Important to act upon- FDA wants to ban supplements in the U.S.

Link Posted
Link to Supplement Ban Article.

Makes no sense. Why won't they ban Hydro-fracking?
The "water" they pump into the ground to extract the gas has 596+ chemicals in it and many of them cause cancer. But they won't ban that. I wonder why$$$$

Do we live in Bizarro world? Up is down, yes is no...
-p

Buckwirth said:

Dead pets and dead babies
Yep, the Chinese are so far ahead in quality control, substituting melamine for protein.

Now, if the US would pass a law executing corporate criminals like the Chinese do, I might want to emulate them.

FDA caused injuries; the mfg war, we're losing
Blake, vitamin C manufacture is dominated by the Chinese. There are no american manufacturers left, and the sole remaining European plant is not price competitve (ca +200-300%). At least some chinese manufacturers have superior, patented processes with newer plants, as well as their labor and environmental cost advantages, among others.

The Chinese can manufacture some of the best grade vitamin C on the planet. Reliability is an issue for some, bad national reputation is merely a drag for others. Another corrupt, incompetent bureaucracy like the FDA is not the quality certifier that we need, or could afford, for secondary quality assurance.

I've already had family injury over FDA shenannigans like that described because of withdrawal for trivial, nonsensical matters, due to a sudden disappearance of a natural product where the standard pharmaceutical nonequivalent failed both before and after, totally.

Blake, I noticed the chinese tried and executed the corrupt head of their FDA few years ago, think you could include that in your list of reforms?

With all due concern,

These rumors have been around for years.

Re:

Your right to choose your vitamin, mineral and other supplements may end in ...

False: FDA Moves to Ban Injectable Vitamin C, Further Destroying the Health of Americans

The following site provides some insight into the reasons why
some "rumors" and total lies, are generated:
22 years of Slim Chance Awards

Truth or fiction? Who may make a profit from generating such a rumor?

Let the dollar signs guide you!

Be well,

John

neons356 said:

Here we go
A couple of people who feel that they have to get their point across, and a senseless debate gets started. Lisa, I know you mean well, but lots of times we read something and go off the deep end without looking at the whole picture. Take the time to see exactly what the FDA is proposing, and you'll see that the good doctor isn't exactly telling you the truth. He's a player in this and stands to lose a lot if things don't go his way. Personally, if there is something that people are going to put into their body for medicinal reasons, be they man made chemicals or herbals, I think the FDA should play a role in attempting to keep us safe, and offering an opinion on whether or not the claims have merit. It should still be up to me to decide to take it or not, but it would be nice if I had some assurance that the product is what it claims to be, is pure, and doesn't contain byproducts that could harm or even kill me.

roles
If the FDA were meant to protect us, simply randomly buying supplements, assaying them for purity and content, and publicly posting the results, would be much improved protection over what we have now.

A number of posters here have been adversely impacted, perhaps irreversibly, by FDA "protection" causing shortages (lack of prompt imports) of the vitamin, folinic acid, aka leucovorin" which should really cost about $10 per 3 month supply of oral tablets.

Ultimately, we consumers need to make, or at least have control of, the crucial decisions in life. There are many protection options, more expense for a failing one is not first choice for some of us.

Buckwirth said:

Tanstaafl
Nothing personal, and I know the Chinese connection is working for you.

I am not under the illusion that the FDA is perfect, but people like Mercola, with their own agendas, are not a better choice.

Btw, if you re-read my post you will notice that I can admire the Chinese for executing their corporate criminials (at least the ones stupid enough to get caught). I am, however, happy to live in a place where I will not be executed or imprisoned for criticizing my government and its agencies.

more is less
Thanks, Blake, I'm not taking you personally. My outlook attempts to be that of an unencumbered shopper with a number purchases outside the US, at least 7 countries. Korea is ahead because of the UFT-LV. I've never been to China, unless British Hong Kong counts. The multitude of US laws and regs make me feel very encumbered, and jeopardized, more than some 3rd world countries.

My personal examples are that these issues are neither merely theoretical nor even just rare, from people you will never hear of, for things that can't affect you.

I am not "choosing Mercola" for czar or FDA. I think that the FDA has unexercised powers for any real problems and is just trawling for more powers, for more political control and its re-sale.

lisa42 said:

certainly wasn't wanting to start an argument
I guess I won't go into it more because I'm too tired to get engaged in a debate here & don't want to go down that path. I will look into it more. I had heard that the UK was going this same route with the supplements- anyone from the UK know anything about that? I'd love to hear what you've heard about that, if anything.

Certainly people like Dr. Mercola and other companies and naturopaths who sell supplements have something to lose, however, I have read so many things about the corruptness (if that's a word) in the FDA, that I absolutely do not believe that they are looking out for our best interest in this. So many supplements and herbal treatments that have had clinical trials have had the trials set up in ways that were with wrong dosages and in ways not how naturopaths were recommending that they be taken & the results were poor. But it does seem like some of the clinical trials were set up in a way to make sure that the results were poor. This is my worry.
I don't want to debate anyone on that- that's what I believe. I don't know about Dr. Mercola personally, but I do get his e-newsletter in my email inbox and I have learned a wealth of information. He is kind of on the extreme side, but I like most of what he says and comes out with. He seems very knowledgeable to me and I think I'd trust what he says more than anyone representing the FDA, after all the cover ups of successes of certain supplements (I know of firsthand from my naturopathic dr. who is friends with a doctor who did research for Sloan-Kettering and was in charge of a clinical trial on laetrile- the results came out very good and according to him everyone knew that. Things changed and documents were changed to show a poor outcome. When this doctor stood up and insisted that they made illegal changes to cover up laetrile's success, he was fired.) Of course, I don't know exactly what went on and am just hearing one side, but my naturopath dr. said he absolutely believes his doctor friend's story about this. I've heard a couple of other similar type situations where the medical establishment and the FDA covered things up or changed information, as well.) I know I can't fully verify these things, but it also can't be verified that it didn't happen! Okay, that's all I'll say about it for now.

Lisa

While i'm quite aware of the huckster in Dr Mercola,nevertheless
his site, mercola.com does have some useful info on it (you don't have to buy anything)and he's definitely anti-GMOs......Wouldn't be surprised if he has big impact on site called foodconsumer.org, which carries similar/(identical,at times)articles

EU BAN
Hugs Lisa fyi

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Herbal remedies banned as new EU rules take effect

Manufacturers and herbal practitioners say strict guidelines aimed at improving safety could force them out of business

Robin McKie
The Observer, Sunday 1 May 2011
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wort
St John's Wort flower is often used as a herbal remedy, but can stop the contraceptive pill from working. Photograph: Th Foto for the Observer

New EU rules came into force at the weekend banning hundreds of herbal remedies. The laws are aimed at protecting consumers from potentially damaging "traditional" medicines.

Under the directive, herbal medicines will now have to be registered. Products must meet safety, quality and manufacturing standards, and come with information outlining possible side-effects.

Herbal practitioners and manufacturers say they fear the new rules could force them out of business.

Research conducted for the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) in 2009 showed that 26% of adults in the UK had taken a herbal medicine in the last two years, mostly bought over the counter in health food shops and pharmacies. Commonly used ingredients already registered include echinacea, which is used against colds, St John's wort, used for depression and anxiety, and valerian, which is claimed to ease insomnia.

The agency said it hoped to promote a more cautious approach to the use of herbal medicines after a study found that 58% of respondents believed these products were safe because they are "natural". In fact, herbal remedies can have harmful side-effects. St John's Wort can stop the contraceptive pill working, while ginkgo and ginseng are known to interfere with the blood-thinning drug warfarin. And in February the MHRA issued a warning about the herbal weight loss product Herbal Flos Lonicerae (Herbal Xenicol) Natural Weight Loss Formula, after tests showed it contained more than twice the prescribed dose of a banned substance.

To date, the industry has been covered by the 1968 Medicines Act, drawn up when only a handful of herbal remedies were available and the number of herbal practitioners was very small.

From now, manufacturers will have to prove their products have been made to strict standards and contain a consistent and clearly marked dose. Remedies already on sale will be allowed to stay on the shelves until their expiry date. The agency said there had been 211 applications for approval of herbal remedies so far, with 105 granted and the rest still under consideration. Approved remedies will come with a logo marked THR.

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