by Lucius Trae

Created on: May 20, 2010

The FDA needs to regulate natural supplements and herbal remedies for a variety of reasons. Obviously, regulation of prescription medications are enforced because of health concerns. Similarly, the government requires foods to meet certain standards of quality and advertise in specific ways. In both cases, there are economic concerns that work against the consumer. However, there is a lot of misinformation surrounding natural supplements and herbal remedies.

It's widely known that economic corruption is a problem within the pharmaceutical industry. In fact, it's a common problem in a variety of industries, including alternative medicine. You can say what you want about prescription drugs, but they provide doctors with accessible information. This gives them the results of a medication according to scientific tests, the testing methodology, and a variety of other details. Doctors learn how the medication may react with other drugs, what side effects can occur, and other valuable facts. Of course, info arises over time through the general population. A drug can't be tested to see how it affects every medical condition and how it interacts with other drugs and dietary choices.

When a drug is allowed on the market, it has been tested and evaluated. Do the side effects justify the benefits - do they given other drugs on the market? Does it perform better than the placebo? These kinds of questions are important.

If I name supplements, people will dismiss my article. However, there is a long list of natural supplements that provide little to no benefits. Furthermore, an even larger lists has benefits, but it exaggerates them or claims to provide other advantages that don't actually exist. There are millions of people buying medical supplements that don't work. Not in my opinion. They have taken people who claim to benefit from the substance, given some placebos and others not, and they concluded that the supplement does nothing. A lot of people taking supplements are getting a placebo effect or imaging a benefit that didn't actually occur.

Obviously, natural supplements can't be completely regulated. Many of those supplements are concentrated forms of everyday foods. However, regulation will allow useless supplements to be pulled off the shelves. Or at minimum, they can be moved to a section of supplements that don't work. Those that insist they do can still buy them, and the general population can be left knowing what they buy actually works. Furthermore, many natural

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