Re: Here come the regulations

 Interesting... This has been a lively topic of discussion with the "sciency" types too!

http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/index.php/alpha-brain-whats-wrong-with-th...

That is not a discussion, it is a bash fest against the supplement industry by people who have no clue what they are talking about.  For example, when they are making fun of the claims on labels they even added this one:

"Love it. Don’t forget “gluten free!”"

So they think it is funny that some people out there have Celiac disease or other gluten sesitivities?  I guess they must also think it funny if  a label states "peanut free" since even traces of peanuts can cause deadly anaphylactic reactions in some individuals.

Then this old myth popped its head up again:

"The evidence needed to demonstrate safety and efficacy, and the evidence needed to obtain FDA approval as a drug, are not materially different…"

They were actually talking about they feel herbs and supplements should be on par with the FDA's drug approval process.  Well if that's the case then herbs and supplements should be allowed to make any unfounded claims just like is done for pharmacetucial drugs and any safety testing  showing dangers of the substance can be withheld to get approval and for that matter we would nto even have to know how the substance works to get approval.  That is what the FDA allows the drug companeis to get away with.  

How many times have we heard the drug companies state they do not know how the drug works?  Well, if they have not figured that out then how do they know if this same compound is not having adverse effects on the body elsewhere since it has not been thoroughly studied?  Ironically, we can go to Medline and look up various herbs and supplements and their chemistry and exactly how they work are clearly stated.  So the pharmacetucial drugs are the real fraud.

And how many FDA approved drugs have class action suits against them after numerous people were either killed or injured?  Where were the safety studies to warn people of these dangers?  It was over 30 years before the drug companies finally started admitting that Premarin could increase the risk of cancer even though the alternative medical industry had been pointing that out all along.  Gee, the drug companies had a estrogen from horse urine that is 3,000 times more powerful than the body's own estrogen and they, nor the FDA, could figure out that this would increase the risk of cancer for over 30 years?!!!!  Same for the nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs).  Again, for over 30 years no mention of the fact that they could cause heart attacks or strokes.  Although even common sense should have told them this fact since they clearly knew about the fact that NSAIDs could cause liver or kidney failure even with a single recommended dose.  How?  By cutting off the blood supply to these organs since NSAIDs constrict blood vessels:

http://mountainmistbotanicals.com/info/NSAIDs.html

And what increases when you also reduce the blood supply to the heart?  Increased risk of heart attack.  And what happens when you decrease the blood flow to the brain?  Increased risk of stroke.  So these risks were well known by the drug companies all along, but were deliberately hidden from the public:

http://mountainmistbotanicals.com/info/nsaids_and_heart.htm

Just as today they don't mention anywhere in the Physician's Desk Reference (PDR) or on drug inserts that coumadin (Warfarin) increases the risk of strokes:

http://curezone.com/forums/fm.asp?i=1656833#i

Nor do they tell people that the blood thinner Heparin can cause deadly blood clots:

http://curezone.com/forums/fm.asp?i=1595721#i

And of course the public is not being told that cholesterol lowering statins can cause heart failure. Nor that pharmaceutical antidepressants cause suicidal behavior.  Nor that the bisphosphonate drugs given to osteoporosis patients significantly increase the risk of bone fractures and can cause deterioration of the jaw bone.  Or that the "AIDS drug" AZT and its analogues completely collapse the immune system, unlike HIV, leading to the syndrome AIDS?:

http://curezone.com/forums/fm.asp?i=1553836#i

 And it is not limited to "drugs" when it comes to the FDA turning a blind eye.  Does the FDA require a warning label to tell diabetics that "no-calorie" sweeteners like aspartame (Equal, Nutrasweet) raise blood sugar?  Or that the packets of these sweeteners contain the sugars dextrose and maltodextrin that also raise blood sugar?

Yet the drug companies can make unfounded claims about their drugs such as the NSAID aspirin can reduce heart attacks:

http://mountainmistbotanicals.com/info/aspirin-and-heart-attacks.htm

Then there is the manipulation of drug testing to make the drugs appear effective, which has been seen numeorus times especially when it comes to chemotherapy drugs:

http://curezone.com/forums/fm.asp?i=1502611#i

In fact, medical fraud to get pharmaceutical drugs approved is so rampant:

http://curezone.com/forums/fm.asp?i=1612150#i

And unfortunately, the FDA's role in this case is to protect the profits of the pharmceutical companies as well as their own profits instead of the public:

http://mountainmistbotanicals.com/info/fda-regulating-herbs.htm

The fact remains that herbs and supplements are more heavily regulated than pharmaceutical drugs.  If pharmaceutical drugs were held to the same standard as herbs and supplements then nearly every pharmaceutical drug on the market to day would have to be banned for public use and the FDA would be pursuing the companies aggressvely for thier fraudulent claims.