Category: Health Freedom

Trans Fats Recognized As Harmful By The FDA – No Longer “Generally Recognized As Safe”

By Nurse Mark

 

In a surprising announcement on November 7, 2013 the FDA reversed many years of favoring the Big Agra and Big Food industries and announced:

Reducing trans fat intake could prevent thousands of heart attacks and deaths

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced its preliminary determination that partially hydrogenated oils (PHOs), the primary dietary source of artificial trans fat in processed foods, are not “generally recognized as safe” for use in food. The FDA’s preliminary determination is based on available scientific evidence and the findings of expert scientific panels.

At The Wellness Club we have been writing about this for years – warning of the dangers of trans-fats and the process of hydrogenation and partial hydrogenated of vegetable oils that creates them.

This is no small victory for health! But it is far from a “done deal.”

There is a 60-day “comment period” during which the FDA will accept public comments on this issue. Given the size of the hydrogenated oil / trans fat industry and the huge dollars involved, you can expect to see some serious lobbying by the “edible oils” industry to weaken or even block this ruling.

You can read the FDA Press Release on this subject here:

FDA takes step to further reduce trans fats in processed foods

There is also information at The Federal Register:

Tentative Determination Regarding Partially Hydrogenated Oils; Request for Comments and for Scientific Data and Information

That link also allows you to comment on this proposal – you can be sure that the trans-fat industry will be ‘commenting”! The link to do this is buried a long way down toward the end of this long, but fairly interesting (in a scientific sort of way) document – it is not easy to find or use, but if you are willing to work at it a bit, this is your chance to tell the FDA what you think about trans-fats and to praise them for their wisdom in recognizing the danger of this modern poison!

By Nurse Mark

 

Richard Joseph “Dick” Durbin, the democrat Senator from Illinois has held that office since 1997 and he has been gunning for natural supplements and vitamins for almost as long. If there could possibly be a poster child for the need for term limits, that would be Dick Durbin.

As a career politician (first elected to political office in 1982, after spending most of his career prior to that working as a lawyer for politicians) you might think that he would recognize a lost cause when he sees it. But apparently not.

Dick Durbin has recycled his anti-supplement legislation over and over and over, only to have it slapped down each time. His draconian, pro-drug company, anti-natural supplement ideas doesn’t even garner much support from his own colleagues, and remember – Durbin is the Senate Majority Whip for the democrat party. The man charged with persuading democrat party politicians to vote the party line can’t even persuade them to support his pet bill – he is that far out of touch…

We’ve probably bored you silly with our repeated warnings about his previous attempts to destroy your access to natural supplements over the past few years. I know it has made us crazy here. No sooner does one of Durbin’s ill-conceived attempts fail than he simply re-names his bill and re-introduces it for another try – only to see it defeated again.

But he won’t give up! You have to hand it to him, he is doggedly persistent.

His 2012 “Labelling Act” bill, which would have destroyed most natural supplement companies by burying them under an avalanche of useless bureaucratic regulation failed by a vote of 77 to 20. That’s particularly harsh, since he had a democrat-controlled Congress to work with…

So, what did he do? He took the entire failed bill, re-named it, and re-introduced it as S.1424 (the Labeling Act). So far this travesty has only one-cosponsor – Sen. Richard Blumenthal.

His bill is intended to regulate natural supplements more harshly than drugs, despite the proven safety record of natural supplements and the proven dangers of Big Pharma’s drugs.

The bill would make supplement producers legally liable for identifying anything about a supplement that “might” interact with a drug or cause some other vague, undefined “additional difficulty.” Even Big Pharma isn’t required required to say how a drug “might” get along with all other drugs, because they can’t predict this any more than anyone else can. But he wants supplement producers to do this, knowing that they can’t – knowing that this is how he can put them out of business.

Over half the population of the US uses natural supplements some 157 million Americans. With all those people taking supplements, there are only on average only 1,575 “adverse effects” from natural supplements each year.

Compare that to the average of 526,527 adverse events reported for prescription drugs each year. And remember, 75,421 of those had “serious outcomes,” including death.

There are 334 times as many “adverse effects” from Big Pharma “FDA Approved” drugs than there are from vitamins, minerals, herbs and other natural supplements – and Durbin thinks we need to regulate supplements to death?

Please read more about this issue, and see some telling excerpts from Durbin’s recent NPR interview here at The Alliance For Natural Health website. There is a link there that will let you send a message to your elected representatives to tell them to dump this loser of a bill just like they have dumped the previous bills that Durban has offered up.

Personally, I think Dick Durbin needs to find another drum to beat on for a while – or maybe to retire…

Senate Passes Naturopathic Medicine Week Resolution

Washington, D.C., September 11 – The U.S. Senate last night unanimously passed a resolution designating October 7 – October 13 as Naturopathic Medicine Week.

The resolution recognizes the value of naturopathic medicine in providing “safe, effective, and affordable health care…” and encourages Americans to learn about the role of naturopathic physicians in preventing chronic and debilitating conditions.

According to Jud Richland, AANP’s CEO, “Passage of this resolution is an historic achievement for naturopathic medicine.  The Congress has now officially recognized the important role naturopathic medicine plays in effectively addressing the nation’s health care needs as well as in addressing the increasingly severe shortage of primary care physicians.”

For the latest information about Naturopathic Medicine Week, visit the NMW page on AANP’s web site(http://naturopathic.org/naturopathicmedicineweek).

The resolution (Sen. Res. 221) is available here.

Latest Update: July 30, 2013

Urgent Action Alert! Revised Compounding Bill Vote Possible Tomorrow!

 

A reworked version of the bill S959 is nearly four times longer—and is even more of a threat to your access to bioidentical hormones, non-standard thyroid medications, and other compounded medications that millions of people rely on.  Action Alert!

S.959, the compounding bill we’ve been telling you about, has been rewritten, and it’s now 189 pages long, up from its original 50 pages. It’s technically a substitute bill in the form of an amendment. This means that when the old bill comes to the floor of the Senate, there will be a motion to substitute this new version. It will likely all happen very quickly—as early as tomorrow. There is a big push to get it through the Senate before the August recess on Friday. That’s why your immediate action is urgently needed!

Read the full article here: http://www.anh-usa.org/compounding-bill-vote-possible-tomorrow/

Or just click the green button below and give your representative an earfull!

 

 

An update to the continuing threat posed by S.959 — the Pharmaceutical Compounding Quality and Accountability Act

 

By Nurse Mark

 

With the revelations of the nepotism, cronyism, and incestuous relationships involved in the battle for market share and profits in the drug industry, S.959 — the Pharmaceutical Compounding Quality and Accountability Act is being pushed hard with legislators calling for a quick vote, presumably so they can get it passed before too many people notice the foul stink that surrounds it.

This bill would give the FDA, which has been historically biased against supplements and integrative medicine, far too much ability to ban compounded drugs such as thyroid medications and estriol and other hormones.

The big pharmaceutical companies, still smarting from the loss of profits suffered when their conventional hormone treatments were proven to cause heart disease and cancer, are determined to shut down custom compounded bioidentical hormones, making theirs the only hormones available to people like you.

This is purely about profit, and these big boys are playing hardball.

The main player, a specialty pharmaceutical company called TherapeuticsMD has admitted (boasted?) that they see these hormones as a $10 to $12 billion market which they want to control by offering an FDA-approved drug.

This bill is being pushed hard by powerful former politicians now working for the drug industry. There are extensive political connections including a key lobbyist who is married to a key Senate staffer. There is no shortage of conflicts of interest in this affair!

More information about this whole sordid mess can be found at the Alliance for Natural Health – including a detailed breakdown and expose of the interrelations of the various businesses, lobbyists, lawyers, and politicians. Learn more here: http://www.anh-usa.org/compounded-medications/

Here is an excerpt from the ANH-USA website on this subject – please use the “Take Action” button to send a message to your legislators:

Action Alert! Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN) is calling for a vote on S.959 as quickly as possible. Even if you sent Congress your message on S.959 previously, please write them again. We have added new information to the Action Alert letter, and it’s vital that we fight with all our strength against the powerful lobbyists and deep-pocketed drug companies to preserve our right to safe, inexpensive, effective compounded medicines. Please take action immediately!

 

And about that profit thing…

Is there any question left in anyone’s mind that the big drug companies could care less about your health? They sell an insanely profitable chemical – just like any crack or meth dealer does – and profit, not altruism or the love of mankind or a desire to make the world a better place, is their focus. To that end the lives shattered by their poisons are simply another notation on their profit and loss sheets.

Here are a couple of excerpts from a Bloomberg article of last year…

Pfizer Inc. (PFE), the world’s largest drugmaker, said in a securities filing that it has paid $896 million to resolve about 60 percent of the cases alleging its menopause drugs caused cancer in women.

Pfizer has now settled about 6,000 lawsuits that claim Prempro and other hormone-replacement drugs caused breast cancer, and it has set aside an additional $330 million to resolve the remaining 4,000 suits, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

 

and

More than 6 million women took Prempro and related menopause drugs to treat symptoms including hot flashes and mood swings before a 2002 study highlighted their links to cancer. Wyeth’s sales of the medicines, which are still on the market, exceeded $2 billion before the release of the Women’s Health Initiative, a study sponsored by the National Institutes of Health.

 

But instead of showing any concern for the women affected by this debacle, here is what one “fund manager” had to say about the affair:

“Resolving these cases gives investors one less thing to worry about.”

 

Touching… the warmth, concern, and humanity shown… (pardon my sarcasm!)

Just how much profit does it take for a drug company to be able to set aside billions of dollars to settle the inevitable lawsuits that are a cost of doing business?