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The Herbal Hype of Dietary Supplements
- AMA News (August 21, 2000)
Physicians need to educate themselves about supplements used by the elderly, who
are taking them in record numbers.
"These people are snake oil salesmen, and what
they're selling is magic," said nutritional researcher Victor Herbert, MD, professor
of medicine at Mt. Sinai-New York University Health System, New York City.
"We can embrace some dietary and nutritional supplements," said Rebecca
Costello, PhD, deputy director of the NIH Office of Dietary Supplements,
which was established by Congress to foster supplement research. "But the
herbals are very questionable, and the science base on many of them is
scant." Texas family physician Robert P. Carroll Jr., MD, who last year
called on the AMA to seek tighter regulation said,
"You don't know what crap you're getting with these things."
Hold Those Herbs
- Globe and Mail (August 8, 2000)
There's mounting evidence that herbal remedies can either block or enhance
the action of pharmaceuticals, making them ineffective or even dangerous.
Many imported Chinese remedies contain adulterants that can interact with
other medications but which aren't always listed on the table.
Marketing to Kids
Guy Gugliotta - Washington Post (June 18, 2000)
Dietary supplement companies have begun aggressively targeting children and
parents as consumers of their products, among them powerful chemicals designed
to help kids gain strength, lose weight or treat illnesses ranging from colds
and flu to depression and even attention deficit disorder.
Herbal Remedy Ripoffs
Dallas investigative report demonstrates that nearly half of the forty
supplements from Dallas store shelves failed laboratory tests. In some
cases capsules contained no active ingredient at all.
Herbal Health Concerns Grow
Guy Gugliotta - Washington Post (March 19, 2000)
Mounting evidence suggests that increasing numbers of Americans are falling
seriously ill or even dying after taking dietary supplements that promise
everything from extra energy to sounder sleep.
The victims include men and
women of all ages as well as children whose parents are feeding them snacks,
drinks and nostrums made with herbal supplements that are neither regulated
by the federal government nor tested for their effects on the young.
While the Food and Drug Administration issues periodic warnings about the
dangers of individual supplements, no organization or agency has ever made
a comprehensive analysis of the sickness and death associated with them.
Assessing the Quality of Botanical Preparations
- Medscape 2000
Botanical products present challenges from a regulatory and safety perspective
because plants contain a wide variety of potentially active constituents with
synergistic potential. Potential problems include both intentional and unintentional
contamination as well as inconsistent concentration of active ingredients.
Unfortunately, despite recent industry attempts to self-regulate, there are no
definitive standards by which to judge herbal supplements.
Fatal Health Problems Tied to Lack of Regulation
Alarmed by widespread reports of serious health problems - some leading to death -
associated with herbal remedies, a group of Bay Area doctors and nutrition experts is
calling for new oversight of the nation's burgeoning $12 billion dietary supplement
industry.
Hundreds of medical emergencies have been linked to a host of
herbal supplements that can be bought without prescription, even
though few scientific studies have been conducted to assess their
safety and dietary value.
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