Anyone else here watch "Frontline" on PBS this week?

[Archae]

It was a look at supplements, and how so much of the industry is just one big scam.

Mislabeled products.

Untested claims.

Dangerous ingredients.

Political arm-twisting.

[wheniwasincongress]

1. It is replaying on Sunday

[hopemountain]

2. an establishment message

pushed by pharma to discourage people from supplementing - and doctors to prescribing. it's "safer", ya know.

[Archae]

3. This is one of the standard lines the quacks use.

"Establishment is in a conspiracy to keep us down..."

"Big Pharma" as you call it, is heavily regulated.
Sometimes a medicine falls through a crack, or is pushed.
Darvon used to be heavily prescribed for pain relief, but it was found to cause heart problems.

As was pointed out quite emphatically in the Frontline program, it's very possible that what is listed on the label is either not in the supplement, or too much of it is, or even dangerous substances are in it.
Thanks to a GOP senator, Orrin Hatch from Utah, the supplement industry is just about *UN*regulated.

[ronnie624]

5. I don't take supplements and I don't promote them,

but claiming that the supplement industry has been compromised by influence peddling, while the pharmaceutical industry has not, simply flies in the face of established fact.

[FLPanhandle]

8. Bullshit.

My wife used to work for the FDA and did analysis of what was in common supplements. It's not establishment. It's a fact of what the hell is being sold to people to ingest.

[Odin2005]

9. So says every quack and scam artist.

Fortunately Kevin Trudeau is in prison.

[edhopper]

4. It's all allowed

Thanks to Orren Hatch.

[Blue_In_AK]

6. The last Front Line I watched was

"ISIS in Afghanistan," which was an eye-opener.

[mfcorey1]

7. Here is the link

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/when-it-comes-to-supplements-whats-really-in-the-bottle/

[Archae]

10. See what I mean?

This company is recalling the product because they got caught.

Herbal cough product found to contain morphine

Master Herbs, Inc., of Pomona, California is voluntarily recalling all of its 100-ml bottles of Licorice Coughing Liquid because the product has been found to contain morphine that is not listed on the label. The cough syrup was distributed to Chinese grocery stores in California, New Jersey, Hawaii, Illinois, Ohio and Nevada. The company is not aware of any adverse events associated with the product, but unintended ingestion of morphine can lead to severe allergic reactions and life-threatening respiratory depression. [Master Herbs, Inc. issues voluntary nationwide recall of all lots of licorice coughing liquid due to the presence of morphine. Master Herbs press release, Jan 20, 2016]

http://www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/ucm482524.htm

[haele]

11. To be honest, the idea of suppliments isn't bad, it's always the hucksters.

I watched the special, and agree with the last segment with the biologist that did DNA checks, that supplements and vitamins can and should be regulated better, especially since some conditions actually do require some sort of supplementation.
Especially since we (in general) don't have the range of diet that even our grandparents had that gives us the proper amount of minerals, proteins, and vitamins to support health or offset the damages illness, injury, or medication does to the body. It's not a woo position, in many instances, there is just not the access to the proper amount of nutritional components available that doesn't also have components that do just as much damage as good.

Naturopaths usually don't start as hucksters, and the science behind pharmacy relies on natural substances and compounds. Once money gets involved, however, regulation is a necessity; despite the protests of Woos, the Randriods and Free-Marketeers, more doesn't mean better and the market doesn't regulate itself.

Bar-coding the DNA of the supplement is a good start - my spouse requires additional amounts of Co-Q-10 and folic acid which there is not a prescription available for due to his medications. Our insurance pharmacy doesn't cover these because we should just spend the next twenty years focusing his time and money on diet and exercise for the natural source those components he is lacking, right? But we can't afford to feed him a pound each of kale and mackerel each day... purchasing a pill makes it much easier to ensure he gets a minimum amount to maintain the level he requires to keep his liver healthy and to minimize hand tremors. As the episode shows, even hospitals use supplements, and they are finding they're not getting what they are being told by suppliers.

We have had to take the time to research both the supplement use and the manufacturer. The implementation of bar-coding they discuss in the episode has made it easier over the past two years.
Treating supplements the same as any other product as to substantiating claims, ingredients, and sourcing shouldn't be such an issue. Whether or not you're into the Woo or the science of the issue.

Haele

[hopemountain]

12. you said it much better than i.

there are safe supplements and they are helpful and useful for many with weakened immune systems or who have restricted diets or limited options for a variety of wholesome food or nourishment.

i protest the pharmaceutical companies that push their patented medications to treat symptoms with minimal testing and contraindications so complicated and dangerous, they are in fact harmful. just about every medication prescribed for me 15 years ago for rheumatoid arthritis is now off the market.

in addition, there are excellent naturopathic practitioners just as there are excellent md's. naturopaths are knowledgeable and skilled in treating the whole person and are more knowledgeable about modalities of treatment and have stricter and broader requirements for licensing.