The FDA...killing Americans??

[Dreeza]

So (like i said in my other thread), i am trying to eat healthy to gain control of my ADD and possible mood disorder...

i have been doing A LOT of reading, and i am absolutely appalled at the FDA (and pretty much the whole gov't). I have always been an advocate of trying out 'alternative' cures before drastic surgeries and stuff, but never really thought too much about it.

Now i am discovering some things about the FDA and how they, and of course drug companies, doctors, psychiatrists (of course i am not saying EVERY one of these ppl do this...) are basically making sure americans stay sick, so they can make more money. I have always loved junk food, and laughed at people who ate organic...i seriously have done the quickest 180 in the past few days on that...

Some quick appalling FACTS before i bore you all...

the FDA was threatening to seize cherries off shelves if some small companies that produced them didnt take statements off their websites (they werent even on the packaging) claiming that cherries are "nature's miracle drug", "can cure arthritis", etc...cause they werent approved by the FDA as a drug!! Yes folks, the scientific evidence (and there is a lot) behind cherries wonderful health benefits cannot be stated by manufacturers, cause then cherries would have to be APPROVED BY THE FDA!!!! CHERRIES for goodness sake!!!

Lets see...blueberry bagels contain antifreeze (aka polypropylene glycol) its right there on the ingredients list (obviously not if you are buying organic ones or whatnot...)

-Drugs that have been approved as safe by the Food and Drug Administration kill 100,000 Americans each and every year

there are sooo many more things obviously...but the toxins that we consume everyday are unbelievable. Sugar and salt are so highly processed that they are basically all chemicals - and very detrimental to your health.

If you want to read more about this, i got this info from this article...and there are a ton more articles on the website for you to read if interested.
http://www.newstarget.com/019417.html

Basically, many many things we take medications for can be cured by eating a healthy diet loaded with vitamins and minerals. Not to mention the medications we take oftentimes never cure us anyways, and often deteriorate our overall condition in otherways with side effects

 

[Roxy's CD]

I've heard of stuff like that, organic stuff that helps cure things.. I saw an infomercial on almonds. The gist of it, was anything that comes from a seed helps cure cancer, especially almonds. 20 almonds a day will keep the cancer away. Same with stuff like sea weed. I guess the FDA and other drug administrations just won't approve them to say what the studies of shown.

The drug industry is HUGE! My bf and I talk about this all the time. Marijuana is illegal. It grows naturally on the earth and it is illegal. Now there's a commercial for Lunesta in specifics, and at the end of it with the list of possible side effects, "Like any other sleep medication after prolonged use can cause DEPENDENCY!" They are addictive drugs, that have been approved for use by people! And sold for profit! I say just keep the ball rolling, why not start selling heroin and cocaine, heck!

Bottom Line: Big industry, big money maker. Powerful people are in charge. Nothing us "little people" can do.

 

[Gempress]

I'm probably going to step on a lot of toes here, but I think this is just an example of "scare you hollistic" propaganda. Not that hollistic is bad; just that this is a slanted article. Let me give some other information on these "facts".

The FDA was threatening to seize cherries off shelves if some small companies that produced them didnt take statements off their websites (they werent even on the packaging) claiming that cherries are "nature's miracle drug", "can cure arthritis", etc...cause they werent approved by the FDA as a drug!! Yes folks, the scientific evidence (and there is a lot) behind cherries wonderful health benefits cannot be stated by manufacturers, cause then cherries would have to be APPROVED BY THE FDA!!!! CHERRIES for goodness sake!!!

There are people who believe everything they read. We may find it hard to believe, but there are people out there who would read that package and just glut themselves on cherries. It is considered false advertising to make claims like that. Even on hollistic/herbal products, there are disclaimers that say "this statement has not been evaluated by the FDA."

And if you've noticed, even hollistic/herbal products do not call themselves "medicines." That's because in technical terms, they aren't. Hence they're called "suppliments".

-Drugs that have been approved as safe by the Food and Drug Administration kill 100,000 Americans each and every year.

Even more Americans die from surgical complications every year. Does that mean that surgeries are bad? Of course not! They save lives! But as with anything and everything in life, there is a risk. Thousands of people also die from food allergies. Does that mean that food is bad?

there are sooo many more things obviously...but the toxins that we consume everyday are unbelievable. Sugar and salt are so highly processed that they are basically all chemicals - and very detrimental to your health.

They keep finding more and more things that are detrimental to our health. And while I don't disagree with the findings, the average life spans for men and women keep increasing every single year. Why is that? We must be doing something right.

Basically, many many things we take medications for can be cured by eating a healthy diet loaded with vitamins and minerals.

Now that, I absolutely agree with.

Not to mention the medications we take oftentimes never cure us anyways, and often deteriorate our overall condition in otherways with side effects

I find this statement a little silly. That's like saying "Oh, NyQuill won't cure my cold. So why bother taking it?" Because it makes you feel better! It treats symptoms. That's what most modern medicines do.

As for side effects, I don't think people who complain about them have ever truly suffered a bad ailment. Take me for example. I have horrible seasonal allergies. My eyes sometimes swell almost completely shut, I sneeze continuously, go through entire boxes of tissue in a day, can't breathe through my nose and have sinus headaches that compare to migranes. The allergy medicine I take (the only one that works for me) makes me sleepy and disconnected. But I'm certainly not complaining! It is far preferable to my allergies from hell. I am thankfull every time I take that medicine!

 

[Gempress]

20 almonds a day will keep the cancer away. Same with stuff like sea weed. I guess the FDA and other drug administrations just won't approve them to say what the studies of shown.

What studies? Were they scientific? And most importantly, could they be duplicated? A study/method/finding isn't valid unless it can be duplicated successfully and reliably.

 

[whatszmatter]

you should see the "studies" that prove some medicine's work, remember claritin? I think it was 44 or 42 percent effective and the placebo was 40 percent effective. There was a big write up in the NYtimes a few years ago, i have it somewhere I'll find it. THey were paying 30 million every couple months to keep the patent on it cause they were making so much off a pill that was little better than nothing?

Most people don't realize that the drug companies mostly police themselves, not the FDA.

and in regards to med's keeping you sick they do in a way, things that lower fevers, make you feel better, but you keep you sick longer, just something to think about.

 

[Tobysmom]

From the same website:

"How the drug machine really operates
And of course the pharmacists are all involved in this; they're just filling out the orders. They're like the little machine grinders in this whole system, this whole con of organized medicine. Somebody’s actually got to fill the bottles and dispense the pills, and that's what the pharmacists do. And somebody's got to write their prescriptions, that's what the doctors do. Somebody's got to act like they're providing an education on health, and that's what the medical schools do. Somebody's got to provide the so-called scientific evidence that provides some sort of justification for all of this, and that's what the medical journals do, and of course, they're largely funded by the drug companies. Finally, someone has to give all this the stamp of government approval, and that's what the FDA does.
So this whole sham, this whole drug racket, has many different players, most of whom are highly-paid professionals and smart people. Wouldn't it be great if they actually did something productive for society, rather than writing dangerous, highly toxic prescriptions out to people... rather than impairing the long-term health of our population to generate billions of dollars in profits for the pharmaceutical companies? Wouldn't it be great if all these smart people did something useful? Instead, they're just part of the drug racket, part of the system of organized medicine that masquerades as "scientific medicine." "

 

[Dreeza]

There are people who believe everything they read. We may find it hard to believe, but there are people out there who would read that package and just glut themselves on cherries. It is considered false advertising to make claims like that. Even on hollistic/herbal products, there are disclaimers that say "this statement has not been evaluated by the FDA."

i was thinking about that...but like, the point is, the FDA is trying to stop the information from being spread that cherries could be used in place of expensive drugs. Anyways, i dont think anyone would die from eating too many cherries (ok ok, im sure its possible...but you know what i mean!!) If the majority becomes aware that eating healthy actually works, then bye bye big drug companies/FDA, etc...it is a HUGE HUGE threat for this info to get out there. And yeah, i know that is on supplements...cause the FDA probably wouldnt approve them anyways, despite all the info out there. We had a guy come talk to us about the whole Vioxx thing...this is a guy that is really into medicine (he is some pharmaceutical guy that helps study/make new drugs)...when someone showed him how vioxx worked, he immediately knew of the problems it would cause...when he tried to warn the FDA, he got shot down, and got letters threatening to "remove" him from his job...things like that...and sure enough...every single thing he predicted happened. It is all science that is clearly ignored. Many files get "lost" or "hidden"

Even more Americans die from surgical complications every year. Does that mean that surgeries are bad? Of course not! They save lives! But as with anything and everything in life, there is a risk. Thousands of people also die from food allergies. Does that mean that food is bad?

But should everyone of those ppl be getting surgeries? Lots of people die from plastic surgery, or those surgeries that make you skinny...now if they ate healthy, they wouldnt be fat enough to need those surgeries. Many surgeries are done without good enough cause. Example: I volunteer at a therapeutic riding place...we just got a thank you letter from a parent saying how her daughter was going to have to get very extensive hip surgery (she basically had the equivalent of hip dysplasia)...when first looked at, her left hip was 50% uncovered (thats not good...not sure exactly what it means though )...now, they are each less than 15%. Her orthopedic surgeon said the parents do NOT have to worry about surgery, and the biggest factor was the riding...

and lol, it depends what food ppl are allergic to Ya arent supposed to eat foods you are allergic to!!

I find this statement a little silly. That's like saying "Oh, NyQuill won't cure my cold. So why bother taking it?" Because it makes you feel better! It treats symptoms. That's what most modern medicines do.

As for side effects, I don't think people who complain about them have ever truly suffered a bad ailment. Take me for example. I have horrible seasonal allergies. My eyes sometimes swell almost completely shut, I sneeze continuously, go through entire boxes of tissue in a day, can't breathe through my nose and have sinus headaches that compare to migranes. The allergy medicine I take (the only one that works for me) makes me sleepy and disconnected. But I'm certainly not complaining! It is far preferable to my allergies from hell. I am thankfull every time I take that medicine!

I think it was SummerRiot who was talking about sucking on a honeycomb to cure allergies See, natural cure! I dont think every single medicine should be avoided, but at the same time, you are less likely to get a bad cold if you eat healthy anyways. Plus, in all honesty, i have never been a fan of cold medicines. People take them, and then assume they can go everywhere, and sneeze all over you...if they hadnt taken it they would have felt too crappy to leave their bed (ok...maybe i am just a little angry about getting sneezed on one time...ewww)

I'm not saying everyone should go completely organic, but everyone should be more conscious of what they eat. And lifespan doesnt mean anything if you are miserable half the time. Id rather live shorter, but feel very "vibrant" and healthy, then live a long time, but be all sickly!

 

[GlassOnion]

I find this statement a little silly. That's like saying "Oh, NyQuill won't cure my cold. So why bother taking it?" Because it makes you feel better! It treats symptoms. That's what most modern medicines do.

Yah but that's the point. The drugs treat the symptoms, they don't cure us.

And the problem is that we have NO way to know whether they really CAN cure something or not. But what we do know is that a lot of people are motivated by money, and that a ton of money is to be made by treating the symptoms. If you cure the person, then you're not getting any more money, are you? But if you keep them coming back for one more round of chemo, or one more dose of Nyquill, or one more pill of Zirtac, then you get money each time. If you cure them, all that money is lost.

-Drugs that have been approved as safe by the Food and Drug Administration kill 100,000 Americans each and every year

Medicine isn't an exact science. You can't take anyone and tell them 'this WILL cure you' because everybodies body's react differently to everything.

While your body accepts penacillin, a lot of people are allergic to it.

And I know, they shouldn't take medicines they're allergic to. But it happens sometimes and people die from it. And those deaths, even though they weren't the effect of a drug directly (effect of stupidity really) were still thrown into teh count to help pad the number.

It's like motorcycle statistics. A lot of the statistics are very grim and are used to scare you off them. But if you read them, you'll notice there's no 'deaths with protective gear on: deaths without protective gear' ratio. Because they don't want you to know that information. It could easily be documented, it's noted at every scene, but they just ignore that bit of information. It hurts their case, after all.

 

[TAVS]

Bunch of hog-wash. Sure organics may be 'healthier' but nobody's proved anything I eat is going to make me un-healthy (aside from alcohol and an over-all unhealthy diet of candy; fried foods; etc.

The salt in my cupboard isn't going to harm me, nor is the non-organic apples in my fridgerator and certainly not the otter-pops in my freezer

 

[Zoom]

There was a little blurb I ran across a few years ago about how some guy claimed that he found the cure for cancer in some really common plant, maybe even almonds or something like that, and once the FDA got wind, they shut him down but good. Now, since everyone relies on the might FDA to tell them what to believe and not to believe, few people will give this guy the time of day in the medical industry.

Drug companies really are all about profit. To think otherwise is to be an utter fool. Now to the extent that you believe the conspiracy theories surrounding those companies, that's up to you. I myself am more than inclined to believe quite a few of them, for the sole reason that companies like Pfeizer, Bayer, etc can't put a patent on clover or hibiscus or any other natural curative and so will do their best to quash information that would take them out of the running.

 

[Buckshot]

What I dont like is that we have to see a doctor for prescription medications. I dont have to see a plumber to buy crystal drano but I do have to see a doctor to get codiene. I know people abuse substances but I know more people who dont and wouldnt, even without big brother standing over them. I cant stand any of our 3 lettered agencies ATF, NSA, FBI, FDA, FCC and the list goes on and on. I dont need or want any of them but yet I pay for their existence.

 

[Dreeza]

There was a little blurb I ran across a few years ago about how some guy claimed that he found the cure for cancer in some really common plant, maybe even almonds or something like that, and once the FDA got wind, they shut him down but good. Now, since everyone relies on the might FDA to tell them what to believe and not to believe, few people will give this guy the time of day in the medical industry.

Drug companies really are all about profit. To think otherwise is to be an utter fool. Now to the extent that you believe the conspiracy theories surrounding those companies, that's up to you. I myself am more than inclined to believe quite a few of them, for the sole reason that companies like Pfeizer, Bayer, etc can't put a patent on clover or hibiscus or any other natural curative and so will do their best to quash information that would take them out of the running.

very well said. Its just crazy...

broccoli is supposed to be a really good anti-cancer thing too.

The thing is, that people need to realize...you cant just eat some broccoli, and not change anything else...as long as you continue putting toxins in your body, your health will never be 100%

its just weird how quick so many people (myself included) reject the whole "holistic" idea...when it is the waaay more normal diet....and how easily we accept that it is okay to eat crap

 

[Mike_SK]

I think that its easy for the uneducated masses to be intimidated by what they don't understand. The drug and healthcare industries are huge and intimidating but it doesn't necessarily mean they are evil.

There is good reason that the FDA (and Health Canada) do the things they do. Not allowing health claims on cherries, for example is to prevent them being marketed as such, which prevents their over use. Until there have been scientific studies to prove that they are a benefit (and to rule out risk) it is irresponsible to allow people to claim they are a health benefit.

As for Claritin being compared to placebo... I don't know about that study, but you have to look at more than just results. Unless you've read the trial you don't know what methods and statistical analyses they did to come up with those numbers. How many people were involved? Reading stuff in newspapers never shows the whole picture... if the drug companies are only interested in selling drugs, then the media is only interested in drumming up hysteria to sell more papers, so you have to take what you read with a grain of salt.

As for health care workers (pharmacists, physicians, etc) just being the drones of the evil health care system, I take offense at that personally. I care about my job and have gone to school for a long time and know that the people I work with truly know what we are doing and care for how people use medications. Of course some are dangerous and have side effects, but its ou job to minimize risk while maximizing benefit and there are definitely flaws in the system, espeically the American one, but we do what we can and I think that we do an excellent job overall.

Alternative methods are great if thats what you believe in... but just remember that they only look safe because they haven't put their proof out there in studies. Look at the whole picture before you decide how to get treated and make rash, across the board statements about pharmaceuticals and the people involved in them.

 

[whatszmatter]

very well said. Its just crazy...


its just weird how quick so many people (myself included) reject the whole "holistic" idea...when it is the waaay more normal diet....and how easily we accept that it is okay to eat crap

Boy, isn't that the truth!! I only recently started to buy some organic stuff, mostly meats and eggs, but have tried some other things as well. Some stuff is far more flavorful than most common store brands and other things, well they taste like I thought "organic" would taste.

But it is odd that if I told my friends I had free range organic based eggs for breakfast, organic meats, RAW milk and some fresh organic fruit they would think I freakin flipped.

On the other hand a box of msg BHT laced cereal with hormone and antibiotic injected bacon and juice that is mostly sugar and water with no real fruit juice is a "normal" breakfast.

Try buying honey in the grocery store, most of it doesn't have a drop of real honey in it, or yogurt, most common store brands have sucrolose or high fructose corn syrup as a top ingredient. Seems odd when the bacT we don't want in our systems thrive on high fructose corn syrup, and people are eating yogurt because of its effects on the GI BacT, to help normalize everything. Most yogurts have none of the ingredients that would help with GI function, but have things that will make GI function abnormal.

you can't much variety of food in a common grocery store that doesn't have TFA's in them either. They change the lipid bilayer of your cells making them more rigid and changing their structure and function. When blood vessels loose their elasticity and become rigid they become damaged and are repaired with cholesterol patches, that's how all that plaquing of vessels starts, but its ok, we sell a drug that can help that, plus give agonizing leg cramps and pains, but we'll prescribe something for those when the need arises.

 

[casablanca1]

I respect the idea of trying to live and eat healthy, but in the end, we're all dying. So I do get a little irritated when the talk goes from positive "I really want to eat better" to the negative "all those idiots who don't get it are going to die young and fat." All the physical health that these people enjoy is, in my opinion, offset by the truly awful karma they create for themselves by being jerks.

And with all due respect to the many wonderfully inventive things our and other governments have done to erode public confidence in governmental sanity, I don't think the FDA is out to get anyone. For one thing, I believe the ATF keeps hogging all the black helicopters.

 

[Dreeza]

casablanca, i am really sorry if i came off as a jerk, that is exactly the opposite of what i was trying to do I have been eating "healthy" for like a week. After really reading up on the subject, and learning the negative effects that our "everyday" food can have on us on a daily basis, and in the future as well, I felt like i needed to spread the word. Just put the information out there, and anyone who wants to learn, and has a reason to feel they may benefit from eating better can. I was doing it to help, not hurt , so once again, so sorry.

I forget if i said this, but basically, on a daily basis, i feel Sh*tty. my brain gets clouded, i'll get dizzy, and feel totally out of it on some days. Ill be trying to read, and the words are just mixing together. Not to mention my skin is always itchy, whenever i come home my mom goes "you look like sh*t" (yes, thanks mom, lol). My knees hurt, i get random shooting pains. Especially one in my ear (that one i need to run by a doctor...ear pains are never a good thing), and in random joints for no reason

of course, its been happening for years, so i live with it. I dont lead some miserable life, I am a pretty happy person overall, i've learned to deal with these things.

What im learning is that changing your diet could help all of this. Itchy skin for example...maybe caused by Lauryl sulfates in 90% of our skin care products (even the FDA has warned companies to watch the amount they are putting in products. This stuff is used by labs to IRRITATE skin, to see what will make it go away (ya know, if they are testing an anti-itch cream or something) Its really corrosive, and too much exposure can cause carcinogens to sink into your skin. some companies...most likely (this is my guess) the cheapo shampoos use amounts that have been proven to be enough to sink into our precious organs..of course, you dont notice it...and come on, like anyone is gonna connect cancer to shampoo/body wash...

and yuo dont have to buy expensive products to get one without it either. I just bought a bottle of shampoo for 5 bucks, and its a pretty good sized bottle. There were even cheaper ones...i just bought that one cause it said it is good for an itchy scalp, and the other ones didnt, lol

ANYWAYS, by doctor's standards, i am very healthy. They always tell me my weight is perfect, blood pressure perfect, blood tests - perfect. the only thing that wasnt perfect was my diet...every time i got told to eat more fruits and veggies...so technically, i really am just FINALLY listening to my prescription happy doctor!! (ok, she really is prescription happy)

 

[casablanca1]

casablanca, i am really sorry if i came off as a jerk, that is exactly the opposite of what i was trying to do I have been eating "healthy" for like a week. After really reading up on the subject, and learning the negative effects that our "everyday" food can have on us on a daily basis, and in the future as well, I felt like i needed to spread the word. Just put the information out there, and anyone who wants to learn, and has a reason to feel they may benefit from eating better can. I was doing it to help, not hurt , so once again, so sorry.

I didn't really mean you, just in general. It's easy to go overboard when you really believe in something and you feel that other people need to believe it too, and the people who do are the ones I was thinking of. As long as you aren't buttonholing acquaintances and forcing yarrow tablets on them, you're fine.