FDA » Beyond Prescriptions

The elections are now over, the endless ad campaigns have stopped and we can now go on with our lives. Right? Well, concerning one item put on the ballot in California, the proposition that basically would require genetically modified foods to be labeled, that, unfortunately, did not pass. This, of course, was a fight with not one but two industries ~ agribusiness and processed food who outspent the Yes forces 5-1! ($45 million to be exact) The United States remains one of the only developed countries in the world to have failed to label these ingredients in our food supply. By a vote of 53 to 47 percent, the Golden State voted “No” on Proposition 37 ~ however, more than 5 million Californians did speak up with their vote that this was an issue that mattered to them.

According to the Center For Food Safety more than 20 other states have introduced legislation to label GE foods, and other states have ballot initiatives in the works. At the federal level, in September 2011 CFS filed a legal petition with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) demanding that the agency require the labeling of all food produced using genetic engineering. To date, more than 1.2 million comments have been submitted to the FDA in support of the petition.

So what’s a consumer to do in the interim? Here are some suggestions: (which include voting for the next few years with your dollars!)

Avoid packaged processed foods
Use the non-GMO shopping guide to decipher ingredients
Buy organic or from local farmers you trust
Keep up the conversation ~ Express yourself
Go to this site and read more about how to avoid genetically modified foods.
Check out this site to learn more about what Proposition 37 was all about

Here is a film that addresses the issue. Watch the film and contact the federal government regarding this issue. 92% of Americans want the FDA to label genetically engineered foods. If more of us speak out about why we care about the food we put in our own bodies and in our children’s bodies, then we can convince the FDA to change its policy.

It has been a whole year since this Non GMO Project was launched. Officially October 10th is the anniversary date. Last year my post about this launch focused on what exactly genetically modified foods were and why would we care.

Did you know that there is not any U.S. law requiring genetically engineered foods to be labeled? This is definitely a pet peeve with me since I check the labels on everything I buy. According to the USDA, 80% of packaged processed foods found in our grocery stores now contain Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO’s) Fortunately I rarely purchase those processed foods (without those GMO’s on the label).

Since it is Non-GMO Month, citizens are being asked to sign a petition requiring the FDA to label our food. Go to this site if this concerns you.

Most of us will recognize that smiling female celebrity on those tv commercials, constantly reassuring us about the perfect remedy for our bone loss. Not only is she a very popular television series star, but a spokeswoman for Boniva, a bone-density drug. The market for such drugs is now estimated at $3 billion. Is it any wonder we are constantly hearing the drug companies pitches to us through all those television commercials?

Now patients and health care providers are being warned about a clear link between thigh bone fractures and the long term usage of bone-strengthening drugs called bisphosphonates, like Fosomax, Actonel and Boniva.

I wonder how Sally Field feels about this latest news. It makes me think about Dorothy Hamill and Bruce Jenner, well-known athletes who endorsed Vioxx (a pain relief drug that was recalled due to patients on it having heart attacks). And then there was Lauren Hutton endorsing hormone replacement therapy. (When doctors learned of the benefits of high estrogen levels given before menopause to help protect women against osteoporosis, it was not known until much later (and many prescriptions given out) that estrogen may also increase the risk of developing breast cancer, not a very good tradeoff).

What causes osteoporosis in the first place that would create such a market for drug companies? According to Dr. Dean Ornish, osteoporosis is a disease caused by bone demineralization (depletion of calcium). Calcium deficiencies usually are caused by two factors: too little calcium in the diet, or too much excretion of calcium in your urine. If either of these occurs, then your body begins to absorb calcium out of your bones in order to maintain a constant calcium level in your bloodstream. Over time, your bones can become demineralized (depleted of calcium), leading to osteoporosis. If the bones become sufficiently depleted, they fracture more easily, even from everyday activities.

Bisphosphonates are a class of drugs created to reduce the rate of osteoporotic fractures…fractures that can result in pain, hospitalization, and surgery…in people with osteoporosis. According to RADM Sandra Keweder, M.D., deputy director, Office of New York Drugs in the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, “The FDA is continuing to evaluate data about the safety and effectiveness of bisphosphonates when used long-term for osteoporosis treatment. In the interim, it’s important for patients and health care professionals to have all the safety information available when determining the best course of treatment for osteoporosis.” The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is recommending a labeling change and Medication Guide, reflecting the risk of thigh bone (femoral) fractures for those using bisphosphonates.

Back to Dr. Ornish’s “real cause of osteoporosis.” He believes it is not insufficient calcium intake, but excessive excretion of calcium in the urine. Interesting to note that vegetarians excrete much less calcium, and this is why they have very low rates of osteoporosis even though their dietary intake of calcium is lower than those on a meat-eating diet.

To substantiate this even more, at the University of Texas Medical School at Dallas, scientists conducted a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism in 1988, comparing urinary excretion of normal subjects who were given two different diets: one diet contained only vegetable protein while the other contained only animal protein. Both diets had the same amount of protein, sodium, potassium, calcium, phosphate, and magnesium.

Urinary calcium excretion was 50 percent greater on the animal protein diet than on the vegetable protein diet. The authors concluded that the inability of the subjects to compensate for the animal protein-induced loss of calcium in their urine might predispose them to develop osteoporosis as well as kidney stones.

Many of us are familiar with the work by Dr. T. Colin Campbell, author of The China Study. In his study of 6,500 Chinese, he found that although most Chinese consume no dairy products and obtain their calcium from vegetables, osteoporosis is uncommon in China even though the people there consume only half the calcium as Americans. According to Dr. Campbell, “Ironically, osteoporosis tends to occur in countries where calcium intake is highest and most of it comes from protein-rich dairy products,” which cause the body to lose more calcium than consumed. The U.S. has one of the highest rates of dairy consumption and calcium intake, yet has one of the highest rates of osteoporosis. Makes me think of that famous commercial, “Got Milk?”

So what is the answer? Exercise of course has many benefits, one of which is increasing bone density so there is less risk of osteoporosis and fractures. And eating one cup per day of nonfat milk or yogurt provides some extra calcium to help insure against osteoporosis without increasing protein intake excessively. Consuming less animal products and focusing more on a plant-based diet can certainly help.

I have implemented the following 3 things into my lifestyle and do not “rally with Sally” for my own bone health!

I have chosen to exercise more (to let the bone know that the body is active and needs stronger bones)
I am making more plant-based diet choices
I supplement daily with a comprehensive, easy to swallow supplement that provides 1,000 mg. of elemental calcium, 400 mg of magnesium and of course Vitamin D3, all that have been clinically proven to be absorbed. (for the body to use calcium to build and maintain strong bones, calcium must first be absorbed)

What about you? What is your strategy to make sure you have good bone health?

Are you one of the more than half of the U.S. adult population that routinely take a dietary supplement? If so, you might be interested in learning about the “dirty dozen” list of supplement ingredients linked by clinical research or case reports to serious adverse events, such as cancer, coma, heart problems, liver and kidney damage, or death.

The September 2010 issue of Consumer Reports has compiled this report with the help of the Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database, an independent research group. Effectiveness of the supplements and the extent to which the ingredients are readily available were also evaluated.

Nancy Metcalf, senior program editor, Consumer Reports, states: “The FDA has repeatedly found hazardous ingredients, including synthetic prescription drugs, in supplements.” The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warned us as early as 1993 about eight of these “dirty dozen” supplements. Manufacturers do not have to prove the effectiveness or safety of their ingredients, resulting in inadequate quality control, and inspection, and supplements often contaminated with heavy metals, pesticides, even hidden drugs or steroids.

The “dirty dozen” include aconite, bitter orange, chaparral, collidial silver, coltsfoot, cofrey, country mallow, germanium, greater celandine, kava, lobelia, and yohimbe.

A major supplier of raw supplement ingredients is China. According to Consumer Reports, the FDA has yet to inspect a single supplement factory there.

So how do we go about choosing supplements that are safe and effective for our family? When I made that decision 17 years ago, I did my research and chose a company that offered the following criteria:

It guarantees the unconditional safety of its products.
The company’s scientists find the finest natural ingredients from around the world, conducting over 350 tests on new botanical ingredients for heavy metals pesticides, and hundreds of other contaminants.
Over 80,000 quality tests are conducted annually to guarantee purity, free of preservatives, artificial sweeteners, colors, flavors, or any other artificial ingredient – all done to guarantee the safety and quality of the products using state-of-the-art facilities.
This company uses patented processing methods to ensure the absorption and proper utilization of nutrients in the body, following the Good Manufacturing Practices, a set of quality control standards that are stricter than those that currently apply to the manufacture of supplements.
More than 90 published studies and abstracts in peer-reviewed scientific journals support their products’ efficacy, with each product containing precise, effective amounts of active ingredients for optimum health benefits every time.
They stand behind each and every product, with a 100% money-back guarantee.

When I read this article it made me very sad to learn about all of the less than desirable ingredients in a lot of the supplements presently on the market. This is a bustling $26.7 billion market and consumers are paying a price, sometimes a very serious one, for consuming those supplements.

I will always believe that prevention is the solution but along with that comes our responsibility to educate ourselves about what we consume, whether it be food or in supplement form.

Beyond Prescriptions

Proposition #37 Fails in California ~ What To Do Now About What Is In Our Food

Let’s label those GMO Foods

Rally with Sally for Bone Health?

Are Your Supplements Safe?