If you wouldn’t allow a vaccine in your bloodstream because you “don’t know what’s in it”, is any pre-prepared and processed “pill” or “potion” different?….think about it.
Journalist Dan Hurley wrote a book, published in 2006, called “NATURAL CAUSES: Death, Lies, and Politics in America’s Vitamin and Herbal Supplement Industry”. I consider the book ‘a good start’.
Hurley reckoned the U.S. vitamin market in 2006 as worth $22billion and growing –fast. He identified UCBerkeley, the hub of the University of California, as the premier insitution for vitamin and nutrition research. On page 51, Hurley quotes Dr. Sidney Wolfe of Public Citizen, “This is a drug industry…The difference between large doses of vitamins..and over-the-counter [drugs] are nonexistent as far as I’m concerned”. On page 159, Hurley writes, “Incredibly, no government agency is presently responsible for testing dietary supplements to assure their purity and potency. One hundred years after Congress passed the Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906, supplement manufacturers continue to enjoy a free pass to operate outside the bedrock principle that all drugs should be, at the very least, pure and of reliable potency”. Wait a minute, isn’t the FDA supposed to be assuring vitamin safety?…Well, the government’s position is “Nutrient supplements cannot replace a healthful diet…in some cases, supplements and fortified foods may cause intakes to exceed the safe levels of nutrients” (p.166).
If you’re going to take vitamins anyway, please learn about them. Dr. Mercola’s newsletter is one source to learn about supplements (he sells them, too, so bear it in mind) http://articles.mercola.com/sites/current.aspx, and always proceed with caution. I’ve encountered a network of Cold Warriors in my studies who invested deeply in the ‘natural’ foods and vitamins industry which has moved me beyond suspicion into the web of bioweaponry.
Jennifer Lake's Blog 
Do you want the FDA to start regulating vitamins then? Isn’t that what Codex Alimentarius is?
Comment by Dave — August 14, 2009 @ 10:16 pm |
Dave,
I think most Americans are under the impression that the FDA is already ‘regulating quality’ when investigator Hurley found that NO agency has this responsibility. Supplement manufacturers subscribe to a “guideline” system of Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) with materials that are Generally Regarded As Safe (GRAS). Lots of wiggle room there!….and Hurley’s main point.
A bottle of vitamins on my shelf lists an independent “quality assurer” who probably uses these same guidelines. To my knowledge, Codex would erase this laxness in the commercial arena and cause major price-hike and supply limitations from a consumer’s point of view. I’ve been told where Codex is in effect that many products are simply unavailable. But just because we can buy certain products here and they look ‘okay’ on the labels doesn’t make them safe, and I’m suggesting from a scientific standpoint.
There’s alot on my plate, and I’m looking into these issues so for the moment I can only speak from personal experience. When I can get a geriatric person to stop popping (mixed and multi) vitamins and follow a “real food” plan, they invariably get better and eventually show where there may be a true nutritional deficit. As a population, there’s general agreement among healthworkers that we are D(3) and B12 deficient. Vitamins really should be a stop-gap and I agree with the position that “supplements cannot replace a healthy diet…..and the next question is, “what’s a healthy diet?”
Comment by jenniferlake — August 15, 2009 @ 1:02 am |
waverly (I moved this comment from “Patriots, Truthers and Lies”–JL)
24.113.158.79 Submitted on 2009/08/15 at 3:52am
Dear Jennifer,
About 7 years ago while trying to help my sister recover from cancer I spent endless days and months of research when I discovered Dr. Carey Reams. At the time she was using Dr. Donald Kelly’s protocol for enzyme therapy and was able to live another 6 years. It believe the enzyme therapy extended her life, but something seemed to be missing.
Dr. Reams had a retreat in Georgia in which he treated people that were sent home to die without hope. He was a mathematician and agronomist as well who developed a test using “the numbers” from urine and saliva samples. He believed that people were minerally deficient especially in calcium and trace minerals. He also tied the problems into minerally deficient soil. Did you know that cobalt is in the center of the vitamin B12 molecule and without cobalt present in the soil there can be no B12 present? Did you know that brussels sprouts need sulfur, boron and calcium to meet it’s nutritional requirements? That nutrient dense foods should dessicate rather than mold and rot? Did you know that each individual has a different body chemistry requiring certain foods to balance their own nutritional needs?
Dr. Reams was a giant in his time, but had little recognition….he was constantly harassed and brought to court, his retreat shut down and driven out of Georgia. Follow-up soon, Waverly
Comment by jenniferlake — August 15, 2009 @ 2:13 pm |
You’ve brought up some very important points. Soil is not only deficient –it’s vanishing. Look up something called “Peak Soil” to get a general idea of the topsoil crisis. Starting a compost, even if you have no property, is a great idea! Worm-bins are excellent for apartment dwellers who have only kitchen scraps to ‘recycle’. They’re easy, inexpensive and don’t smell with proper care (little needed) and turn out some of nature’s finest fertilizer.
However you can manage it, grow your own!
Electro-chemical pollution is individuating all of us more and more and we need to be our own experts to have healthy, quality years. I’m always concerned to hear of the lengths gone to to keep useful and natural therapies from gaining ground, part of our national tragedy. The FDA has been a very big player in this kind of intimidation.
Comment by jenniferlake — August 15, 2009 @ 7:52 pm |