Fri, 07 Dec 2007
FDA Ghost Regulations
By ghost regulations I mean those that do not exist and those that do
but are not known of by most people (even some experts). The LEF
has this article about the dangers of Acetaminophen.
Of course this chemical is very common in many over the counter pain, cold,
and flu medicine. The article mentions some very alarming statistics
that most people are probably unaware of. For example: 100,000 calls to poison
control centers, 56,000 emergency room visits, 26,000 hospitalizations, and
more than 450 deaths. I don't think 450 is typical (it might be) but
it is common for the yearly deaths to be some number over 100. Andrew
Saul's testimony before Canadian Parliament mentions 147 deaths in
2003. One thing I did not know which this article mentions is
that your diet can effect the level of toxicity that you may be sensitive to.
That explains why (in some cases) there are actually cases of liver poisoning
when even suggested amounts are taken. And the question raised is simply
why is the FDA not concerned about protecting people from this hazard of
a very commonly used over the counter substance?
Now moving on to the theme of regulated substances which are thought to be (or conveniently painted as being) unregulated. Nutritionist Niel Levin recently posted his letter to Reader's Digest in response to an article which slammed nutritional supplements. Are they unregulated and is there doubt about what is in the vitamin or mineral supplement that you purchase locally? Levin clearly describes the existing regulations on supplements, both recent and older. There is other information in this post about the drastic decrease in nutrients of common foods that we eat over the past 40 or 50 years. It is quite stunning to read.
So let's put this into a bit of perspective. Many experts (and even government agencies) will tell you that you do not need to take nutritional supplements and it is better to get these substances from food. But even if you have a reasonable diet, you could easily be deficient in many important minerals and vitamins due to the fact that our foods are themselves deficient. This will leave you more open to getting a disease. At the very least, more colds and flu. And when you do get sick, you are more likely to take a medicine which has Acetaminophen which can poison you even to the point of death. Ghost regulations. Unintended consequences of well-intentioned policies (which may be putting it mildly).
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