Supplements suffer yet another unfair punch

Healthy by Nature radio show this week: I invited pharmacist/author Suzy Cohen to tell us the truth about the negative publicity on supplements. She is expert on the effects of supplements and drugs, as well as their interactions. One of her books is: Drug Muggers. I also talk with Judy Gray. She has a Master’s Degree in nutrition and the guts to start a major dietary supplement company. She travels the world lecturing on both nutrition and spiritual issues. Call the show with questions at 1-800-281-8255. Click here to find podcasts, show archives and ways to listen nationwide.
 
Why the flap about nutritional supplements?
There have been several recent articles in newspapers and magazines making it sound like we are all dolts for taking supplements. I don’t think we are dolts. I think that there is controversy because we are looking at the issue in different ways:

Tunnel vision. Supplements have a great history of safe and successful use (sometimes over thousands of years), positive outcome results in the patients of the 10’s of thousands of “alternative” practitioners and they enjoy the praise from the public. But all that and even logic seem invisible to mainstream medicine. They believe that only drug-style scientific studies count. But nutrients don’t work like drugs. (And note, the majority of medical practice is not held to that standard. And, unfortunately, studies of the most frequently implemented conventional methods prove not to be as lifesaving as their hype would have us believe.)

Selective perception. Critics often seize with glee on a negative study without questioning which variables might have caused it to contradict dozens of positive studies. I’ll be generous and suggest that the reason is simply of lack of appreciation for the healing power of the body and inadequate education in the importance of balance and the intricacies of the natural medicine approach. But, could it also be that there is a sub-conscious knee-jerk bias against natural methods in favor of the pharmaceuticals that underpin the practice of medicine, medical education and regulation?

Bureaucratic world view. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has been given all the power it needs to properly inspect and control the supplement industry as well as remove unsafe products from the market place. The agency whines that it is too hard. Well, poor dears, they do now have to show that there is actually a problem before banning a product. In the old days they could arbitrarily remove good products from shelves. As examples, they attempted to do that with life-saving CoQ10 and vitamin A. Their bias is showing and their uncomfortably cozy relationship with the pharmaceutical industry is well documented.

Double vision. The media typically repeats what they hear from the critics without challenge. However, just because someone is a professor at Harvard (a fine medical school) does not make her an expert in natural medicine. Also, the negative voices have a much bigger bullhorn than the natural medicine community. Media outlets have shrinking budgets and instead of original investigation, often borrow stories from each other. So the same faulty message reverberates long enough that many folks begin to think it is true. Fortunately, the media has embarrassed itself so frequently that many more consumers are becoming a bit immune to the attacks.

Rose Colored Glasses. Consumers sometimes only see the positive and fall into the trap of thinking that if a little is good, then a whole lot more is better. That is not always the case–you can overdose on anything, even oxygen. The novice consumer may fail to differentiate between a good value and what is just a low price. Cheap products may not deliver expected benefits and worse yet, especially in the case of off brands and imports, they may not be manufactured to as high a standard of quality as more establish brands. (Like the sponsors of my show.)

Blinders in place. Consumers who don’t educate themselves about true disease prevention (not the same as the “early detection” which often passes for prevention) or nutrition are missing the boat. If they never speak to their doctors in praise of supplements or to question medical prescriptions, they make it easy for docs to live in the dark. (What is that saying? “What you are not up on, you are down on?”)

Blinded by greed. There is usually a rotten apple in every barrel. Although it is a rare exception, some supplements have been laced with pharmaceuticals. That would make them subject to the same serious side effects the drugs have. Usually such awful supplements are internet-promoted products with wild claims for sexual enhancement, weight loss or body building. There are laws against such adulteration and the FDA has the authority to punish them severely. They should throw the book at them! The industry as a whole is great and working hard to get even better.

Looking through the wrong end of the telescope. The critics who really want to help the public need to take a look around them. More than half the public is way ahead of them and the future is closer than they think.

Hindsight. We don’t want to look back decades from now when the US is a crumbling former superpower and ask why, oh why did we demonize the use of low cost, non-toxic, effective natural remedies that the body is comfortable with and instead bankrupt the country by insisting on only high cost, high risk, and high tech medicine?

Crystal ball. I see a future where the public rises up and demands that doctors blend the best of conventional crisis medicine with the best of natural medicine and that includes dietary supplements.

I also see that I’ve probably pushed this vision metaphor too far. Next week I plan to counter some specifics in that awful September Consumer Report’s negative cover story that I sent you the special notice about on Tuesday.

  LAST WEEK
 LINK to Archive. Bill Sardi talked about the wonder that is reservatrol and how many brands are using too little or too much. I talked about my favorite, Longevinex. It has the right kind, in the right dose and with the other ingredients to make it function in amazing ways. If you are a customer of RealFoodGrocery.com, you might also check with them about it.

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My first book : Natural Alternatives to Nexium, Maalox, Tagamet, Prilosec & Other Acid Blockers. Subtitle: What to Use to Relieve Acid Reflux, Heartburn, and Gastric Ailments.

My latest book: Aloe Vera-Modern Science Sheds Light on an Ancient Herbal Remedy

The information contained in this newsletter has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. The contents are for informational purposes only and should not be used as a substitute for professional medical advice.

Copyright 2012 Martie Whittekin, CCN