We all understand why in criminal law, a person is innocent until proven guilty beyond a shadow of a doubt. But should that be the approach the FDA uses to determine food and drug safety? In general, we assume that our FDA extensively tests products and rejects any products that could risk our health, right? Maybe not you or me, but in general, people trust the FDA to keep them safe.
That’s why, when they see a warning label on a bottle of homeopathic medicine stating that pregnant women should not take the remedy without consulting a doctor, they often don’t buy the remedy at all. Never mind that just a few years ago, the FDA said that homeopathic medicine was nothing more than a sugar pill, incapable of doing anything at all since they chemically couldn’t find even trace amounts of any of the original substance still in them. Never mind that allopathic doctors and researchers have up until recently sworn up and down that homeopathy is nothing more than a placebo. Incapable of doing any good or any harm; no better than a sugar pill… So…OTC Homeopathic remedies are not even capable of doing harm, but since they haven’t been tested by the FDA, (and they are quickly replacing traditional medicines in the market place) the warning label gets slapped on there.
In the meantime, toxic chemicals, known to cause harm to the reproductive and nervous systems as well as cancer and other diseases in animals, enjoy the same innocence until proven guilty beyond a shadow of a doubt that people do in criminal court.
BPA, which has been taken out of our baby bottles and pacifiers in recent years, stood before the FDA recently. A petition to the FDA from The Natural Resources Defense Council would have banned the chemical bisphenol-A from all food and drink packaging, including plastic bottles and canned food. BPA actually does have dangers associated with it, unlike homeopathic OTC remedies. Yet, the Food and Drug Administration has decided to reject the petition and BPA will remain in our food packaging. The FDA’s response, “While evidence from some studies have raised questions as to whether BPA may be associated with a variety of health effects, there remain serious questions about these studies, particularly as they relate to humans.” See, they can’t penalize BPA, there’s still some doubt as to its real-life toxicity level in humans.
Now, here’s my question:
Since BPA has been found to be exceptionally dangerous in animal studies, and pregnant women eat food, shouldn’t all foods packaged in plastics containing BPA be labelled as a potential risk? One she should discuss with her doctor?
Or is the FDA playing favorites?
I don’t know where you got the idea that homeopathic medicines aren’t capable of causing harm because they can if used improperly or for people with certain medical conditions. That is why it says to consult your Dr. Homeopathic medicines can be very effective but you shouldn’t use them with the assumption that they cannot harm you no matter what.
Only a few years ago, the FDA and traditional doctors were adamant that homeopathic medicine is only a placebo. That’s the irony I was trying to point out. First they say they are sugar pills, then, they want to regulate them once they gain in popularity.
But since you brought up the subject, which is something I LOVE talking about… Certainly some OTC homeopathic remedies could cause “harm” depending on how you look at things. If you use them as directed, a healing crisis could be seen as harmful I suppose. I don’t consider it to be. You could also prove the remedy if you used it too frequently depending on the remedy and the potency. I’ve proved a remedy before by using the wrong remedy under a homeopathic doctor’s guidance. He shouldn’t have had me take it as much or for as long as he did. I’ve sine learned we could have antidoted it with another remedy, but instead I just waited a month for it to clear up on its own. I’ve also seen a healing crisis when my husband took a remedy. That one I was prepared for though, so it was OK. Odd, but OK. Even for something as simple as chronic plantars warts, I’ve known a woman who took as directed a non-OTC strength of (something I can’t say in order to follow FDA guidelines) and ended up with dozens more for a few days while she healed. It was apparently terrifying, but they never came back. I’ve certainly seen those problems first hand and they aren’t pleasant, but I don’t consider that actual harm. I guess its debatable and comes down to how one views harm. But the FDAs biggest concern regarding all this is that people will use remedies for something other than acute self-limiting conditions. There are remedies that could cause harm for sure, but I was talking about the OTC remedies.
And of course, just to clarify for people reading this, homeopathic remedies are not the same thing as herbal remedies or dietary supplements, though it seems that you are well aware of this fact. Just in case others aren’t. 🙂
Here’s what I’m talking about regarding prescription or OTC from the FDA:
“If the HPUS specifies a distinction between nonprescription (over-the-counter (OTC)) and prescription status of products which is based on strength (e.g., 30x) – and which is more restrictive than Section 503(b) of the Act – the more stringent criteria will apply. Homeopathic products intended solely for self-limiting disease conditions amenable to self-diagnosis (of symptoms) and treatment may be marketed OTC. Homeopathic products offered for conditions not amenable to OTC use must be marketed as prescription products.”
And of course, OTC also infers for acute self limiting conditions according to Hylands, Boiron, and the FDA. 🙂 Sorry for any confusion. I hope that clarifies things. The distinction of OTC that i wrote automatically indicates inherently remedies for acute, self limiting conditions, used in particular potencies and limited frequency. But I should have been more clear. I just didn’t want it to turn into a homeopathic remedy post, I wanted to point out that BPA is actually KNOWN to cause diseases but is not labelled.
Just further evidence that, unfortunately, our government really doesn’t have our best interest in mind.
Since I guess you may not be able to say it, I will say it. It seems to me as the FDA is playing favorites. Just a bit of common sense based on the facts.
My mom raised me on traditional remedies. Growing up I thought I knew better than she and thought she was insane when she gave me all these crazy cooked up concoctions rather than just going to the drugstore and getting me some medicine. Ha! Look who’s trying to look up and question all the relatives for all the concoctions now! As it turns I am extremely sensitive to any kind of medication. Very difficult to explain to an MD when I have been forced to use modern medicine.
What would I do withouth you Dawn? I’m a FTM and the alarm turned on and recently found your site and now I am trying to read as much as possible. I am in the process of creating my little list of homeopathic medicines based on your blog and am in search of some sort of reference book. I feel I have so… much to learn and my son is growing at rapid speed, I can only do as much as I can. Having you is a great advantage.
I do know about home remedies for sure, but make sure you keep in mind, I’m just a mom sharing info. Thanks for the compliment, but for real, nothing can replace having a homeopathic doctor. You don’t have to learn it all, just find one. They are so worth the money, which is usually less than people would think.