| Recent headlines from an Oregon State | | | | number of flawed industry funded studies on |
| University study asserted "Vitamin E trials | | | | vitamins, minerals, & botanicals - in other |
| 'fatally flawed" and the following story | | | | words, the studies are purposely designed to |
| detailed how most studies on Vitamin E have | | | | show poor results in order to ward off |
| been flawed to the point of being essentially | | | | natural competition that might be safer, more |
| worthless. Here are some excerpts: | | | | effective and/or much less expensive. |
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| CORVALLIS, Ore. - Generations of studies on | | | | The public and our doctors have been told |
| vitamin E may be largely meaningless, | | | | over and over again that natural alternative |
| scientists say, because new research has | | | | such as vitamins, minerals and botanical |
| demonstrated that the levels of this | | | | compounds provided by nature are inferior to |
| micronutrient necessary to reduce oxidative | | | | what man creates in our labs and such flawed |
| stress are far higher than those that have | | | | studies are what are often pointed to for |
| been commonly used in clinical trials. | | | | justification. If the studies are flawed, by |
| | | | design or not, it becomes a self fulfilling |
| In a new study and commentary in Free Radical | | | | prophecy. Such suspicions of the motives |
| Biology and Medicine, researchers concluded | | | | behind flawed studies are magnified when one |
| that the levels of vitamin E necessary to | | | | looks at the apparent agenda of the FDA and |
| reduce oxidative stress are four to eight | | | | those behind the push for adoption of a North |
| times higher than those used in almost all | | | | American Union kind of agreement modeled |
| past clinical trials. | | | | after the European Union model, which limits |
| | | | access to only a select group of natural |
| This could help explain the inconsistent | | | | vitamins, minerals and supplements at dosage |
| results of many vitamin E trials for its | | | | levels far below what is effective. |
| value in preventing or treating | | | | |
| cardiovascular disease, said Balz Frei, | | | | It is this author's opinion that we should |
| professor and director of the Linus Pauling | | | | never fail to keep in mind that the people |
| Institute at Oregon State University, and | | | | behind these studies have a vested stake in a |
| co-author of the new commentary along with | | | | trillion dollar plus annual industry and a |
| Jeffrey Blumberg, at the Jean Mayer USDA | | | | track record of taking no prisoners when it |
| Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at | | | | comes to competition. These are, after all, |
| Tufts University. | | | | the same people who trotted doctors and |
| | | | scientists before congress for four decades |
| 'The methodology used in almost all past | | | | to testify that vitamins had no benefit and |
| clinical trials of vitamin E has been fatally | | | | were even harmful, before finally giving in |
| flawed,' said Frei, one of the world's | | | | to a mountain of evidence they could not |
| leading experts on antioxidants and disease." | | | | hide. These are also the same people who |
| | | | assured us of the safety of Vioxx, Bextra, |
| Such news comes as no surprise to natural | | | | Allieve, Avandia, Gardasil, Fosamax, mercury |
| health advocates, but the public announcement | | | | vaccines, mercury amalgam fillings, and a |
| of the results is surprising because it | | | | long, long line of past and present drugs |
| spotlights a common failure of testing | | | | associated with dangerous side effects, |
| natural alternatives that has gone on for | | | | including large numbers of deaths. |
| decades: namely, testing dosage amounts well | | | | |
| below the therapeutic level, | | | | The same group of vested interest, despite |
| | | | over half a century of abject failure in the |
| Many believe that testing such low dosage | | | | war on cancer, still maintain that cutting |
| amounts, along with other flaws such as | | | | out, burning out and poisoning out symptoms |
| testing inferior or incorrect forms of the | | | | is superior to addressing the underlying |
| item being studied, studying only an isolated | | | | causes and natural prevention. And, when you |
| vitamin, mineral or compound without the | | | | get down to it, it was pretty much the same |
| supporting compounds found in nature are the | | | | group that assured us for generations that |
| result of looking at the minimum RDA amounts | | | | cigarettes were harmless. |
| recommended to maintain good health instead | | | | |
| of the therapeutic amounts needed to address | | | | It was a welcome surprise to many to see a |
| illness and disease - as well as the fact | | | | mainstream study point out the failures of |
| that only synthetic creations, altered | | | | how vitamins and other natural therapeutics |
| natural compounds and uniquely isolated | | | | have been tested. Too bad we don't see such |
| compounds are patentable. | | | | information constantly paraded before the |
| | | | masses on television and in journals, popular |
| There is no economic incentive for industry | | | | magazines and newspapers instead of the |
| to fund expensive studies and trials of | | | | barrage of "Ask Your Doctor" ads clearly |
| something they cannot patent, have a good | | | | designed to condition the viewers into |
| chance of recovering their study and trial | | | | entering the wonderful world of managed |
| costs, and then going on to reap large | | | | illness. |
| profits that can run into the billions of | | | | |
| dollars. On a darker side, there are many who | | | | Live long, live healthy, live happy! |
| suggest that such profits are behind a great | | | | |