Talking About Stuff, with Mike and Christiana

Why?

Well, because I was reading an article about the FDA clamping down (finally) on so-called "dietary supplements" that claim to be able to treat avian flu.

It's been a banner season for unproven influenza remedies. Each fall and winter, the Internet abounds with offers of face masks, creams and pills - all touted as effective flu fighters - that have escaped the notice of mainstream science. This season, miraculous, anti-flu nostrums seem to have proliferated even more wildly.

Small wonder. Bird flu has been a mainstay in headlines, but not a single case has been reported in the United States. The seasonal flu arrived earlier than usual in some spots. And "pandemic" has become one of the top words looked up by readers of online dictionaries.

So irritated has the Food and Drug Administration grown that it decided to clamp down on some of the flu claims. Last month, the agency warned PRB Pharmaceuticals, Vitacost, Bodestore and six other companies to stop making claims about avian flu and other forms of influenza or face possible seizure of their products.

Now, I'm a big skeptic when it comes to "all-natural" supplements or treatments. By skeptical, I mean that they could work, but that the only evidence that they actually do work is sketchy or anectdotal.

So when they were interviewing Dr. Schaffner, the chairman of preventative medicine at Vanderbilt University, he was essentially pointing out both that there are virtually no scientific studies to show the effectiveness of these supplements, and also that many of these supplement manufacturers have serious quality control issues.

So that makes me like him, but why is he my hero? Well because he ended his statements with this:

"All of us would like to believe that there is a nostrum, a miracle ingredient that would either prevent everything or cure everything," he said. "In God we trust. All others must provide data."

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Hey, remember Olestra? That fat substitute that everyone joked about because it could potentially cause diarrhea?

Well, the reason we haven't heard about it in a while is not because it went away, but rather because the FDA decided that the side-effects were sufficiently minor that food manufacturers don't have to label their products as containing it anymore. They ruled that, although it causes "minor increase in bowel movement frequency" when compared to regular fat, the effects were not any worse than those created by eating fruit or fiber. Essentially, it turned out to be a total non-story, so people forgot about it.

Not everyone apparently: CSPI sues Frito Lay over fat replacer olestra

Snack firm Frito Lay is to face a law suit for deceptively marketing its ‘Light’ potato chip range in order to trick consumers into believing the products do not contain the controversial fat substitute olestra, said the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI).

Except here's the thing. Frito Lay followed all the FDA rules for product labeling and then some. They even kept the Olean logo on the bag for crying out loud! That was more than they were legally required to do anyway.

So basically, this woman was either just not paying attention when she bought the chips or she DID notice and just didn't care until she got sick.

And because the effects of the olestra have been shown to be pretty mild compared to other foods, the fact that this woman got as sick as she did suggests that she probably ate the whole bag in a single sitting, if not more. In fact, nearly all the complaints that have been made about olestra can be traced back to overconsumption.

This is my opinion everybody. Olestra is a fairly tasty fat alternative that can produce lower-fat snack foods, but that doesn't make them good for you. Clearly you should still be eating them in moderation.

If someone buys a bag of "light" potato chips thinking that it means they can sit and eat the whole bag in one afternoon with no repercussions, then they are just stupid. I won't say that they deserve to get sick, because I don't want to wish that on anybody, but still, how about taking some personal responsibility?

Frito Lay markets and sells a product that people want and follows all the FDA's rules and regulations for doing so. Olestra has been extensively studied, (more than any other food additive in history, believe it or not,) and it is safe unless you overdose on it. Clearly the problem here is a woman made herself sick, wants someone to blame for it, and there's Frito-Lay with their deep pockets.

This reminds me of the people who assume that anything with the words "all natural" on the label are automatically good for you, whereas anything that is has manmade compounds in it is automatically bad.

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