Why Would the FDA Ban, or Regulate, Supplements?

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There is an old saying, “Follow the money.” Big pharmaceutical companies develop drugs to fight disease (supposedly) and then sell it via doctors to consumers. Consumers are finding that readily available vitamins, minerals, herbs, and supplements are often just as effective (if not MORE so) as the drugs, but without harmful side effects. Wouldn’t it then make sense for lobbyists to push to regulate away these readily available, natural supplements to protect their big pharma constituents? Yes.FDA Ban

And therein lies the problem. Right now, we have the choice to use supplements and herbs, if we choose to… so, in steps the FDA to take away that choice! And, as I have pointed out in an earlier Blog entry… we only have until April 30th to say anything about it!

Health freedom action alert: FDA attempting to regulate supplements, herbs and juices as “drugs”

“When it comes to health freedom, this is the FDA’s end game. A new FDA ‘guidance’ document, published on the FDA’s website, reveals plans to reclassify virtually all vitamins, supplements, herbs and even vegetable juices as FDA-regulated drugs. Massage oils and massage rocks will be classified as “medical devices” and require FDA approval. The document is called Docket No. 2006D-0480. Draft Guidance for Industry on Complementary and Alternative Medicine Products and Their Regulation by the Food and Drug Administration. The FDA is accepting public comments on the docket until April 30th. They tried to sneak this under the radar, but word got out and now the natural health community is up in arms over this rule. If you wish to protect your access to nutritional supplements, herbs, essential oils, homeopathic medicine or any other ‘complementary’ or ‘alternative’ modality, it is crucial that you take action to post your comments with the FDA right now and write your representatives in Washington to put a stop to this outrageous effort to destroy natural medicine. (And be sure to really write them. Just sending an email has virtually no impact compared to writing a physical letter in your own words.)”

Write, call, or use this link to send the FDA a message… we want access to supplements, and natural health alternatives!

Click HERE to send a message to the FDA!

Here is the FDA’s address and their phone numbers:
Food and Drug Administration
1401 Rockville Pike, Suite 200N
Rockville, MD 20852-1448
Phone: 800-835-4709 or 301-827-1800

Be sure to cite Docket No. 2006D-0480. Draft Guidance for Industry on Complementary and Alternative Medicine Products and Their Regulation by the Food and Drug Administration in your message, letter, or call.

Here is a link to what the FDA is saying in its “Guidence:”

Guidance for Industry on Complementary and Alternative Medicine Products and Their Regulation by the Food and Drug Administration

Notice that it says that this, “includes, but is not limited to, botanicals, animal-derived extracts, vitamins, minerals, fatty acids, amino acids, proteins, prebiotics and probiotics: whole diets, and ‘functional foods’.” There is is, folks… do you want anything in this list regulated by the FDA?

High Sugar Intake Linked to Cancer

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You know that I am constantly “dinging” pure, white refined sugar as a “Metabolic Poison.” Well, now studies indicate that it can also increase the risk of cancer!

Blood sugar ‘boosts cancer risk’

Women with high blood sugar levels are at an increased risk of developing cancer, a major European study finds.

“Diabetes causes high blood sugar, as does eating too much sugary food. The Swedish research, which looked at 64,500 people, linked raised blood sugar with pancreas, skin, womb, and urinary tract cancers in women. Diabetes experts said more evidence was needed to confirm the link. The study comes as other work links a high fat diet to increased breast cancer risk. In this study, carried out by a team at the University of Umea, high blood sugar was also linked to breast cancer risk – for women under 49. Overall, the research found women in the top 25% range of blood sugar readings after fasting had a 26% higher chance of developing cancer than those in the bottom quarter.”

Prospective Study of Hyperglycemia and Cancer Risk

“The association of hyperglycemia with total cancer risk in women and in women and men combined for several cancer sites, independently of obesity, provides further evidence for an association between abnormal glucose metabolism and cancer.”

It Not Too Late – Send Your Comment NOW!

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You can still send your comment to the FDA on their latest attempt to take away our vitamins and supplements! We have a very narrow window of opportunity to stop their master plan cold in its tracks!

Use this link to comment:

Submit Your Comment Directly to the FDA HERE!

PLEASE say your piece in your OWN words… a “form letter” is not as effective. Here’s what I said:

“Docket: 2006D-0480 – Draft Guidance for Industry on Complementary and Alternative Medicine Products and Their Regulation by the Food and Drug Administration; Availability Temporary Comment Number: 118596

It is up to the individual consumer to decide what they want to use to enhance their health. Herbs, minerals, vitamins and supplements are simply put, ‘food.’ A government agency should not be able to decide what foods I choose to eat, nor should they be allowed to decide what vitamins I can take, or how much. It should be an individual right. My body, my decision. I am the person most responsible for my own health, not the government, not a doctor, not a nutritionist. I should be allowed to make my own decisions. This is what basic health freedom is about!”

I can’t say it strongly enough… PLEASE tell them what you think NOW!

Traditional Naturopath Podcast #28

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The Traditional Naturopath Podcast – 28 – (04/10/07)
Click on the “Play” button (the triangle pointing to the right) below to play it as Streaming Audio.

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Show Notes:
Health Freedom call to action! The benefits of chocolate on health. Big Pharma’s role in creating and marketing “street drugs.” The NC Consumer Health Freedom Bill (HB1358.) Monsanto’s GM corn shows kidney, liver toxicity in animal studies.

Natural Health Freedom Emergency!

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There is a crisis in health freedom! Tell everyone you know that is interested in natural health freedoms! On April 30, 2007 the FDA will close the public comment period on a “Guidance” which will classify every alternative health practice as medicine so that only licensed physicians can carry out the procedures, AND vitamins, minerals, herbs, etc., will suddenly become “untested drugs” which will be forbidden!

Use This Link to Respond to the FDA!

We MUST stand up now for our health freedoms while we can! PLEASE spread the word!

GM Corn Shows Kidney and Liver Toxicity in Animal Studies

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You have seen articles here on the Traditional Naturopath Blog about my concerns over GM (Genetically Modified) foods. I am VERY concerned that the FDA is not even going to require special labeling so that we can avoid it. Why? Well, if we KNEW it was GM, we wouldn’t buy it, and that would adversely impact business! I would rather they not even make this “monster food,” but at the VERY least they should have warning labels so that those of us that choose to eat only real food can do so!GM Foods

Now, there is direct evidence that GM corn does cause liver and kidney toxicity! But, does this mean that the government will ban it? No!

Monsanto’s GM corn MON863 shows kidney, liver toxicity in animal studies

“A variety of genetically modified corn that was approved for human consumption in 2006 caused signs of liver and kidney toxicity as well as hormonal changes in rats in a study performed by researchers from the independent Committee for Independent Research and Genetic Engineering at the University of Caen in France. The corn in question, MON863, is made by the Monsanto Company and approved for use in Australia, Canada, China, the European Union, Japan, Mexico, the Philippines, and the United States. It has had a gene inserted from the bacteria Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt), which causes the plant’s cells to produce a pesticide.

• Researchers fed rats either unmodified corn or diets containing 11 or 30 percent MON863 for 90 days. The rats who ate modified corn were found to exhibit signs of liver and kidney toxicity, as well as signs of hormonal changes.

• Male rats lost an average of 3.3 percent of their body weight, and their excretion of phosphorus and sodium decreased. Female rats gained an average of 3.7 percent of their body weight, while their triglyceride levels increased by 24 to 40 percent.”

The fact that this corn is approved anywhere is a disgrace! We HAVE to demand warning labels, or outright bans!

Great News for NC Health Freedom! HB1358

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A new version of the NC Consumer Health Freedom Bill has been posted on the North Carolina Legislative Site! This bill is supported by the Citizens for Healthcare Freedom (their website link is below.)

Citizens for Healthcare Freedom Website

I would STRONGLY encourage you to read the Consumer Health Freedom Bill at this link:

North Carolina House Bill 1358

Then, PLEASE sign the electronic petition for the bill at this link:

Electronic Petition for HB1358

Here is some information that will explain the need for this excellent legislation!

Problem: The concern is that consumer access is limited in NC to complementary and alternative health care because many practitioners do not practice in NC or if they practice they do so under the threat of being criminally charged with practice of medicine without a license. NC law’s broad definition of medicine requires anyone practicing the healing arts to have a license or be practicing under an exemption or safe harbor. NC does not provide a safe harbor for the many natural healing arts that are widely practiced and pose no risk of harm to the public.

Solution: This bill is a common sense approach used by other states. It provides an exemption to the practice of medicine violations for those persons practicing a healing art within the prohibited conduct parameters and provides clients with proper disclosures.

Rationale
1. Liberty – Every citizen has the right to choose the path of his/her own healing.

2. Free Market – Citizens want more healthcare options broaden the availability of all natural
healing modalities, consistent with worldwide trends. Total U.S. out-of-pocket expenditures related to alternative health care were conservatively estimated $27 billion, comparable to the amount spent on out-of-pocket expenditures for all U.S physician services in 1997*.

3. Cost Effectiveness and Efficacy – Citizens are facing substantial health insurance cost increases.

An estimated 1.4 million (16.75%) North Carolinians do not have health insurance. Citizens want
more healthcare options, particularly for chronic illness. Complementary and alternative health care can be used for chronic as well as preventative medicine. Several studies have found that complementary and alternative health care services, as they are currently provided, do not represent a substantial risk to the general public, and may even contribute to improved safety of health care.

4. States with Exemptions – Six states (MN, CA, RI, ID, LA, OK) have passed similar health freedom bills. Health freedom bills are being introduced in nine additional states and a total of thirty states are known to be addressing this issue.

5. Education – Once protected, the marketplace can more effectively provide citizens with detailed information about complementary and alternative medical services. Freer communication between patients and their conventional and alternative health care providers can benefit all. Two North Carolina medical schools (UNC-CH and Duke) have Integrative Medicine programs actively promoting allied health education in complementary and alternative therapies.

Complementary and Alternative Healthcare Services in North Carolina Extent of Current Practice – As many as 3.3 million North Carolina citizens receive a substantial volume of health care services from complementary and alternative health care practitioners.

Popularity among Patients – The usage of the broad domain of healing arts including complementary and alternative practices continues to grow even though the patient typically pays for the total cost of the service. Americans made more visits to complementary and alternative healthcare providers (629 mi) than to all primary care physicians (386 mi) in 1997*. Total number of visits to complementary providers increased by 47% from 427 mi in 1990 to 629 mi in 1997 nationwide.*

* Per David Eisenberg, M.D., Harvard Medical School

“Big Pharma” Really DOES Push Drugs!

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You’ve heard me gripe about how big pharmaceutical companies “push” their drugs on unsuspecting people through medical doctors, but did you know their history with regard to REAL, heavy “street drugs?”

The secret history of Big Pharma’s role in creating and marketing heroin, LSD, meth, Ecstasy and speed

I double dare you to read the article at the above link!

“Once you realize the connection between street drugs and prescription drugs, it’s easy to figure out why Big Pharma is such a strong supporter of the Partnership For A Drug-Free America — because they don’t want consumers getting their drugs from street dealers, they want people buying their drugs from drug companies! Drug companies’ attempts to outlaw street drugs are little more than a way of eliminating the competition and monopolizing the drug market. Ultimately, Big Pharma is just another drug pushing cartel that has the same goals as any drug dealer: Convince customers they need your drug, get them hooked on it, and eliminate the competition. The only difference is that Big Pharma has been so successful at dealing drugs that it has enough funds to buy off Congress, the Food and Drug Administration and practically the entire psychiatric industry (not to mention medical schools and mainstream media outlets).”

Eating Chocolate May Be More Important Than We Ever Realized!

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The Cacao PlantThere have been a lot of great articles and studies done recently about the benefits of chocolate on health. And, there have been the typical “morning TV talk show” comments about, “See I knew all that chocolate was good for me! Yuk-yuk!” Well, what we think of as “chocolate” amounts to a little actual chocolate and a LOT of sugar… which mitigates the benefits to our health, unfortunately! Sugar, as I have said many times before, is a “metabolic poison!” But, raw, dark, untreated chocolate (as always, foods are healthier in their natural form) does seem to almost be too good to be true health-wise!

Check out this information:

Eating Chocolate May be More Important to Your Health Than Penicillin

“Epicatechin, a compound found in unrefined cocoa, could have health benefits that rival penicillin and anesthesia in terms of importance to public health. Norman Hollenberg, professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, has spent years studying the effects of routine cocoa drinking on the Kuna people of Panama. The Kuna, who drink up to 40 cups of cocoa a week, have a less than 10 percent risk of stroke, heart failure, cancer and diabetes. Hollenberg believes that epicatechin should be considered a vitamin, and other nutrition experts believe that epicatechin is so important that it could even warrant a rethinking of how vitamins are defined. Epicatechin is removed from commercial cocoas because it tends to have a bitter taste. It is also found in teas, wine, chocolate and some fruits and vegetables.”

Wow! This is amazing information! Now, here’s what Dr. Joseph Mercola says about this information:

“Consuming chocolate could be far more important than anyone, including me, ever imagined. I remember very clearly reviewing the first studies that came out nearly 10 years ago. I was absolutely convinced that since they were funded by Mars candy there was massive conflict of interest and very little truth to the science. But time has certainly disproved that. Now, there still isn’t any benefit to eating the vast majority of candy that is passed off as chocolate. The major benefits are restricted to the raw and very bitter cacao beans (from which cocoa is processed) and the more they are processed and sweetened the more the benefits are decreased. Does epicatechin-rich cocoa really reduce the risk of the four most deadly diseases — cancer, heart failure, diabetes and stroke — to less than 10 percent? It’s possible. In fact, some experts believe these diseases may eventually be viewed as the result of an epicatechin deficiency.”

I have long thought that we need to “re-visit” the question: “What is a vitamin?” One of the things that I learned in my natural health classes leading to my doctorate was that at one point it was arbitrarily claimed that there “were no more vitamins to be found.” A similar statement was made in 1899 by Charles H. Duell, then Director of U.S. Patent Office, when he said, “Everything that can be invented has been invented.” RIGHT! The supposed “fact” that “there can be no more vitamins” has even led to a more recently discovered co-enzyme (most vitamins function as co-enzymes) being called “Co-Enzyme Q10.” Why not “Vitamin Q?” Well, because, “there can be no more vitamins!” People can be SO arrogant! So… will epicatechin eventually be thought of as an essential vitamin? It certainly sounds important!

Traditional Naturopath Podcast #27

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The Traditional Naturopath Podcast – 27 – (03/24/07)
Click on the “Play” button (the triangle pointing to the right) below to play it as Streaming Audio.

Download MP3
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Show Notes:
Omega-3 Fatty Acids, found in flaxseed, fish and other foods, may reduce the risk of getting colorectal cancer by two-thirds in men, a new study suggests. There is one caveat, though: the effect is seen in men who do not take aspirin. The most widely prescribed sleeping pills can cause strange behavior like driving and eating while asleep, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which announced Wednesday that strong new warnings would be placed on the labels of 13 drugs, like Ambien and Lunesta. U.S. doctors may be over-prescribing antibiotics for sinus infections, which are often caused by viruses and not bacteria, according to a new study. A genetically modified (GM) strain of malaria-resistant mosquito has been created that is better able to survive than disease-carrying insects. What’s in those Chicken McNuggets? The most alarming ingredient in a Chicken McNugget is tertiary butylhydroquinone, or TBHQ, an antioxidant derived from petroleum that is either sprayed directly on the nugget or the inside of the box it comes in to “help preserve freshness.” This is butane… or, lighter fluid!!!

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