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> " HSI - Jenny Thompson "

> <HSIResearch

 

> Dates to Remember

> Thu, 26 Aug 2004 09:19:28 -0400

>

> Dates to Remember

>

> Health Sciences Institute e-Alert

>

> August 26, 2004

>

>

************************************************************

 

>

> Dear Reader,

>

> Whenever you hear FDA officials warn against

> purchasing inexpensive

> drugs from Canada or other foreign countries, one of

> the primary

> dangers they cite is the possibility that the

> expiration dates for the

> drugs may have passed.

>

> In the case of most drugs, however, this is just

> another hollow

> warning. As FDA officials are fully aware.

>

>

---------------------------

>

> Extreme measures

>

---------------------------

>

>

> In 1979 the FDA set out guidelines for expiration

> dates, required of

> all prescription and over-the-counter drugs. But the

> regulatory

> mandate to drug companies was not to establish

> exactly how long a drug

> would be potent and safe, but rather to set an

> arbitrary date, and

> then do the testing necessary to guarantee that a

> drug would be potent

> and safe at least until that date.

>

> So when a company sets an expiration date for a new

> drug – let's say,

> for instance, 18 months – they don't place the drug

> on a shelf for a

> year and a half and then test it for potency.

> Instead they subject it

> to extremes of humidity, heat, and light (the three

> enemies of drug

> potency), designed to approximate deterioration over

> time. This is

> followed by chemical analysis to insure that the

> active ingredients

> are still intact.

>

> Since the beginning of the expiration date

> requirement, scientists for

> both the FDA and drug companies have generally

> agreed that the testing

> standards are rigorous enough that most drugs are

> safe and potent well

> beyond their established expiration dates. And while

> this information

> wasn't really kept secret, no one was shouting it

> from the rooftops

> either.

>

> Then in the mid-80s, a major drug customer started

> asking questions.

>

>

---------------------------

>

> Military savings

>

---------------------------

>

>

> It's probably safe to say that the number one

> consumer of prescription

> drugs in the U.S. is the military. And because our

> armed forces have a

> huge stockpile of drugs on hand at all times,

> expiration dates are an

> important and expensive issue. Imagine: If every

> drug purchased by the

> military were tossed out on the first day after its

> expiration month,

> millions of dollars would be going down the drain

> yearly.

>

> In 1985 the military had reached a point where its

> store of drugs was

> worth about $1 billion. FDA scientists were called

> on to help

> determine which drugs could be safely used beyond

> listed expiration

> dates. The FDA tests showed that out of more than

> 100 tested drugs,

> about 90 percent of them were still fully potent and

> safe well past

> their expiration date, and in some cases for YEARS

> past that date.

>

> As a result, over a period of five years in the

> mid-90s, the military

> spent almost $4 million to test certain drugs for

> realistic expiration

> dates, and ended up saving more than $260 million by

> extending the use

> of many drugs past their listed dates. (Go ahead and

> savor that. It's

> not every day you hear about the military SAVING our

> tax dollars.)

>

>

---------------------------

>

> Ancient aspirin

>

---------------------------

>

>

> Not all drugs are quite as durable as the majority

> of them are. A

> former FDA expiration-date compliance chief named

> Joel Davis told the

> Wall Street Journal that nitroglycerin, insulin, and

> some liquid

> antibiotics are more perishable and should be used

> or discarded before

> their listed " use by " date.

> But more common drugs like aspirin, for instance,

> are probably still

> good a full two years past the expiration date. In

> fact, Bayer has

> tested aspirin as old as four years and found it to

> be just as

> effective as the day it was manufactured. The big

> question, however,

> is this: What happens to that aspirin and other

> drugs in your medicine

> cabinet over the course of several years?

>

> As I said above, the culprits that rob drug potency

> are heat,

> humidity, and direct light. So ironically, medicine

> cabinets in

> bathrooms that get steamed up by daily hot showers

> may not be the best

> place to keep medications. But a refrigerator is

> perfect: cool, dark,

> and dry.

>

>

---------------------------

>

> Dated supplements

>

---------------------------

>

>

> Does all of the above also apply to vitamins and

> other dietary

> supplements?

>

> In many respects, yes.

>

> Of course the military doesn't stockpile $1 billion

> worth of vitamins,

> so there's been no high-profile testing to use as a

> guide. But all

> reliable supplement manufacturers conduct tests to

> determine how long

> the full potency of their products can be

> guaranteed. And while

> supplements are generally regarded as effective and

> safe beyond their

> expiration dates, you wouldn't purchase food that

> had passed the " sell

> by " date, and I'm sure you wouldn't purchase a

> supplement after that

> date either.

>

> Like drugs, vitamins and supplements should be kept

> away from heat,

> humidity, and direct light. And if you should notice

> a change in the

> odor, taste or appearance of a supplement (or a

> drug), you would be

> wise to discard it, regardless of the expiration

> date.

>

> Bottom line: Store your supplements and medications

> properly, and many

> of them could still be effective long after the " use

> before " date.

>

>

************************************************************

 

>

> ...and another thing

>

> Want another reason to make sure you're getting

> enough vitamin D?

>

> Just last week, in the e-Alert " Raise a Holler "

> (8/17/04), I told you

> how vitamin D intake may help chase the blues and

> enhance feelings of

> wellbeing during the winter months. But as we've

> seen before, an

> adequate vitamin D intake promotes good health in a

> number of

> different ways.

>

> In a study that appeared in the Journal of the

> American Medical

> Association, more than 3,000 subjects, aged 50 to 75

> years, were

> screened for colon cancer. Using dietary

> questionnaires, researchers

> found a clear association between vitamin D intake

> of more than 645 IU

> per day and a reduced risk of colon cancer. Those

> who had the greatest

> protection also used multivitamins, exercised

> regularly, and had diets

> with high fiber content.

>

> Two other factors were also associated with a lesser

> risk of the

> disease: cereal fiber intake and the use of

> nonsteroidal anti-

> inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). But of course, both of

> these factors have

> drawbacks, such as a possible high carbohydrate

> intake with cereal

> fiber and various side effects associated with

> NSAIDs.

>

> So once again, D does it. Put an extra helping of

> fish on your menu

> each week and spend a little time out in the

> sunshine, and you'll

> probably end up enjoying a wide variety of very

> healthy benefits.

>

> To Your Good Health,

>

> Jenny Thompson

> Health Sciences Institute

>

>

************************************************************

>

> Sources:

>

> " Many Medicines Prove Potent for Years Past Their

> Expiration Dates "

> Laurie P. Cohen, the Wall Street Journal, 3/28/00,

> wsj.com

> " Vitamins Expiration Date " Elizabeth Somer, M.A.,

> R.D., WebMD,

> 11/20/00, content.health.msn.com

> " Risk Factors for Advanced Colonic Neoplasia and

> Hyperplastic Polyps

> in Asymtomatic Individuals " Journal of the American

> Medical

> Association, vol. 290, no. 22, 12/10/03,

> ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

> " Vitamin D Reduces Colon Cancer " Dr. Joseph Mercola,

> 1/3/04,

> mercola.com

>

> Copyright ©1997-2004 by www.hsibaltimore.com,

> L.L.C. The e-Alert may

> not be posted on commercial sites without written

> permission.

>

>

************************************************************

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