Paleo Diet: The FDA and Supplements

Posted on September 4, 2011 By Lila Solnick FDA, Food and Health, Government, Nutrition, Paleo Diet

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) continues its battle against the health of the citizens in of the US. This battle has included the approval of drugs for diseases with known cures (diabetes, for example) and of course food and vitamins supplements. According to the FDA dietary supplements cannot prevent or help treat disease. Even if you are following the Paleo diet, the FDA’s actions against supplements can effect you.

It is not surprising that FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg would use blatant and deceptive propaganda to attack the dietary supplement industry. As a self-proclaimed “zealot for the advancement of regulatory science,” Hamburg would like the consumer public to believe the earth is flat—and that dietary supplements cannot prevent and help treat disease. She is well-educated in science, especially neuropharmacology and the new genomic science, thus it poses a dilemma for her when study after study demonstrates the power of dietary supplement ingredients. These studies show that dietary supplement ingredients influence the human genome in ways that prevent disease as well as offer practical solutions to help treat most common, age-related diseases that afflict millions of Americans. Such diseases include type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and many resistant forms of cancer.

Instead of embracing the nutritional gene science and ushering in a new generation of health, happiness, and wellbeing for Americans, Hamburg has chosen a return to yesteryear, a not-so healthy, happy time. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is doing everything in its power to prevent the truth from being told. Logically, we ask, what are her motives? One of them is clear—facilitating pharmaceutical takeover of many ingredients sold by the dietary supplement industry.

If it is a natural product and can’t be patented, it’s not desired. The key is that pharmaceutical companies must continue to make billions of dollars by perpetuating the idea that natural remedies and food and vitamin supplements cannot cure disease. No money to be made from them.  The FDA has been involved in the suppression of beneficial treatments for a long time.

For as long as a hundred years, FDA management has been in a constant revolving door with high-paying Big Pharma jobs and the large agribusiness/food companies it is supposed to be regulating. This corrupt corporate culture pays lip service to actual safety issues while it uses the FDA as a vehicle to secure profits and wipe out competition. It is a flagrant abuse of regulatory power.

The FDA’s “public health” battle front is invariably against those who offer any alternative to the elite “FDA profit club.” In modern times this includes the dietary supplement industry, family/organic farms, and health professionals engaged in complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). Indeed, the dietary supplement industry in the United States is booming, with sales of $28 billion in year 2010. When you add in the natural/organic food industry and functional foods, that figure hits $117 billion.

 Now the battle is intensifying since the baby boomer generation has become better educated. More of us have turned to alternative treatments, therapies, vitamins supplements and even diet, like the Paleo diet, to cure what ails us. And it’s working, for us, not the drug companies. As more and more of us turn to alternative medicine, the pharmaceutical companies see their profits disappearing. They are desperately trying to hold onto us, but we are like sand between their fingers. Since the main reason for the existence of the FDA is to keep the drug companies profitable (What? You thought it was to protect the citizens’ health? Silly you!) the FDA is always proposing new regulations to limit the sale of dietary supplements.

The aging, baby boomer population is better educated than previous generations. While they listen to what the FDA and their doctors have to say, they are far more likely to ask questions and plot their own self-determined course of action. Use of CAM in the U.S. now involves 41.8 percent of adults, and that number rises to 61.4 percent for those struggling with health problems. As you can see, profits from failed and dangerous remedies sanctioned by the FDA and its crony alliances are rapidly diminishing. Big Pharma companies are desperate to get their hands on nutrients to help replace their plunging profits from expiring patents and a skimpy new drug pipeline.

The current battle in this ongoing saga centers on the FDA’s newly proposed regulations. The new regulations, known as “Draft Guidance for Industry: Dietary Supplements: New Dietary Ingredient Notifications and Related Issues,” were proposed on July 1, 2011. These regulations attempt to redefine which supplements can be on the market and potentially remove many of the best nutrients. Regarding their overall effect, these proposed regulations will cause many small and medium-sized American businesses to close and/or incur significant financial loss. Some large companies may survive, but with drastically reduced product offerings.

Big Pharma companies would be able to cherry pick numerous nutrient ingredients they desire. And most unfortunately, these proposed regulations will limit consumer access to affordable dietary supplements and dietary supplements in general. This is a diabolical regulatory proposal, falsely presented as a “needed” public health safety measure when, in fact, no such definable public health problem can be identified by the FDA that would otherwise be remedied by these regulations. The FDA’s illegal actions will be fought in court every step of the way.

I have explained the key points of this issue in two previous articles, “Senator Durbin & the FDA Viciously Attack Dietary Supplements” and “The FDA’s Scheme to Reclassify Nutrients as Drugs.”

There is a lot more to this article. To read it, click here……

So, we have this federal agency attempting to steal our good health, right from under us. What can be done? First, continue to educate yourself about health and wellness. Learn the root cause of the disease you may have or how to prevent yourself from getting sick to begin with. The information is out there. We DO know what causes diabetes, heart disease, cancer and more. There is science to back it up.  Then make sure you communicate with your representatives, frequently. Voice your pleasure or displeasure on how they’ve voted. Give them feedback. The more frequent the better. Armed with better information we can make a difference.  This is YOUR health we are talking about. Take charge. And consider following the Paleo diet. Many diseases and health problems can be successfully treated by following the Paleo lifestyle, which can include food supplements. Even Paleo diet followers recognize that our food is not as nutritious as it was 10,000 years ago. The FDA is determined to steal our supplements and good health. Let’s not allow that to happen.

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dietary supplements, disease prevention, drug companies, FDA, pharmaceutical companies, vitamin supplements, vitmain regulation