WEB POSTED 06-05-2001

AIN'T NOTHING LIKE THE REAL THING!

Just over a year ago, March 27, 2000 to be exact, the National Weekly Edition of THE WASHINGTON POST  featured a cover article (pictured here) entitled " All Natural And Dangerous". The headline inside read "Herbals for Your Health? As the supplements industry booms, the sickness and death toll rises."  Staff writer Guy Gugliotta began by stating, "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."

The first finger was pointed at a bodybuilding supplement named gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB) " and similar substitutes."  Specifically spotlighted was the collapse, on the team bus, of Phoenix Suns forward Tom Gugliotta, who "nearly died"  in a Portland, Oregon hospital after taking a GHB-related substance.

The article recounted that, " California investigators in 1998 found that nearly one-third of 260 imported Asian herbals were either spiked with drugs not listed on the label or contained lead, arsenic or mercury." Another observation made was that " Health professionals across the country complain they cannot be sure how powerful a supplement is because the actual potency of the pill often doesn' t match the legend on the label."

All over the country, it seems that these so-called " supplements"  are wreaking havoc. "Pittsburgh,"  the article states, "documented 198 incidents involving herbal supplements in the 15 months ending last March (1999), with ginseng and St. John' s wort, an antidepressant, the most frequently mentioned substances."

The number of children who are victims is swiftly rising, the writer contends, pointing to cases such as the rise of malnutrition in wealthy California families, because of the children's indulgence in snack foods spiked with supplements. In addition, a mother in Long Island gave her 18-month-old baby a teaspoon of eucalyptus oil last year because a store clerk told her it was good for a fever. The child suffered permanent neurological damage and almost died.

One of the reasons the danger continues to exist, the writer points out, is that "A 1994 federal law, fiercely pushed by the industry through an acquiescent Congress, exempts supplement companies from almost all federal regulation, including any requirements that they file reports when the use of one of their products goes wrong. Unlike pharmaceuticals or food additives, supplements do not have to be pre-screened by the FDA, nor do they have to demonstrate through peer-reviewed science that they are safe before they can be sold."

Some states, refusing to be a party to the deadly inactivity of the feds, have begun passing their own restrictive laws. Many agree with the director of the Long Island Poison Center, who maintains that "Nothing will be done unless a tremendous outbreak occurs."

The most apparent example of the danger of unregulated supplements, opines the writer, is the case of GHB. It was banned in 1991, but, says the writer, " diet supplement companies for years had been selling GHB 'precursor' chemicals, which metabolize to GHB once they get inside the human body. As diet supplements, the precursors were not subject to regulations by the Food and Drug Administration."  Two examples are given of the deadly price being paid by innocent believers in the government and its agents. An otherwise healthy bodybuilder paid the ultimate price --  his life, while a dieter spent 10 days on life support after using an "all natural"  weight-loss aid.