Consider this an alert and call to action. Years ago, when I wasn’t paying attention, I used to believe that the FDA and the pharmaceutical companies actually cared about our health and welfare. I thought that ideas of them colluding was just crazy “conspiracy theory.” But many things have caused me to change my opinion. And now, the ruling FDA-CDC-Pharma triumvirate plans to completely regulate away our medical freedom.
The Food and Drug Administration has just announced that it is cracking down on “homeopathic” remedies. Let me explain what this means. Before the 20th century, medicine was not controlled by the pharmaceutical industries. Doctors may not have had high technology, but they were experienced in observation, and they understood that diet is the keystone to health. In short, they practiced “homeopathic” medicine.
In the 1870s, Elie Metchnikoff who was the successor to Louis Pasteur as director of scientific research and a Nobel Laureate, studied the relationship of the bacteria in the gut to dementia. He traveled to the Balkans where he observed many old people who were alert and active into their 100s. In addition to their simple lifestyle, Metchnikoff believed there was a direct relationship between healthy or unhealthy populations of bacteria in the gut and the onset of senile dementia. He coined many words in use today such as “probiotics” and “microbiome” – referring to the makeup of the gut bacteria.
Reading Metchnikoff ‘s work, I am in awe of what he deduced without modern equipment: “The promise of microbiome research results largely on the future of probiotics. … Eventually, it may become possible to restore the health of a depleted microbiome simply by swallowing a capsule crammed with billions of bacterial cells, or by eating yogurt.”
Those recommendations and nutrition-based medicine in general are defined as “homeopathic medicine” – and of course this is given a negative connotation. After 1905 pharmacy-based medicine became the norm, was called “allopathic” and considered “real science.” But, today many people – myself included, and great medical scientists from all over the globe – are talking about Metchnikoff’s homeopathic ideas and are using modern technology to put his treatments into the hands of clinicians.
The FDA would like to put a halt to this kind of non-pharmaceutical industry progress. Specifically, they want to shut down homeopathic remedies (i.e. anything not prescribed by a medical doctor or made by a pharmaceutical-industry giant). They state specifically they are concerned about remedies that “may not deliver any benefit and have the potential to cause harm.” Think about that for a moment. That describes nearly any new discovery. That describes drinking cranberry juice for bladder infections. That describes Metchnikoff’s probiotics. That describes taking Vitamin D in excess of the paltry useless dose the Institute of Medicine has – in their beneficence – granted us. Anything has the potential to cause harm – water drunk in excess can cause harm. Polar bear liver eaten in excess can cause harm. Oysters may cause harm. And of course, “may not deliver any benefit” can apply to anything. Eating a lollypop may not deliver any benefit, but it shouldn’t be illegal.
Interestingly, the agency does not apply this scrutiny to the pharmaceutical industry. Many papers have been written about the failure of “Statin” drugs to prevent cardiac death or all-cause mortality. But this cash cow of the drug industry will never be questioned by the FDA.
As an orthopedic surgeon, I’ve looked into the bisphosphonates extensively. These prescription drugs are touted as bone-building, and the industry claim is that they reduce the fracture rate in post-menopausal women by half. That sounds pretty good until you know the uncomfortable fact that only 2 in 100 elderly women per year will experience a fracture, and only one will be prevented by a bisphosphonate drug. In other words, 99 out of 100 women taking the drug will not be benefited. And these drugs cause some women to develop spontaneous fractures. Yet the FDA doesn’t threaten to take them off the market.
So, what is this really all about? Not our safety. If they really cared about our safety, they wouldn’t indemnify pharmaceutical industries against any lawsuit from vaccine injury. They would demand more than 10-day follow-up for vaccine drug tests. They wouldn’t shut down the little manufactures of certain useful drugs.
This is about crony capitalism. The FDA/CDC/Big Pharma are all the same people. The biggest money in advertising and in politics today is from the pharmaceutical industry. They spread that money to local politicians who turn around and vote for mandatory vaccines. (As a business person wouldn’t you love to have government force people to buy your product?) They spread the money to the media, who consequently never bring up uncomfortable questions about questionable products. (Fox News may debate sensitive subjects like gay marriage and climate change, but have you ever once heard them discuss vaccine injury?)
Pharma giants have successfully convinced legislators and many other intelligent people through clever tag lines and memes that all vaccines are always safe in all people all the time. How else can you justify mandating school vaccines in all children without any exemptions (California)? They have convinced Medicare to officially recommend that doctors keep cholesterol at lower and lower levels, requiring more and more Statin drugs. And as is true with government in general, recommendations next become requirements. For some problems, government reimburses doctors less if they do not use Big Pharma drugs to keep patients within certain bureaucratic ranges. For example, doctors lose money if they have too many diabetics “out of control” (and control is determined by someone at Medicare). Sadly, as this regulation was instituted, diabetic deaths increased by following the guidelines. But Big Pharma made more money.
Pharma would love to take away your ability to treat yourself. Increasing zinc intake might help decrease cancer – so let’s outlaw zinc supplements. Let’s kick in the doors and arrest the makers of Coenzyme Q10 even though we can find no safety problem. (The FDA actually did this, and, funny thing, several years later CoQ10 was reported to be beneficial in preventing heart deaths.) Let’s regulate Vitamin D because getting your D levels above 55 may decrease many kinds of cancer, and that would mean maybe less cancer drugs – which are a big revenue stream.
See where this goes? I’m not here to tout any particular over-the-counter remedy, but who gave the FDA total ability to limit what we can take into our bodies, while virtually forcing us to be given what they prescribe? It’s none of their business whether a “homeopathic remedy” is worthless. That’s an issue of commerce and truth in advertising. I, for one, want the freedom to research and decide for myself what supplements to take, even if my supplements ultimately do me no good. (Many do a great deal of good as Big Pharma knows only too well.) I want to eat all the salt I want. Remember when the official word was “salt is bad for your blood pressure and your heart”? Well, new research has shown more heart-related deaths by people eating less salt than those eating more. I don’t drink colas, but it is none of the government’s business what I choose to eat or drink. And trust me: No government bureau has ever been on the cutting edge of science.
So, the FDA has given 90 days for public comment. Of course, they don’t give out a phone number, but you can comment on line at Regulations.gov. And you can call every one of those pharmacy toadies in the Senate and Congress. Please do so.
I just returned from a fantastic scientific meeting. There is so much out there we can do for our health, but we are not doing those things, because until now, the pharmaceutical industry has been essentially the only funder of research. That is changing, however. As more money is being pumped into anti-aging research by rich private investors, the cat is being slowly let out of the bag. I believe Big Pharma is running scared by this exodus from their control of medicine, and that is why we are seeing this regulatory threat now.
This FDA power grab is the Rubicon of personal freedom. Please call D.C. Please comment at Regulations.gov. Please help keep medical freedom alive – of the people, by the people and for the people.
