Alternative Medicine Questions

The Institute of Medicine, which advises Congress on health care, thinks that food supplements such as vitamines, calcium, and magnesium should be scientifically tested and proved safe to use. But the Council on Responsible Nutrition, representing the supplement industry, calls the conclusion "an unwarranted hatchet job on supplements". (From Newsday, Jan 13, 2005, page A28.)

Personally I believe that supplements should be tested and proved safe, but it should not be done by a government agency, which would soon fall under the control of the supplement industry, similarly to the way the FDA is now the pet of the drug companies. Instead, a non-profit organization should be created that will research food supplements and other forms of alternative medicine. The agency would be able to provide reliable information on the value of various alternative therapies and medicines compared to standard medical proceedures and drugs. Such an agency could also try to find cures for so-called orphan diseases. Without an authoritive and independent testing agency, this can never be accomplished.

More information about such an agency is on my web site, http://www.thelittlegreenie.com.