FDA and Safety Rules for Vitamins

FDA issues new safety rules for vitamins” reads the latest article that my hubby forwarded me. He works in research and discovery for a major Pharma company and always gets me up to date on what’s shakin’ on the chemistry side of food.

I definitely support taking vitamins and some supplements, so I felt relieved. Why? I’ve seen an 80% decrease of my seasonal colds and flu over the last 2 years since I’ve been taking a multivitamin a day. Of course, it’s hard to say for certain if it was the vitamins, but I suspect they had something to do with it. Multivitamins, however, are not a replacement for food – but they can help you to get regular doses of vitamins and some minerals that you might not be getting 100% from your diet. Don’t forget that we rely on our friend fiber and many other beneficial food stuffs to nourish the body correctly.

Ok, so what about other supplements besides multivitamins? I’ve read and heard quite a bit about all sorts of “natural” alternative remedies. While I do enjoy my herbal teas and use spices liberally, I’ve always been wary of bottled complementary or alternative medicines. While some may be effective, many times they have proven to been unsafe or quite dangerous depending on dosage and allergens. Scientists simply don’t know why they work. Heck, scientists as smart and hard working as they are, still don’t understand all the biological mechanisms in the body. Say what? Yes, the body is such a complex vessel, every day we learn something new, especially in the world of health.

I like my husband’s “science for dummies” explanation that he often reiterates to me when I ask “why, why?”. His term for the body is the “black box” where you administer a cure and wait to see what comes out the other end. In the case of alternative medicines, you have two black boxes, the body AND the medicine. Really, anything could be in these so-called “natural” supplements and since scientists don’t know what’s in some of them – and up to this point they weren’t regulated by the FDA – we’re looking at mystery pills. Yikes.

This reminds me of a very real scary story my mother-in-law told us. She was taking Chinese medicine supplements that were recommended by a friend. They seemed to help her ailment so she ordered a second batch. After she complained of constant fatigue, my husband encouraged her to stop taking them. As it turned out, the second batch was accidentally laced with sedatives. What a downer, right? But seriously, why not stick with a multivitamin and rely on the curative foods that we know are safe, like everyday, good ole fashioned fruits and veg?

Other Articles You May Like

• Summer Fun: The Edible Garden
• Grilled Cheese with Turkey and Arugula
• Five Cooking Mistakes
• Herb-a-licious
• Red Banana Coffee Shake