Europe bans nutritional supplements

[Biochemist]

...I'm not saying that supplements shouldn't be monitored. Toxic chemicals should be banned, of course, but limits should not be set on nutrients. That kind of control is overkill, and educating the public should be preferred in a democratic society.

I don't want to defend the FDA, but overall they don't do too bad a job. They make lots of errors, but that is not the issue. The models they use for identifying an agent that is risky are reasonable (even though they are occasionally politized).

 

I dentifying an agent as a nutrient does not make it safe. I mentioned above that most fat soluble vitamins are dangers, and many deaths have been reported from overdoses, particularly of vitamin A and D. Further, trace minerals kill people in the US all of the time (chromium being a leading example). The FDA rightly uses a model that attempts to assess whether a reasonable individual could unknowingly incur harm from a product. They tend to be overly conservative, but there are certainly cases where the populace will incur damage (including death) from nutrients.

[nkt]

They tend to be overly conservative, but there are certainly cases where the populace will incur damage (including death) from nutrients.

I agree, and further, the sheer size of some of the dozes are obviously a cause for alarm from anyone who thinks about it for a moment.

 

In the UK the manufacturer of almost any drug, supplement or food has to put some information on the box. Now, anyone who reads that "Vitamin C stops colds" on the box, then looks at the side is probably going to want lots of vitamin C in it. So some have 1400% of the RDA in each tablet!!

 

Of course, the buyer thinks this is great, because the box says it is ok, in fact the box says it is a positive advantage, and, if it were dangerous "they wouldn't be allowed to sell it".

 

Half of it is the dumbing down of people ("Warning: After heating, this product may be hot") and the other half is the government letting the dumb-asses live longer and breed. ("Danger: Rat poison should not be eaten")

[Qfwfq]

As Bio says, liposoluble vitamins are typically the ones you need to watch out with and certain things such as heavy metals. You can eat all the carrots you want, and other similarly coloured veg, they contain beta-carotene which is no problem and the body uses as much as it needs to make its vitamin A.

 

You can also take as much vitamin C as you like, it's highly hydrosoluble and the excess just comes out the next time you take a leak.

 

Like Erasmus, I say that doctors are usually inclined to advise about life style and food. Crazes such as these health food stores are real money traps.

[Southtown]

Good points, all of you.

 

E00, it's comforting to know there are good doctors out there. I have not had what I'd call a good experience from any medical professionals, directly or otherwise, with the lone exception of a dentist just recently. One would think with today's advances in science and technology that doctors are becoming increasingly aware of nutrition. Let's hope this trend continues and the spread of information overwhelms the cosmetically glossy marketing of greedy corporations.

 

Bio, from what I've seen, the FDA and the like require conclusive proof to reject or pull a substance or ingredient, rather than just a reasonable doubt. That is not the way I think it should be done. They should adopt a "better safe than sorry" attitude.

 

The rest uvya, ya some vitamins and minerals can be over done. I haven't heard of many cases of nutrient overdose, but I'm sure they're out there. I'll agree because I think anything can be harmful with enough excess, but that's not the point. I admit maybe they should limit some things. I just don't trust their knowledge of nutrition. All can still end well, though, I will agree.

 

I'm under the opinion, however, that synthetic nutrients aren't really that healthy either. Maybe that's a source of trouble that should be looked into. Our bodies come from the earth, derive energy from the earth, and then return to it. We are all a part of this world and inseperable from it. (Sorry astrobuffs, that's how I see it.) I agree some supplements are dangerous and most are overhyped. Supplements are no replacement for nutritional awareness.

 

I take real food supplements. Like the ingredients actually say "broccoli," "garlic," "soy," etc. And I'm afraid these will be targeted, too. Judging by the USDA's and the ADA's standards of nutrition, they would prefer we stay sick. Compare their recommendations to some real nutrition advice. Why does the USDA recommend dairy and the ADA recommend sugar?!? They had better not have anything to do with future nutritional legislation or we're all screwed.

 

http://www.honestfoodguide.org/downloads/HonestFoodGuide.pdf

http://www.notmilk.com/kradjian.html

[nkt]

As Bio says, liposoluble vitamins are typically the ones you need to watch out with and certain things such as heavy metals. You can eat all the carrots you want, and other similarly coloured veg, they contain beta-carotene which is no problem and the body uses as much as it needs to make its vitamin A.

But your skin will still turn orange! And teh difference between eating a bucket of carrots and taking a small tablet is that you can hardly double you r carrot intake by accident. Forget you took your mega-dose vit. pill and you can, easily!

You can also take as much vitamin C as you like, it's highly hydrosoluble and the excess just comes out the next time you take a leak.

But how much strain does that put on the rest of the body? The kidneys, for example? The simple fact that doctors *are* seeing more and more issues with over-self-medication indicates it is something that should be looked at.

 

Please don't over-react. AFAIK, it is only large vitamin dose pills that are being banned, not all of them.

[niviene]

Remember education is good. The government should validate information, not "blanket ban" information like this. Informed people can then be free to make their own choices and suffer their own consequences.

 

this is one of my favorite things you have ever said here, Southtown. :hihi:

[niviene]

Half of it is the dumbing down of people ("Warning: After heating, this product may be hot") and the other half is the government letting the dumb-asses live longer and breed. ("Danger: Rat poison should not be eaten")

 

Another big part of it is people being able to sue for being that dumb....if you choose to self-medicate without doing your homework, you should suffer, not the drug companies, store that sold it to you, friend who recommended it, etc. I agree - a box should not be able to just say that Vitamin C will fix everything - but each person should be responsible for her own body. If you didn't consult a person who is educated in the field, you're "at your own risk". If you buy a cup of coffee, which any reasonable person would expect to be hot (and complain if it was not), you should not be able to sue because it was hot. (Yes, in the one case, it was at 180 degrees which was excessive, but if you put hot coffee between your thighs while driving - which is illegal, anyway - you are the moron who should suffer... not only for your own misery, but for putting others on the road at risk when you lose control of the vehicle.)

 

Nice post, nkt. :hihi:

[freeztar]

"Non-nutrition" seems a bit strong for "non-natural" foods.

I agree that an organic diet found naturally upon the land can provide us with nourishment, but why ban nutritional supplements?

 

Can you speak to this healthyfoodstoday?

[maikeru]

This is fear mongering by the author:

 

That's where all this is headed: the outright banning of anything from nature. One day, you could be thrown in prison for growing broccoli in your own garden. Or if you harvest dandelion root and store it in your pantry, you could be arrested and charged with "possession of outlawed substances with the intent to distribute." You'll be thrown to the dogs like a crack dealer, only your crime was picking dandelions out of your yard. Dandelions are medicinal herbs, you know.

 

I think vitamins are fine. Good when they're manufactured safely and taken properly. Most of what this seems to boil down to, though, is controlling or restricting harmful dosage or taking out supplements that don't work as advertised or claimed.

 

Outlawing vitamins is not a minor issue. It is a violation of the fundamental laws of nature. To take away a person's right to nutritionally support his or her own body is to condemn that person to a lifetime of pain and disease. It is a blatant crime against humanity.

 

Unsupported or logically weak conclusions. More fear mongering and exaggeration. "To take away a person's right to nutritionally support his or her own body is to condemn that person to a lifetime of pain and disease." Yeah. Humans seemed to do pretty well throughout history on a wide variety of natural foods. Humans may still flourish if they eat well and cover the nutritional basics. A varied diet, with an emphasis on whole and less refined/processed foods, generally will give you all the vitamins and minerals you'll ever need...and then some.

 

Some studies suggest that when taken orally, most vitamins from your vitamin pill actually end up down the toilet, since they are flushed by your body. This makes sense because your body will use what it needs at the time and what it can absorb. Also, synthetic vitamins may not be in a form that the body can absorb or utilize efficiently, either. One good example is iron. The body has a much easier absorbing heme-bound iron from meats and other foods than it does free iron. I also remember discussing with a grad student I used to work with about the difference between synthesized vitamin E and certain forms of vitamin E commonly found in whole foods. He mentioned to me that these forms seemed more physiologically useful and active than the synthetic form.

 

More well known are tocopherols, especially alpha-tocopheral (standard vitamin E): Tocopherol - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

More powerful antioxidants, according to some scientific research, are tocotrienols: Tocotrienol - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

I wonder that if people feel so strongly about their vitamin supplements why they do not feel the same about eating well and having healthy habits.

 

One more thing, several vitamin supplements have been found to contain small amounts of toxins:

 

A vitamin a day may do more harm than good - Diet and nutrition - MSNBC.com

 

Considering how much food, air, water, etc. already has pollution and contaminants in them, I think people should consider whether they want to burden their body a little more with the wrong supplements. It's also my understanding that many supplements are manufactured in China, and I'm not particularly enthusiastic about China's safety record, thanks to recent scares over tainted food, pet, and toy products. (Then again I'm not really a fan of the FDA too.)

 

The Telegraph Online

DSM making long-term investment in China

 

Sometimes I do think that the EU takes care of her people better than the States does. The EU, for example, has very strict limits on the amount of measurable lead contamination in cocoa. When I checked the same for the US, we had higher limits for lead, and in a way, lower standards than the Europeans did. (I discovered the concern in lead contamination over cocoa was prompted by African cocoa grown in places where leaded gasoline is common. Therefore lead in the air, soil, and water is a common pollutant, and contaminates cocoa beans during processing.)

 

Edit: Good lord, I wrote such a long response to an old thread. :/ On this tiny monitor I'm temporarily using, I can't see posting dates worth crap...

[Southtown]

Edit: Good lord, I wrote such a long response to an old thread. :/ On this tiny monitor I'm temporarily using, I can't see posting dates worth crap...

There's no such thing as a bad time to present new information. haha Thanx mon. My views have changed, however, since starting this thread almost three years ago.

 

Specifically, I'm not a big fan of vitamin supplements anymore. I rather prefer whole food supplements, and I disdain the preservatives and/or the processing of food products which simply strip away the perishable substances which are usually the exact substances that our bodies need the most. And these days I actually see vitamin supplements as a type of processed food, imo.

 

As for limiting the potency of vitamin supplements, I now think it's probably a good thing, since whole food supplements will rarely contain disproportionate volumes of any given substance.