam is not "alternative medicine"....Homeopathy by definition is "alternative"
You make this claim, and then go on to paraphrase the DSHEA of 1994 which clearly DOES NOT HEAVILY REGULATE SAFETY AND AUTHENTICITY.
"Unlike drug products that must be proven safe and effective for their intended use before marketing, there are no provisions in the law for FDA to "approve" dietary supplements for safety or effectiveness before they reach the consumer"
You didn't say that FDA didn't approve supplements prior to their release to the public.
You said there was "nobody to regulate safety or authenticity." FDA does test supplements for authenticity. FDA does pull products that are shown to be unsafe. If your original statement was not false then it was, at best, ambiguous.
It is true there is not preapproval of supplements (or formulas) prior to being sold. However, that statement alone requires a caveat. A supplement that is introduced must contain ingredients that have been sold in the US for at least 15 years. Any ingredient that was not sold prior to the passage of DSHEA in 1994 requires FDA approval.
As for effectiveness, if a consumer wants to buy a product (as long as it is safe) then why should they not have the choice? Many supplements are effective. Some are effective for some people and not for others. Some are not very effective. To compare supplements with drugs is not fair to either industry. Supplements are far less effective than most drugs. But drugs have far more side-effects and harm many more people than supplements. However, each has their place.
Anyone who says all drugs are evil or supplements can cure everything is either disingenuous or ignorant.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Self-regulation and responsibility
