By David Blyweiss, M.D., Advanced Natural Wellness

January 31, 2020

When a new drug hits the market, I usually hear a flurry of chatter among my patients.

They see the commercials, talk to friends who’ve received prescriptions, and wonder if this new pill might be the key to their own problems.

My response – however – is always the same… “Let’s wait!”

Why the caution?

Well, you’d be shocked to learn how many drugs deemed “safe” by the FDA are actually doing a whole lot more harm than good.

The FDA simply does not put in the time, effort, energy or money to thoroughly test a drug for long enough… or on enough people.

In fact, I suggest my patients wait a full year for the drug to be given to one million people.

And while the FDA is rushing through the approval process on TV-commercial drugs, they are also doing all they can to bash supplements every chance they get.

Drugs vs. Supplements – Why the Difference?

Well, it all comes down to money of course!

The FDA and Big Pharma do everything in their power to convince you that supplements are unregulated and unsafe… that they won’t do anything for your health… and that they may even be harmful.

In fact, the FDA won’t even allow any treatment claims for supplements. It doesn’t matter how much science there is that proves how well they wor

On the other hand, the FDA will evaluate the “safety” of a drug to determine if the benefits outweigh the risk. But this evaluation doesn’t come for free. Pharmaceutical companies pay the FDA somewhere around a quarter billion dollars to put a drug through the approval process.

Now, this is a huge conflict of interest.

The agency that’s supposed to protect you is much more interested in keeping their pharmaceutical “sugar daddies” happy. So, of course, it’s in their best interest to keep you fearful of natural supplements.

Big Pharma Can’t Rake in the Big Bucks with Supplements

Here’s the deal…

The pharmaceutical drug industry is a money-making machine. And it’s not just Big Pharma and the FDA that are raking in the big bucks.

Large research centers and universities receive grants and funding from drug companies. Researchers receive hundreds of thousands of dollars in “consultant” fees.

Plus, many of the studies presented to the FDA to evaluate a drug’s safety and performance are bought and paid for by the maker. This means the big companies can hand pick only the best-performing studies… and bury the ones that show the drug in a bad light.

One of the worst examples was a statin drug called Baycol – a drug used to lower cholesterol similar to Lipitor, Pravachol or Zocor.

In August 2001, the FDA removed this “approved” drug from the market after it caused a potentially fatal condition called rhabdomyolysis – which causes muscle tissue breakdown, renal failure, and possibly death.

Ultimately, 52 deaths were officially linked to this dangerous “approved” drug… but I believe there were a lot more.

So just because the FDA approves a drug, it doesn’t mean it’s safe. The approval process is too short and the size of the study groups too small.

It takes longer than just a few months and a couple of hundred or a thousand people to accurately gauge the long term effects of a drug.

That’s why – even when people start getting sick – it still takes a few months or years for a dangerous drug to be taken off the market.

Now, the drug companies and the FDA would love to take complete control of the supplement industry. And what a disaster that would be!

Thankfully, there just isn’t any money in it. So instead, they spread fear to discourage people like you from buying them.

But are there any facts that back up this fear-mongering?

Here’s the Truth about Supplements

Myth: Supplements aren’t regulated, and are therefore unsafe.

Truth: There’s something called the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act, or DSHEA. And believe it or not, it falls under the oversight of the FDA. It requires that all products and ingredients in supplemental formulations meet DSHEA and FDA regulations.

Myth: The supplement industry is fraudulent and dangerous.

Truth: Most supplement makers go to great lengths to meet – and even exceed – DSHEA requirements. Raw ingredients are tested and assayed. Many products are produced at medical grade manufacturing centers. And if any supplement is contaminated or misbranded, the FDA is responsible for taking action.

Myth: Supplements don’t do anything for your health, so they’re a waste of money.

Truth: Years and years of studies prove the value of supplementation. This includes things like taking fish oil, CoQ10, or even just taking a simple B vitamin.

And I’ll be frank with you: These days, supplemental sources of nutrients are more important than ever. That’s because many of today’s food sources are stripped of their nutritional value.

In fact, the foods most folks eat here in the U.S. actually contribute to disease. We have to recognize and stop using our own forks to dig our graves.

That’s why I always recommend that people stay healthy with natural, organic foods and use high-quality supplements for an added boost.

Ultimately, boosting your healthy aging profile with safe, natural and life-giving targeted nutrients is a safe and inexpensive way to support your health.

SOURCES:

Budnitz DS, et al. Emergency department visits for overdoses of acetaminophen-containing products. Am J Prev Med. 2011 Jun;40(6):585-92.

FAERS Reporting by Patient Outcomes by Year. Food and Drug Administration. Nov 2015.

Furberg, Curt D, and Bertram Pitt. “Withdrawal of cerivastatin from the world market.” Current controlled trials in cardiovascular medicine vol. 2,5 (2001): 205-207. doi:10.1186/cvm-2-5-205. Accessed online: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC59524/