This is Ridiculous

[halfaclue]

12 dangerous dietary supplements identified by 'Consumer Reports'

Thu Apr 8, 7:29 AM ET Add Top Stories - USATODAY.com to My Yahoo!


By Elizabeth Weise, USA TODAY

If they're natural, they must be safe, right? Not so, say researchers at Consumer Reports magazine.


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In a report in the May issue, the consumer publication found a dozen herbal supplements - some banned in Asia, Europe and Canada but widely available in the USA - that may cause cancer, kidney or liver damage and even death.


They include:


• Aristolochia, linked to kidney failure and cancer.


• Yohimbe, linked to heart and respiratory problems.


• Bitter orange, similar to ephedra, the banned weight-loss supplement believed responsible for 155 deaths nationwide.


The researchers also cited chaparral, comfrey, germander, kava and scullcap, all of which are known or likely causes of liver failure; lobella because of its impact on the heart; and pennyroyal oil because of possible liver, kidney and nerve damage.


Two of these supplements have already been acted on by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (news - web sites). Organ/glandular extracts are affected by FDA restrictions on the use of bovine materials in supplements because of the risk of mad cow disease.


And in March, then-FDA commissioner Mark McClellan warned companies to stop selling the bodybuilding supplement androstenedione (andro).


"A lot of people believe that herbal supplements are safe because they've been used for years in traditional medicine," says senior editor Nancy Metcalf. But "when they went looking for problems in China, they found plenty of them."


The findings highlight the lack of oversight. A 1994 law, the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act, has been seen as tying the hands of regulators because it requires the FDA to allow the sale of any supplement it cannot prove is unsafe.


But a recent report by the National Institutes of Medicine says flat out that the FDA doesn't need direct evidence of human harm to stop sales of dangerous supplements. It's enough to establish the danger using animal or test-tube studies, or even with reports of problems from similar products.


Manufacturers should be required to report side effects and include a phone number on packaging for consumers who want to do so, the panel said.


Meanwhile, the FDA has sent warning letters to 16 dietary-supplement distributors found to be making false and misleading claims on the Internet for weight-loss products. Many claim to block starch, carbohydrates and fat calories, creating weight loss without any lifestyle changes.


Not all supplements are snake oil, Consumer Reports says. It identified three that show possible benefits and low risks, including saw palmetto for benign enlarged prostate, glucosamine and chondroitin for arthritis, and fish oil capsules for heart health.

 

[gab9681]

Yeah, I just read that too. Nice, real nice. I already sent my comments to the FDA.

 

[Slyder190]

You're right it is ridiculous. Uncle Sam got some set of balls banning ephedra and telling us other supplements are dangerous, all the while allowing tobacco and alcohol to be remain legal.

 

[wellbilt]

fuck the govt i will make a bet inb the near future you will see all of those so called safe supps pulled so the fda can aprove them and make the perscription drugs so you will have to pay top dollar for glusomine saw pallmetto just my 2 cents

 

[Stryker1992]

How about St John's Wort, Ginko, and Ginsing

 

[NYBodyguard]

Im not a doctor but here is another way to look at things

Recently the FDA annonced that anti depression pills can cause suicide, now think about it if you are taking anti depression pills you are in some way fuckeduup in the head in the first place. (most cases)

Same goes with fat fucks who cant control their mouth and their life and they take stuff, well maybe they got sick from being a fat fuck not from the supplemet

 

[Fonz]

100 million people in the US are on some form of Anti-depressant.

Anyways, if supplements are indeed banned for OTC use, the pharm companies will sweep in, alter the product ever so slightly as to go around patents, and sell it at Rx prices....i.e. at 10X the old OTC price.

Its about money...always is. Just follow the money trail.

14,000 people die per year from tylenol and paracetamol related deaths(Mainly from liver failure) Both are extremely bad for the liver. Take 100 extra srength tylenols and you'll die within 3 days of liver failure. Sure is an agonizing way to die. But most people who commit suicide unfortunately do this. And those who survive will be hospitalized probably permanently.

Also, even though it has more pros than cons, aspirin contributes to those 14,000 deaths via bleeding ulcers. As its acidic, it attcks the ulcer, and the person can bleed out(normally an older person). Covering the aspirin in an enteric coating gets rid of the acidity problem, but companies refuse to do this because it would hurt thier bottom line. Like I said, all about money.

To date, I have only read about 10 cases(REAL) of ephedra related deaths.
I do not include the woman who decided that taking 2250mg at once of PURE ephedrine HCL(Well, with the expectorant guaifenesin) would make her thin(She was obese)(No joke here). The FDA considers her a genuine ephedra-related death.....which is just downright laughable.

If you look at the whole picture, The FDA can twist the facts to suit whatever needs they want, which in turn suits the needs of the pharm companies. Its only a matter of time, till their scheme succeeds. Sad, but inevitable really.

 

[Barak]

One of the main problems is the FDA is lobbied by Pharmaceutical giants, just like the politicians are, it won't ever happen but if you put an end to that, as has been done in other countries, they would back off alot of things as they would not profit from it.I would like to see the lobbying of government agencies and their heads made a criminal offense.But it won't happen and the almighty dollar will win out. Good Post.

 

[napolean22]

Money greases the wheels that make the world go round.