I was just wondering if there are any brands of supplements that are FDA approved or have some kind of quality verification system?
I read an article yesterday about the testing of several different brands being tested and not even having what they say they have in them. It has got me thinking.
They are expensive enough, but if they are not even what we are paying for...
Posted by Keebler (Member # 12673) on :
- The FDA does not generally approve any supplements as a drug (although there may be a few that meet that criteria if isolated, not whole herb). They are considered food. And it is to our benefit that the FDA not get into approving supplements as pharmaceuticals- for many reasons.
First, they just don't "translate" for clinical trials as pharmaceuticals. They are very different in many ways. Yet, PubMed does have many medical abstracts on some herbs where we can learn more. Still, it takes a different mind-set to understand herbs. The "education" links to follow explain more.
However, the FDA can stop certain manufacturers of supplements from making ANY health claim about a specific product. They way they've done this leaves a gap in education.
Now, sadly, there are some products on the web that are deceptive, trash and downright bad for us. And I'd like to see some of the stopped. But you can say that about half the products in a grocery store, too.
If a product is found to have harmful ingredients, or deceptive claims, the FDA does have the power to stop that. Still, it's a daunting issue and, IMO, the FDA does not have the proper education on staff to really tackle this for supplements. They need some NDs on staff and they just don't even know that.
The politics here are astoundingly complex and it's not always what they make it seem.
It is up to us to find out the truth about anything we buy or consume (food or supplement) and it's not always easy to do that with limited access to information.
I could explain more (well, if my energy could hold up and brain fog would lift but . . . ) so be sure to see the links that I've tried to collect that say it all so much better.
To find the best quality supplements, it's best to work with a doctor who has education in the field. And, for those with lyme, best if they are lyme literate.
You can find out more about that - and good sources, good research links in the set below. In real estate, it's all about location, location, location.
For nutritional supplements, it's about education, education, education. And finding the professionals who have that -- or if we don't have access to them at least finding the very best sources we can and that does take a lot of homework.
But were the FDA to swoop in, with their limited understanding of how herbs work, well, that could really be so much worse.
Instead, look to the real professionals in this field. -
[ 11-06-2013, 01:15 PM: Message edited by: Keebler ]
Posted by Keebler (Member # 12673) on :
- When considering herbal / nutritional / adjunct methods:
if at all possible - because each person & each case is different - it's best to consult with an ILADS-educated LL ND (lyme literate naturopathic doctor) (or similar) who has completed four years of post-graduate medical education in the field of herbal and nutritional medicine -
- and someone who is current with ILADS' research & presentations, past and present, and has completed the ILADS Physician Training Program (see: www.ilads.org )
Many LL NDs incorporate antibiotics (depending upon the licensing laws in their state). Some LLMDs and LL NDs have good working relationships.
When possible, it's great to have both a LLMD and LL ND and even better when they have a long-standing professional relationship.
Be aware that integrative doctors can have various levels of formal herbal &/or nutritional education, perhaps even just a short course. Do ask first. Some have learned on their own from experts in the field. There are many ways to acquire knowledge and most are eager to share basic details about their training. You want someone with a deep knowledge.
Some of the specialities above may not actually treat lyme yet, for things such as physical adjustments, it is just good that they are also LL, at least to some degree (to know never to suddenly twist the neck or spine).
Links to many articles and books by holistic-minded LL doctors of various degrees who all have this basic approach in common:
Understanding of the importance of addressing the infection(s) fully head-on with specific measures from all corners of medicine;
knowing which supplements have direct impact, which are only support and which are both.
You can compare and contrast many approaches.
BASIC HERBAL EDUCATIONAL & SAFETY links,
BODY WORK links with safety tailored to lyme patients, etc. -
Posted by Keebler (Member # 12673) on :
- The FDA says ammonia in meat is okay. They will just call it a new name to hide the truth.
Ammonia is toxic to the liver, just for starters. Not helpful for brain function, either. Do we really trust them to understand (or care about) the complexities of herbs? I sure don't.
Now, I don't doubt that some with the FDA do have good intentions. Some. Still, they seem undereducated in all facets.
For many at the FDA, though, most of their effort and the bottom line seems to be all about making big business happy. How else can we explain the poison we serve to children?
Regarding supplements, the pharmaceutical industry would love to have us stripped of the ability to make our own choices in this matter -- so that we would be forced to buy only their drugs. If this can happen, what else is in store for us?
'Pink Slime' Ground Beef Product Returns To School Lunches In 4 States: Report
- By Joe Satran - Sept. 10, 2013
School officials in four states have decided to allow Beef Products Inc.'s lean finely textured beef -- the ammonia-treated mash of meat trimmings more commonly known as "pink slime" -- back into their school lunch programs for the coming year, Politico's Bill Tomson and Helena Bottemiller Evich report.
Government data uncovered by Tomson and Evich show that schools in Illinois, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Texas ordered ground beef that "may contain the controversial product" for use in school lunches over the next nine months. They join schools in Iowa, Nebraska and South Dakota, which didn't stop serving "pink slime" after a national outcry over the product erupted in spring 2012.
Public schools in these seven states, which together account for more than a fifth of the country's total enrollment, ordered about 2 million pounds of the questionable ground beef for the 2013-2014 school year.
Schools across the country ordered about 7 million pounds of "pink slime" for use in ground beef in the 2011-2012 school year. . . . -
Posted by Keebler (Member # 12673) on :
- Yet another excitotoxin in this week's news - the FDA says this is just fine & dandy, though. So the finer points about what's really safe and what's not seem to elude them even just in food basics. Again, big industry is the winner, not the consumer.
Ractopamine: The Meat Additive on Your Plate That's Banned Almost Everywhere But America
The asthma drug-like growth additive has enjoyed stealth use in the US food supply for a decade despite being widely banned overseas.
- by Martha Rosenberg, AlterNet
Two excerpts:
Have you ever heard of ractopamine? Neither have most US food consumers though it is used in 80 percent of US pig and cattle operations.
The asthma drug-like growth additive, called a beta-agonist, has enjoyed stealth use in the US food supply for a decade despite being widely banned overseas. It is marketed as Paylean for pigs, Optaflexx for cattle and Topmax for turkeys. . . .
. . . In an early Canadian study, monkeys given ractopamine "developed daily tachycardia"-- rapid heart beat.
Rats fed ractopamine developed a constellation of birth defects like cleft palate, protruding tongue, short limbs, missing digits, open eyelids and enlarged heart.
Two cousin drugs of ractopamine, clenbuterol and zilpaterol, cause such adrenalin effects in humans they are banned by the Olympics. . . .
- Full article in much more detail at link above. Please read the entire article. Many very important points that I can't copy & paste and still stay within copyright guidelines.
From AlterNet: www.alternet.org -
Posted by orrn (Member # 6672) on :
Thanks Keebler for all the information! It is greatly appreciated.
orrn
Posted by Keebler (Member # 12673) on :
- And, as hard as the FDA might try to do right concerning the drugs they do approve, so much is hidden by the manufacturers. Even drugs approved for years have not had necessarily had the full light of day shone upon the real research. Even our doctors can't always get the detail.
And the issue of contamination is also just as important in pharmaceuticals as in supplements. Fakes exist (even through neighborhood pharmacies sometimes) and we have to check everything, every bottle, each time for any signs.
[Back with link to a TED Talk and book on this topic of mfg hiding trial outcomes - but I can't find where I put that in my computer.]
Leading generic drug maker faked test results for FDA approval - by John Miller - CBS News - Nov. 5, 2013
Article and video of 4:27 at link. Excerpt:
(CBS News) Eighty percent of the drugs prescribed to Americans are generic drugs. They have to be approved by the FDA, usually after years of testing. Many of those drugs are made in India, and it turns out a leading manufacturer, Ranbaxy, often skipped the required steps for approval of its generic drugs. . . .
[also a link to 1:35 video: What Americans need to know when they choose prescription drug -
Posted by map1131 (Member # 2022) on :
Great FDA slam Keebler. He!! no I don't trust them or their opinion. Watching out for us? Don't think so.
Pam
Posted by Keebler (Member # 12673) on :
- Really, I do not intend to "slam" the FDA. I just want truth in what we can access regarding information and what a label says about any product.
I would like the FDA to be better in what they do but also drop industry ties that bind them in so many ways that put our lives at risk each day.
Rather than try to treat supplements as drugs, to look to the trained naturopathic doctors and let them lead the way. -
Posted by map1131 (Member # 2022) on :
My husband is a meat cutter and has been for 37 yrs and things are really changing in the industry. It's really disgusting to an old time meat man what has happened over the years.
What used to be cut by the meat man is now cut in the plants and shipped to stores where any clerk can price it and put it out.
The industry has had to add anything and everything to the meat for it to keep a much much longer shelf life from slaughterhouse to table and still look pretty to the consumer. I too came out of the grocery store industry.
They wonder why the American people are obese and unhealthy/disabled? They point their fingers at us when really they should be looking at what is acceptable as being labeled as "food".
People shouldn't need a degree to read food labels. What is acceptable practices today, is not what Grandma and grandpa would have fed the family.
If our food supply was true to what it used to be, we wouldn't need so many different vits/supps because we would be eating it.
The food industry/manufacturers should be ashamed of itself. No wonder farmer's market are growing by huge numbers.
Pam
Posted by phyl6648 (Member # 28522) on :
Wow, we don't have a clue what is in what we are eating or taking. My GP told me he didn't even like to prescribe meds anymore because its all about money now and he is not sure where they come from or what is in them even though they are "supposed" to be regulated.
Personally, I trust Andrew Lessman's supplements/ vitamins hope my instincts are right and he does what he says but who knows. At least his supplements etc don't upset my stomach. Little on the expensive side but I order when on special.
SO SO discouraging ...
Posted by randibear (Member # 11290) on :
My husband was an fda agent before switching jobs. Don't even get me started kn what he's come home with. Yuck....restAurant recalls and food poisonings....etcetc....
Posted by Lymetoo (Member # 743) on :
quote:Originally posted by map1131:
Great FDA slam Keebler. He!! no I don't trust them or their opinion. Watching out for us? Don't think so.
- Well, then *I* will slam them!
They are raising doubt in the public's mind so that they can take the supplements away from us. They are in bed with Big Pharma .. all the way.
Pam... So true about our food supply. It is horrible.
[ 11-06-2013, 06:06 PM: Message edited by: Lymetoo ]
Posted by Carol in PA (Member # 5338) on :
I have noticed that several brands are more effective.
Balanceuticals Planetary Herbals Eclectic Institute
For the cheaper brands, I look for ones that have many happy reviews, like NOW brand. This is one reason I like iHerb.com, as it's easy to track the reviews.
Posted by Keebler (Member # 12673) on :
- Adding to Carol's good suggestions and those noted by LL authors in the links set: Seven Forests, Gaia, Source Naturals are all reputable brands. Seagate for olive leaf extract is the best.
In addition to iHerb's very nice way to see ingredients and reviews, you can do that also at VitaCost.com -
www.vrp.com (Vitamin Research Products) is also excellent - and fresh. -
Posted by surprise (Member # 34987) on :
I like Pure Encapsulations brand VERY much.
I learned a lot about supplements and spent a college fund at Our Kids ASD / Lee Silsby Pharmacy website.
They do not have customer reviews, but excellent information on each supplement, and supplements are thoroughly vetted. JMO.
Posted by Catgirl (Member # 31149) on :
Well said Keebler!
Posted by Rivendell (Member # 19922) on :
I agree Lymetoo. It has me so concerned.
They've been trying to do this since the 1970's.
I need herbs and supplements. Without them, that would be the end of me, seriously.
The FDA is so corrupt right now that I would rather they just leave the vitamin/supplement industry alone.
I'll take my chances and decide whether or not something is just snake oil.
Posted by Catgirl (Member # 31149) on :
For those of you concerned, there is a senate bill post over in General that will help the fight. I cannot stress enough how important bill this bill is, and it's easy to fill out and click on the send key. It is so important, it should be here in medical.