Summary
A recent report from the Institute of Medicine recapitulates what many critics have been saying for a long time: dietary supplements are unregulated, untested, and have little or no quality control. Still, people continue to buy them. Although it is natural and even praiseworthy that the government wants to help keep people safe, we have to recognize that Americans are a free people, and can make decisions for themselves concerning their health.
Original source:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/editorials/2005-01-12-edit_x.htm
Details
- The new dietary guidelines for an increasingly flabby nation, out Wednesday, take a tough line on couch potatoes.
- Most Americans lead sedentary lives and choose their food poorly, consuming far more calories than they need even as they may be failing to get adequate nutrition, the guidelines say.
- The document goes on for more than 70 pages but can be summarized in four words: Eat less.
- Controlling overall calories, not just a diet fad, such as curbing carbohydrates, is the key --- plus a minimum of 30 minutes of moderate exercise like brisk walking or energetic gardening every day.
- The bad news for the exercise-averse: Many will need at least 60 minutes daily to prevent weight gain, and people who've lost weight may need up to 90 minutes most days to keep it off.
- For a nation in which two-thirds of the population is overweight or obese, the government's prescription is far less alluring than the siren song of diets that promise success without sacrifice.
- But the sad truth is that losing weight is hard work.
- For those who find the government's intake and exercise guidelines too daunting, the dietary supplements that promise weight loss or other health benefits are an appealing alternative.
- The institute said what has long been obvious: Supplements should be required to meet the same standards of effectiveness and safety as conventional medical treatments.
- But thanks to the industry's political clout, Congress has shielded it from regulation while hundreds of people have been killed and thousands made ill by its products.
- Will Congress now heed its doctors' advice on supplements?
Related Articles
• The Health Ranger Answers Common Questions About Nutritional Supplements (transcript)
• Junk science: negative study on calcium and vitamin D supplements was poorly constructed, yet widely reported
• FDA unleashes end game scheme to outlaw virtually all dietary supplements formulated after 1994
• NSI Synergy Multivitamins Earn Coveted "Editor's Choice" Award for Making Quality Nutrition Affordable
• Vitamin warning! Some nutritional supplements use hydrogenated oils as filler
• The Vitamin Hoax: Big Pharma Speaks Through Reader's Digest Magazine
 |
Popular Topics:
Supplements, Dietary supplements, Medicine, Diabetes, Breast cancer, Prostate cancer, Heart disease, Depression, High cholesterol, Osteoporosis, Vaccines, Autism, ADHD, Infertility, Weight loss, Cancer, Alzheimer's, Trans fats, Acrylamides, Fluoride, Mercury |
Take Action: Support NaturalNews.com
Email this article to a friend
Share this article on: NewsVine | digg | del.icio.us
Permalink to this article: http://www.naturalnews.com/003420_supplements_dietary_medicine.html
Reprinting this article: Non-commercial use OK, cite NaturalNews.com with clickable link.
|
 |
 |
Receive our Natural Health Newsletter for FREE
Subscribe now (it's free!) to win. We randomly choose a subscriber each month to send $100 in eco-home products or a RealGoods.com gift certificate (our choice). Plus, you'll receive FREE news, articles and action alerts from NaturalNews.com editors and join over 800,000 monthly readers who report extraordinary health improvements after becoming a subscriber!
- Receive breaking news alerts on natural health solutions, renewable energy, the environment, global warming and more.
- Receive a free instant download of our $29 Secret Sources guide that reveals top sources for little-known health and diet solutions.
|
|
 |
 |
Recommended Special Report:
Seven Words that can Change the World
by Joseph R. Simonetta
Read this special report now...
"Seven Words That Can Change the World reveals the astonishing, simple truths that have the power to forever transform our world for the better while freeing our minds from the enslavement of limiting beliefs. This is not a text for the simple-minded; it is a guiding philosophy for the mindful, intelligent few who are wise enough to seek out -- and recognize -- the higher simplicities of truly purposeful living." - Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, editor of NaturalNews.com
|
More on NaturalNews.com:
• Streaming Health Ranger Videos
• CounterThink Cartoons
• FREE Special Reports
• Podcasts
|
 |
|
 |
 |
NEW 6-CD audio set reveals amazing new protocol for reversing cancer, diabetes, obesity, heart disease and more. Click to learn more. |
 |
Own the first 8 Health Ranger Report audio programs on 6 CDs. Covers weight loss, ADHD, vaccinations, processed meats, bone health and more. Click to learn more. |
Featured Videos
Short clip on Aspartame
A short clip on aspartame from the documentary All Jacked Up.
Click here to view now...
Exclusive video on Aspartame
The dangers of aspartame! Exclusive interview footage from Cori Brackett of Sweet Remedy.
Click here to view now...
Exclusive Footage from All Jacked Up!
See interview footage featuring the Health Ranger in the upcoming junk food film, All Jacked Up.
Click here to view now...
Drug Ad Parody
See the Health Ranger's satire parody of Merck's cholesterol drug ad.
Click here to view now... |
Komen Smokes pink ribbon cigarettes
Pharmacies vs. Health Food Stores
The Sick Care Economy
 |
|
Read recommendations on supplement companies, health food manufacturers and personal care product makers that you can trust. Our 100% independent review list tells you who to trust and who to avoid in the natural health industry. Click to read. |
|