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Alternative Health - Now You See It, Now You Don't

_http://www.jonbarron.org/baseline-health-program/2009-04-13.php_

(http://www.jonbarron.org/baseline-health-program/2009-04-13.php)

 

Alternative health is under assault, but not in the way people think. I'm

not talking about some imagined government conspiracy or obsessing over

some exposé of medical cabals actively suppressing secret cures for cancer.

Besides not being true, that line of thought is pretty much unproductive and,

in the end, facilitates the very result you're trying to avoid. No, what

I'm talking about is a series of unconnected, below the radar, events that

mean very little by themselves but when taken as a whole, have a devastating

impact on your ability to access the supplements you want and need.

By choosing to focus on imaginary conspiracies, the alternative health

community is much like an audience at a magic show distracted by the

exaggerated movements of the magician's right hand, while his left hand does

all the

magic stuff -- unnoticed by the audience. In fact, there have been a series

of headline stories that have appeared in the media over the last couple

of months that when taken as a whole are like the magician's right hand --

thoroughly distracting us, while our pockets are quietly being picked,

unbeknownst to us, by the left hand. (This is the same phenomenon I talked

about

in my _Don't Look at the Pinstripes_

(http://www.jonbarron.org/baseline-health-program/07-21-2003.php) newsletter

back in 2003.) Ultimately, this

represents the single greatest threat to your right to obtain the supplements

and foods you want and need to maintain your health and reverse

catastrophic illness.

Let's start our examination of this issue by looking at a couple of those

attention grabbing, right-handed stories in the news.

What the right hand is doing to confuse the public about complementary

medicine

Government regulation

I recently published a blog entry on _United States House Bill 875_

(http://www.jonbarron.org/blog_published/2009/03/hr_875_-_not_the_end_of_organi.\

html

) . All over the internet, Emails, the blogosphere, and YouTube videos

abound on this issue -- all claiming a grand conspiracy by the US government

to take away your right to have access to organic food, not to mention plans

to throw you in jail for planting a home garden. Although the conspiracy

aspect is total nonsense, the danger of misguided government regulation is

not. If not conspiracy, then what motivates _government officials to attack

the alternative health industry_

(http://www.jonbarron.org/baseline-health-program/2009-01-05.php) ? I believe

there are a number of motivations

including money, ignorance, and publicity seeking. For example:

* Some regulations are designed to protect large farming interests

(the growers of some supplement ingredients) from foreign competition.

* Other regulations, such as HR 875, are the result of a misguided

attempt to address a real public issue -- people getting sick from

contaminated foods or supplements.

* Or how about Governor Patterson's _proposal to tax soda pop in New

York_ (http://www.jonbarron.org/baseline-health-program/2009-01-05.php) ?

* Then again, other regulations such as the assault on _Cocaine

Soda_ (http://www.jonbarron.org/blog_published/2007/04/temp.html) a couple of

years ago are the result of petty bureaucrats trying to capitalize on an

easy target and capture some newspaper headlines. In fact, the State of

Connecticut went so far as to seize 300 cases of the soda in order to grab

headlines. And even though it's all nonsense, I believe these were the same

contributing factors behind HR 875. Oh, I almost forgot to mention,

Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro, who proposed the bill, is from Connecticut, the

state of

the soda seizers. It seems legislators from Connecticut will do anything to

steal a headline from their New York counterparts.

* And yet other motivations such as those behind _Codex Alimentarius_

(http://www.jonbarron.org/baseline-health-program/03-14-2005.php) or

_GlaxoSmithKline's petition to the FDA_

(http://www.jonbarron.org/weight-loss-program/06-09-2008.php) truly represent a

blatant attempt by big pharma to

take control of the supplement industry.

I think you get the idea. Although the reasons share certain elements in

common, they really are too varied and represent too many different

interests to be part of a single grand conspiracy. Also keep in mind how hard it

is

to keep everyone in government on the same page -- _even in the same party_

(http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/03/18/bayh-organizes-moderate-democ

rats/?scp=5 & sq=bayh%20nelson & st=cse) -- unless you're running a

dictatorship. And keep in mind that _government restriction on your right to

choose

the supplements you want and need_

(http://www.jonbarron.org/baseline-health-program/2009-01-05.php) is hardly an

American exclusive. In fact, access

to alternative supplements and remedies is probably greater in America than

just about anywhere else in the world -- a very scary concept.

* Canada pretty much restricts any supplement actually demonstrated

to have an effect -- even those supplements extracted from food such as

DMAE.

* The European Health Initiative bans virtually any supplement or

vitamin not part of the " accepted mainstream " and in any amounts beyond pixie

dust. Again, similar to Canada -- if it works, you can't have it -- even

if it has a safety record stretching back hundreds of years in countries with

ancient medical traditions such as India or China.

* And Australia is now using a variety of regulations to ban the

importation of everything from digestive enzymes to wheat grass juice powder

-- mostly based on agricultural and trade issues as opposed to health or

safety issues.

Instead of conspiracy, look to uninformed legislators hoping to capitalize

on hot issues by scoring points ahead of the " competition. " There is

nothing new here. I talked about this phenomenon several years ago in my

_Counting Camels_ (http://www.jonbarron.org/weight-loss-program/10-09-2006.php)

newsletter.

Doctors get to regulate medical care AND alternative health

Another problem that alternative health faces is that doctors are not

gods; often they are all too human and are hardly disinterested third parties.

They have every reason in the world to promote their expertise and dismiss

any discipline or so called " expertise " not in their purview -- and yes,

any products or treatments that do not represent their financial interest.

This results in many problems.

First, it can lead to out and out fraud. If one digs a little, the

internet is riddled with countless stories of doctors who falsified study data

to

produce results that advance their interests -- whether ego related, or

financially motivated. And one does not have to dig very far to find them. In

fact, just last week _one of the principle researchers for Pfizer's Vioxx

and Celebrex painkillers was shown to be falsifying his data_

(http://www.youhaverights.com/blog/read/doctor-accused-of-faking-favorable-resea\

rch-on-viox

x-and-celebrex/) in dozens of high-profile research studies and

lectures. And of course, those studies served as references and citations for

hundreds of subsequent studies. So, why would someone do something like that?

Well, it turns out the doctor in question received grants for his research

from Pfizer from 2002 to 2007, and he also gave talks about Pfizer drugs to

colleagues as part of the drug company's speakers' bureau. It should be noted

that as word of his fraudulent research emerged, Pfizer quickly attempted

to distance itself from the discredited work, saying the company was " not

involved in the conduct of any of these independent studies or in the

interpretation or publication of the study results. " And yes, I'm sure it's

true

that they didn't actually " ask " him to falsify his results; they merely

paid him to produce good results -- a subtle distinction.

One might ask why no one questioned his data sooner. Perhaps it has

something to do with _the hostile way the medical community treats its own

whistle blowers_ (http://www.ahrp.org/cms/content/view/544/9/) and/or

supporters

of alternative therapies. In any case, the bottom line is that vitamin

companies do not have the assets to compete with pharmaceutical companies when

it comes to partnering with doctors and researchers (that is to say, buying

their affection and support). Until that changes, so called scientific

studies will always be biased in favor of pharmaceuticals.

Silly studies that discredit complementary health remedies

The press regularly prints and reprints the results of bogus studies

without question. I could turn rebutting " scientific nonsense " into a full time

job (if someone paid me for it):

* _Science VS antioxidants_

(http://www.jonbarron.org/blog_published/2007/05/science_vs_antioxidants.html)

* _Vitamins E, C, Beta Carotene and Cancer_

(http://www.jonbarron.org/baseline-health-program/2008-11-24.php)

* _The Case against Vitamin E_

(http://www.jonbarron.org/baseline-health-program/11-08-2004.php)

* _Vitamin E, One More Time_

(http://www.jonbarron.org/baseline-health-program/03-14-2005.php)

* _JAMA VS Echinacea_

(http://www.jonbarron.org/strong-immunity-program/12-08-2003.php)

* _Echinacea, Have Mercy_

(http://www.jonbarron.org/strong-immunity-program/02-27-2006.php)

Even worse, because money for investigative journalism is in such short

supply, _the press now regularly recycles old stories_

(http://www2.tbo.com/content/2009/apr/04/4u-studies-fail-to-confirm-benefits-of-\

vitamin-sup/) --

making them look like fresh news -- since it's much cheaper and easier than

coming up with new stories. The net result is an overwhelming sense that

the scientific community believes that alternative health remedies, natural

supplements, antioxidants, and vitamins are a waste of money.

What the left hand is actually doing to pick your pockets and take away

your access to complementary medicine

Actually, before we get to the left hand, it's probably worth mentioning

the effect of all these right hand activities mentioned above.

* The sponsors of HR 875 have already said they are going to rewrite

the bill to take care of the concerns of organic farmers and home

gardeners. And let's get real here. Did anyone really think Michelle Obama was

going to jail for growing an _organic garden on the White House grounds_

(http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/20/dining/20garden.html) ? Not gonna happen. I

mean the whole purpose of the garden is " to educate children about healthful,

locally grown fruit and vegetables at a time when obesity and diabetes have

become a national concern. "

* Cocaine Energy drink merely renamed itself " Censored " and is still

for sale.

* It's been a year since _GlaxoSmithKline submitted its petition to

the FDA_ (http://www.jonbarron.org/weight-loss-program/06-09-2008.php) to

restrict weight loss claims for alternative health products. Their petition

has not yet been approved.

* Despite all the news stories and studies knocking their

effectiveness, _sales of Echinacea, vitamins, and antioxidants are more popular

than

ever_

(http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/health/2008986731_vitamin05.html) --

literally surging over the last few months.

* Codex creeps along, year after year, but has not been approved in

any form yet that would impact sales of supplements in the United States.

The net result of all this right hand activity, as Shakespeare might say,

is that it struts and frets its hour upon the stage and then is heard no

more. It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying

nothing. " But then again, " signifying nothing " does not mean that nothing is

happening. Remember, the magician's left hand is hard at work.

So what do I mean by the left hand? I mean all of those activities that

are happening below the radar, out of your line of sight -- transgressions

that are steadily eroding your right to purchase the supplements you want and

need, or even to have access to information that would let you know what

those supplements might be.

Some of these transgressions are committed by government agencies

Much of the information we rely on concerning alternative health remedies

comes from the internet...and independent bloggers in particular. Well,

that's just unacceptable for the powers that be. _Revised guidelines on

endorsements and testimonials by the Federal Trade Commission_

(http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/9a58f44c-1fae-11de-a1df-00144feabdc0.html) , now

under review and

expected to be adopted, would hold companies liable for untruthful

statements made by bloggers and users of social networking sites who receive

samples

of their products. And if that's not bad enough, those guidelines would

also hold bloggers liable for the statements they make about products.

Imagine that: potential fines and jail time for making an offhanded comment in

your blog about a product you like. Note: unlike HR 875, these regulations do

not require public debate, do not require a vote in congress, and are

slipping through under the radar. While people are screaming about HR 875, has

anyone contacted you about these regulatory changes that specifically put

bloggers who share alternative health information at risk?

Some of these transgressions are committed by the pharmaceutical companies

and big business

Everyone seems to think the major pharmaceutical companies are out to

eliminate alternative health remedies. Not true. Far from it! What they want to

do is squeeze out the competition and take the field over as another

profit center. This is done in several ways.

Buying up the makers of vitamins and supplements

Did you know that:

* _Bayer already owns One-a-Day and Flintstone vitamins_

(http://www.prdomain.com/companies/B/Bayer/newsreleases/20094369738.htm) ?

* _Natrol, Inc was acquired by India's Plethico Pharmaceuticals

Limited_ (http://www.natrol.com/pr2007/pr_071228/) ?

* _Tom's of Maine was purchased by Colgate Palmolive_

(http://www.naturalnewswire.com/2006/05/colgate_complet.html)

* _Odwalla Juice is owned by Coca Cola_

(http://money.cnn.com/2001/10/30/deals/coke_odwalla/)

* _Burt's Bees was acquired by Clorox_

(http://www.treehugger.com2007/11/burts_bees_sell.php)

* And on, and on, and on

* It's also worth noting that _Merck's nutritional supplement

business is growing by close to 10% a quarter_

(http://www.nutraingredients.com/Industry/Merck-growing-sales-from-supplement-br\

ands) -- accounting for some

$124 million (93.8 million Euros) in sales in just the last quarter.

* And it's not just people supplements. _Pfizer, for example, has a

whole line of pet supplements_

(http://www.bullwrinkle.com/ShoppingPages/pet-tabs-dog-vitamins.htm) .

There's no principal involved here. It's all about money. If there's a

profit to be made, the major pharmaceutical companies want it -- all of it --

and they have no problem co-opting the enemy's products to get it.

Producing patented, prescription only versions of said supplements

It's worth noting that this has all been done before. The entire

pharmaceutical/drug industry is an outgrowth of the herbal industry. Many, _many

prescription drugs are based on the active ingredients found in medicinal

plants_ (http://www.rain-tree.com/plantdrugs.htm) . Tamiflu is a plant extract

from the Chinese star anise. Digitalis is derived from foxglove, aspirin

from white willow bark, and tamoxifen from the Pacific yew to name just a few.

In fact, the word " drug " comes from the old Dutch/German word " droog, "

which refers to the process used to dry herbs to turn them into medicines.

Nowadays, we see things such as:

* _Prescription fish oil_ (http://www.lovaza.com/)

* _Prescription prenatal vitamins_

(http://www.drspock.com/article/0,1510,11166,00.html)

* _Prescription vitamin D _

(http://heartscanblog.blogspot.com/2007/06/prescription-vitamin-d.html)

* _Prescription niacin_

(http://heartscanblog.blogspot.com/search?q=presecription+niacin)

But worst of all is the general dumbing down of alternative health

concepts by companies large and small

* How useless has the word detox become? _Detoxing now refers to

everything from colon cleansing products, to shampoos, and even foot baths_

(http://www.jonbarron.org/detoxing-health-program/2009-01-19.php) .

* And what product doesn't have added probiotics now? Heck,

_companies are even selling meat with added probiotics_

(http://www.jonbarron.org/detoxing-health-program/2008-10-27.php) .

* And how many times a day do you need 100% of your recommended

daily allowance of _synthetic vitamins_ (http://www.totalcereal.com/) , _fiber_

(http://www.gnufoods.com/ourproducts/) , or _Omega-3 fatty acids_

(http://www.bevnet.com/news/2009/3-24-2009-zymes_omega_3_water) ?

* Or think about how many cases of skin cancer would have been

prevented (not) if people had just been using enough _pomegranate shower gel_

(http://skincare.about.com/od/handcare/gr/100purepomwash.htm) or _acai berry

skin lotion_

(http://shopping.msn.com/specs/giovanni-lotion-d-tox-system-acai-goji-berry-8-5o\

z/itemid1025313202/?itemtext=itemname:giovanni-lotion-d-tox-s

ystem-acai-goji-berry-8-5oz) or _probiotic toothpaste_

(http://www.alibaba.com/product/wonderproducts-11931675-11158305/Probiotic%20Too\

thpaste.html)

or, or, or!

Conclusion - Supplements are being picked from your pocket

The net result is that valuable supplements are being rendered

meaningless. _The mere mention of their names is becoming laughable_

(http://www.jonbarron.org/detoxing-health-program/2009-01-19.php) . And this is

happening,

every day, under the radar. The bottom line is that while people are being

distracted by things that will never happen, the very things they are trying

to protect are being picked from their pockets on a daily basis.

Maybe an analogy will help. When people obsessed over major crime (murder,

robbery, etc.), it continued to grow year after year. Once police started

focusing on cleaning up the previously ignored petty crimes such as

graffiti and broken windows _(AKA zero tolerance policing), major scale crime

started to plummet_ (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/36107.stm) . I submit

that until the alternative health community learns to stop focusing

exclusively on major issues (Codex, Congressional bills, etc.), and starts

paying

attention to the smaller things, the rights of everyone interested in

optimized health will be steadily eroded. Yes, there is a need to make your

voice

heard when it comes to Codex and HR 875 -- but not to the exclusion of

those things that are _picking your pocket_

(http://money.howstuffworks.com/pickpocket1.htm) today.

 

 

 

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