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RSS FeedShould the FDA regulate natural supplements and herbal remedies?
Results so far:
| Yes | 59% | 338 votes | Total: 571 votes | |
| No | 41% | 233 votes |
Yes
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Add to FavoritesConsidering that certain "herbs" can cause liver failure, bleeding or labor that's potentially harmful to a baby, the answer would most certainly be "Yes".
Before you panic and go toss out your stash of so-called natural supplements, consider that most are probably harmless and some totally useless. Why? Well ask yourself who regulates what goes into those preparations? Where is the standardization? Even if the active ingredient in proven to be effective, is it present in all preparations in high enough doses to do any good?
As a matter of fact, who defines what is "natural" or "herbal"? It's so arbitrary. The active ingredient in certain prescription drugs come from plants but those are not usually considered to be natural supplements, so what allows a manufacturer to call his product "natural"?
Most importantly, where is the scientific evidence that the product does what the manufacturer claims? Sure the FDA can prevent false claims about curing diseases, but they need to be able to prevent millions of dollars being spent on ineffective preparations.
Manufacturers of natural supplements often seek authenticity for their product by referring to their use by indigenous people in some corner of the globe. Well, guess what percentage of plant-derived pharmaceutical products were developed by observing their use in traditional medicine? Seventy-five percent!
While I believe that there are a great many effective remedies and healthy supplements in our forests and elsewhere, some still waiting to be discovered, I also know that there are many scammers out there preying on the gullible. These opportunists are often aided by a powerful psychological force called the "placebo effect"; short translation: "If I believe a totally ineffective product to be beneficial to my body, that belief alone might make me feel better".
Getting back to my opening statement, the examples presented are very real - not made up. Contrary to popular opinion even herbal products have side-effects, some of them serious. Others can interact with prescription medications to produce undesirable effects. Some are harmful if taken by people with certain medical disorders.
A word to the wise: supplements and herbs, just like prescription drugs, can be harmful to your health if taken in the wrong quantities, in the wrong combinations or in the wrong conditions. That's why there needs to be FDA regulation.
Learn more about this author, Penny Phillip.
Click here to send Author comments or questions.
No
by Karlin Brock
Are you aware of the fact that Congress is contemplating an overthrow of The Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act? This may sound paranoid and inflammatory but it is nothing short of the truth.
The DSHEA was created in response to the FDA attempting to regulate nutritional supplements as if they were drugs in 1994. The Nutritional Health Alliance and the public stopped them and the DSHEA was the result. It protects us from the FDA interfering with the sale of nutritional supplements. But they are sneaking in the back door and most people are failing to notice.
The FDA won its case against ephedra and its use has been banned. Studies show that ephedra use is safe when used as directed, but because it had the potential to be abused, the FDA was successful in its case. With this new ruling, the FDA has created two back doors allowing them to treat supplements as drugs.
The Risk/Benefit Analysis is an approach used to test the safety and efficiency of synthetic drugs with possibly lethal side effects. Supplements are not synthetic and they are not drugs. They have been classified as foods, which they are. The FDA is attempting to apply this approach to our supplements.
The Adverse Event Reporting is another approach used to test the safety and efficiency of synthetic drugs with possibly lethal side effects. Again, supplements are not synthetic, nor are they drugs. They are food.
It makes no more sense to test our supplements under these approaches than it would to test the garlic or rosemary in our pantries, or the dandelions growing in our yards. Perhaps they will be testing our potatoes and our broccoli next. It doesn't make sense. The testing would cost taxpayers millions of dollars or more. It would give the FDA the power to ban more of our supplements that many of us depend on daily.
Many over the counter drugs have the potential for abuse. Because they are synthetic, produced by a pharmaceutical company and FDA approved, we do not see them banned. This does not mean that you can't die from an overdose. It simply means that all the right fingers are in all the right pies. Everyone is getting their cut of the profits. If every over the counter drug was held to the same tests as ephedra was, we would not have over the counter drugs at all.
The FDA has already used unscrupulous means to ban ephedra. The FDA is obligated to allow the public to review and comment on any final rule in its entirety prior to enactment. The FDA never indicated that it was utilizing a Risk/Benefit analysis for a dietary supplement prior to the final Ephedra Rule. Our legal rights were denied; therefore the Rule should not stand.
It's very interesting how many current FDA agents are former pharmaceutical company employees. It's also interesting how many have continued to receive pay from the pharmaceutical company they worked for while working for the FDA. The conflict of interest is obvious. The pharmaceutical industry has a huge lobby in Washington. The fewer alternatives that Americans have the more we will have to buy from them. Whether its healthy or best for us or not, they will make their money.
For more information on this subject visit the NHA website at www.nha2004.com. You can also e-mail your Representatives in Congress to speak out against this attempted coup by the FDA. It doesn't have to be a long or fancy letter. Simply tell them to stop the FDA from attempting to regulate or control our supplements. It's that simple.
Learn more about this author, Karlin Brock.
Click here to send Author comments or questions.
