Medline Plus is a publication of the National Institute of Health[1] , with a byline of “Trusted Health Information for You”. Mary Elizabeth Dallas issued a press report[2] on November 11, 2013, titled No Good Data For or Against Taking Vitamins, Experts Say.
A Task Force report suggests that we should consider eating a healthy diet instead of taking all of those vitamins and supplements[3] . U.S. Preventive Services Task Force spoke through a co-chair Dr. Michael LeFebre said
"In general, the Task Force found that there is not enough evidence to determine whether you can reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease or cancer by taking single or paired nutrients, or a multivitamin."
The Task Force report goes on to say in its draft guidelines,
“In some cases, certain supplements, such as beta carotene or vitamin E, may actually do more harm than good. Instead of focusing on supplements, they recommend that people focus on the health benefits of a well-balanced diet instead.”
The news release has a link to the NIH’s advice on Dietary Supplements[4] . This link has some helpful advice on taking dietary supplements. You can select calcium[5] .
“People who do not eat enough high-calcium foods should take a calcium supplement.
NIH: National Institutes of Health Office of Dietary Supplements”
It appears that the Task Force from the NIH did not read the NIH Health Office of Dietary Supplements website that recommends calcium supplements for people not eating a diet that is rich in calcium.
The Task Force states that there is not enough evidence about the efficacy of multivitamins and supplements to know if they work, and that we need to be eating a healthy diet.
The reason that the Task Force says that there is no good information on the effectiveness of the vitamins and supplements is because the FDA, NIH, USDA and CDC all rely on the pharmaceutical companies and food producers to tell them what is safe.
This is clearly a “fox in the hen house” approach to food and drug safety. The makers of vitamins and supplements, which are also large pharmaceutical companies, are not interested in publicizing the effects of combinations of vitamins and supplements that may be harmful. They merely label their products with a disclaimer that has been handily provided by the FDA to try to limit their liabilities.
“These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any diseases.”
The FDA has provided a similar “stay out of court free card” to pharmaceutical companies by allowing them to state all of the extremely adverse side effects in their commercials while closing by saying that you should consult your physician about getting a prescription for this wonderful drug.
It is time for the FDA to actually prove or disprove the effectiveness and side effects of all pharmaceutical drugs, vitamins and supplements and then ban those that don’t work or that will likely kill you.
Eating a healthy diet sounds like good advice. Let’s take a closer look.
In order to eat a healthy diet, we should know what we are eating and which foods are good for creating or supporting healthy bodies. We need to know the sources of the plants and animals we are eating, and we need to know what chemicals, hormones, pesticides and herbicides have been involved in producing the foods.
Oops. We don’t have that information, and the USDA and the FDA are clearly helping food producers keep us from knowing what we are eating or drinking.
Congress is considering banning state laws that require labeling of foods that contain genetically modified organisms (GMO) instead of passing a federal law that requires all labeling of GMO contents. The USDA has finally issued a limit on arsenic content in apple juice equal to the level allowed in water.
Does it seem odd that the USDA would state the allowable amount arsenic, a historically known deadly poison, for apple juice that has its highest consumption by infants? The USDA is protecting the profits of the apple growers while enabling feeding arsenic contained in apple juice to our babies.
The USDA has also proposed to increase the allowable residual amount of glyphosate on potatoes by 30 times. Glyphosate is the key ingredient in Roundup, which is a proud product of the Monsanto Corporation. Monsanto has many friendships established in Congress, the USDA, EPA and one notable one in the US Supreme Court.
Nearly all of our meats have growth hormones used in feeds, and the USDA sets the standards on the amounts of these known carcinogens that can be included in feeds. The feeds are used in beef, pork and turkey production. Strangely enough, they are prohibited in chickens. The chicken lobby must have low influence in Congress and the USDA.
The National Institute of Health and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention need to actually put pressure on the FDA, USDA, EPA and other government agencies to make it possible for us to eat a healthy diet.
We can all agree that we would like to be able to eat a diet that prevents diseases and improves our health. It is time to make our desires known to our elected representatives and to the heads of these key government agencies to allow us to make intelligent choices of our foods, vitamins and supplements.
Contact Senator Sherrod Brown[6] , Senator Rob Portman[7] , Congressman Pat Tiberi[8] and Congressman Steve Stivers[9] to ask them to pass federal legislation to require labeling of GMO foods, and to fund research on the efficiency of vitamins and supplements. Those vitamins, supplements and drugs that have harmful side effects should be banned.
You should also contact the heads of the CDC, FDA, and USDA to express concern that they are working to make our food supply safer and that pharmaceutical drugs, vitamins and supplements cannot hide behind disclaimers or sell drugs that have been disclosed to cause death or other highly adverse reactions.
Contact the Center for Disease Control’s Office of Science Quality[10] to emphasize the need for research on the interaction of food additives, pesticides and herbicides, and genetically modified organisms on health. The USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service[11] is responsible for setting standards on meat production and safe processing facilities.
References
- ^ Health (www.examiner.com)
- ^ press report (www.nlm.nih.gov)
- ^ vitamins and supplements (www.examiner.com)
- ^ Dietary Supplements (www.nlm.nih.gov)
- ^ calcium (www.nlm.nih.gov)
- ^ Senator Sherrod Brown (www.brown.senate.gov)
- ^ Senator Rob Portman (www.portman.senate.gov)
- ^ Congressman Pat Tiberi (tiberi.house.gov)
- ^ Congressman Steve Stivers (stivers.house.gov)
- ^ Office of Science Quality (www.cdc.gov)
- ^ Food Safety and Inspection Service (www.fsis.usda.gov)
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