The Consumers Union, publisher of Consumer Reports, continues its attack
on your freedom to choose health supplements with their recent
announcement that nine out of ten Americans want dietary supplements to
be proven safe before they are marketed. If the survey question is
carefully crafted, there's no doubt that 90% of the people would agree.
But the real story is the question they didn't bother to ask: "Do you
want health supplements, vitamins, minerals and herbs to be banned and
regulated by the FDA?" Because that's the real question here, and the
Consumers Union very well knows it.
The Consumers Union and the FDA
have both been pushing hard to either outlaw all health supplements or
regulate them out of existence. If herbs, for example, were subject to
the same hundred-million-dollar clinical trials required of experimental
prescription drugs, no herb company could afford to fund the tests, and
virtually all herbs would be outlawed. This is, of course,
precisely the outcome desired by the pharmaceutical industry, which sees
herbal medicine as competition for its high-priced prescription drugs.
Such testing for herbs, vitamins and minerals is, of course,
ridiculous. The herbs used medicinally today have a long track record of
safe, effective use. Even the so-called "dangerous" herb ephedra is
thousands of times safer than prescription drugs and even
over-the-counter drugs. Skeptical? Consider that ephedra has only been
linked to the deaths of, at most, a hundred people (this number varies
from one report to the next). Meanwhile, over-the-counter painkillers
kill 40,000 Americans each year, and prescription drugs kill another
100,000. With this data in mind, consider the lunacy of the FDA's
branding of ephedra as "dangerous" while OTC drugs and prescription
drugs are apparently safe enough to keep on selling to the population at
large.
I used to think Consumer Reports was a magazine that could be
trusted, but no longer. It seems to be on a crusade to outlaw
nutritional supplements, much to the amusement of the FDA which is
pursuing the same outcome. Make no mistake: certain corporations and
organizations in this country won't be happy until your freedom to
choose natural health supplements has been utterly destroyed,
forcing you and everyone else to rely on overpriced pharmaceuticals.
Your freedom to choose is being assaulted right now. Protect yourself
with information and knowledge. Contact your representatives in
Washington. Let them know you want health supplements to remain on the
shelves so that consumers can protect their health with proven, safe,
affordable supplements like herbs, vitamins and minerals.
About the author: Mike Adams is a natural health author and award-winning journalist with a strong interest in personal health, the environment and the power of nature to help us all heal He has authored more than 1,800 articles and dozens of reports, guides and interviews on natural health topics, and he has created several downloadable courses on survival and preparedness, including his widely-downloaded course on personal safety and self-defense. Adams is an honest, independent journalist and accepts no money or commissions on the third-party products he writes about or the companies he promotes. In 2010, Adams launched TV.NaturalNews.com, a natural health video site featuring videos on holistic health and green living. He also launched an online retailer of environmentally-friendly products (BetterLifeGoods.com) and uses a portion of its profits to help fund non-profit endeavors. He's also a noted pioneer in the email marketing software industry, having been the first to launch an HTML email newsletter technology that has grown to become a standard in the industry. Adams volunteers his time to serve as the executive director of the Consumer Wellness Center, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, and regularly pursues cycling, nature photography, Capoeira and Pilates. He's also author of numerous health books published by Truth Publishing and is the creator of several consumer-oriented grassroots campaigns, including the Spam. Don't Buy It! campaign, and the free downloadable Honest Food Guide. He also created the free reference sites HerbReference.com and HealingFoodReference.com. Adams believes in free speech, free access to nutritional supplements and the ending of corporate control over medicines, genes and seeds. Known as the 'Health Ranger,' Adams' personal health statistics and mission statements are located at www.HealthRanger.org
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Monday, June 14, 2004
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