Topics That Dominated the Wellness Landscape.
- Medication Kills, Maims, and for the Most Part, Flies Under the Radar
The Food & Drug Administration Adverse Event Reporting (AER) system ensures that dietary supplement and prescription drug manufacturers report significant adverse events related to their products. The figures from 2008 were recently published in October.- 1,080 from supplements (over half the US population take supplements)
- 26,517 from vaccines
- 526,527 from prescription drugs
- Big Pharma and the Mainstream Media Attack Dietary Supplements.Let me explain it to you in plain and simple terms: in the very near future, your right to take dietary supplements, in the fashion in which you are used to, may be revoked. This has already happened in Europe, and, your US congressmen are looking to follow suit. While numerous pieces of legislation are either being forced down our throats or secretly hidden in other bills, Big Pharma and the media are doing their part to scare the public with the hope that support for dietary supplements wanes.
Recent studies panning dietary supplements have dominated mainstream media. The headlines and articles are so eerily similar countrywide that it seems like someone is sending out a form letter for all to copy. Don't take our word for it. British Medical Journal published a study last month confirming what we have suspected for years: the cozy relationship between Big Pharma and the media exists. We're not just talking about the advertising lifeline that Big Pharma provides for the media, but perks similar to what Big Pharma has in the past and still provides for doctors.
The most tragic result of this war on supplements is that the public, as usual, will suffer every negative consequence. Despite what the pundits may tell you, most Americans do not even come close to getting the amount of vitamins and minerals necessary to achieve or maintain optimal health from diet alone. - Americans Flocking to Alternative Therapies.
We understand why Big Pharma and the medical community are fighting so hard against supplements and alternative practitioners like naturopaths. Recent statistics prove that the public wants more access to complementary therapies, especially ones that are covered by insurance. Journal headlines such as "Complementary Medicine on the Rise," and "Americans Flocking to Alternative Therapies" are the polar opposites of what the "status quo" wants.
The ace in the hole for integrative medicine may be the insurance companies. They are in the business of making money, and since they have already witnessed major cost savings by encouraging wellness and complementary therapies to their members, reimbursement equal to conventional therapies is trending upwards. For example, in 2011, the majority of clients who submitted insurance claims accompanied by an Rx with diagnoses from their physicians, received at least partial, if not full, reimbursement for our services.
It always makes us proud to see wellness principles that we have touted forever become mainstream.
- Gastrointestinal experts, and allergists to a lesser degree, are beginning to recognize food intolerance, whether gluten or myriad other foods, as a clear and present danger to those who suffer from them.
- Without saying it, the authors of a recent study in Rheumatology hinted that osteoporosis was the perfect example of how drug companies concoct a disease in order to open up a new market for themselves. In brilliantly discussing the etiology of osteoporosis and its "pharmaceutcalization," they did fail to mention a cheap, safe, and very successful pharmaceutical: salmon calcitonin. Calcitonin works on specifically on bone resorption, not bone formation, which bisphosphonates perform in irregular, brittle fashion. Usually administered by nasal spray, exciting data was just published on an effective new calcitonin oral delivery system.
- These dietary supplements frequently appeared in prestigious research journals touting benefits:
- Alpha Lipoic Acid
- B-Vitamins
- Vitamin C
- Co-Enzyme Q10
- Vitamin D
- Vitamin E
- Fish Oil
- Magnesium
- Phytosterols
- Probiotics
- Quercetin
- Zinc
- Ding, dong the food pyramid is dead! Its replacement, MyPlate, is a flawed, albeit dramatic improvement. The one little thing the USDA forgot on MyPlate: healthy fat. That said, things are definitely on the up and up. Until they fix the fat issue, our Circle of Health or Harvard's Healthy Plate are better options.
- More families are choosing organic and locally grown foods.
- Overwhelmingly positive data is forcing allergists to take notice of sublingual immunotherapy as a cheap, time-friendly option for reducing environmental-derived allergic reactions and symptoms.
- The public seems understands that taking too much, taking alone, and/or taking poor sources of calcium can do more harm than good.
- Xylitol was touted in several studies for its beneficial effects on dental caries as well as fighting ear infections.
- Two tennis stars, Venus Willams, and Novak Djokovic, brought attention to two very important issues this year: Sjogren's Disease and the Gluten-Free Diet.
- We will vigorously fight to make sure that the American Dietetic Association cannot ban nutritionists through legislation from practicing if they are not "registered." Like the American Medical Association, the ADA is an member organization, not a licensing body, so they have no right demand that all nutritionists be registered. The ADA is under a lot of heat for its ties to Big Food. so they are changing their name in 2012 to Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Don't be fooled.
- The School Lunch Program is now considered a threat to national security because its unhealthy nature affects the capability of youths to defend our nation. Yet, some lawmakers want to make components of pizza, such as tomato paste, a vegetable.
- The star is beginning to fade on veganism. As more people come forward discussing how horrible they felt while following it, it will go back to the place where it belongs, a niche diet for a finite group.
- While the popularity of slimming supplements begins to wane, many are still dangerous and ineffective. With recent data showing no benefits from hoodia, we hope the public will accelerate their focus elsewhere: to diet, exercise, and safe nutrients.
- There are many more "real food" options than there were 5 years ago. But as Whole Foods even admits, there is still a lot of processed junk still out there, much of it in their stores.
- Big disease nonprofits are still too much about money and drugs, and not enough about prevention and education.
- Consumers will take even more ownership of their health, make conscious connections between diet and disease, and thus make healthier choices that lead to prevention.
- The term “unregulated industry” will no longer be front of mind for consumers, doctors, regulators and the media. Perception will improve so that dietary supplements are viewed as safe, effective and contributory to the health of the population.
- The medical establishment will continue to move towards an integrative approach. Doctors will accept key nutraceutical products as alternatives to drugs, or in concert with drugs, to prevent disease and reduce healthcare costs. For example, doctors will prescribe products like probiotics after courses of antibiotics, red yeast rice and diet changes in lieu of statin drugs, and fish oil for heart health and arthritis.
- Healthcare reform will move from access to prevention, and more government resources will be applied to nutrient and dietary research so that Alzheimer’s disease, cancer, heart disease, and a wide host of conditions can be postponed or even prevented outright.
- Schools will no longer sell sugary sodas, milks or juices, but will offer healthy, nutritious food choices that significantly decrease childhood obesity.
Bonnie, Steve, Carolyn, Sharron, and Lilo
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