NCAHF Newsletter articles from September 1998

NCAHF Newsletter archives from September 1998

NEJM STRONGLY CRITICAL OF UNREGULATED ALTERNATIVE REMEDIES.
September 1, 1998... The fallout from the ill-conceived 1994 Dietary Supplements Health & Education Act (DSHEA) has finally hit the fan at the New England Journal of Medicine. An editorial, "Alternative medicine--the risks of untested and unregulated remedies"...

THE TEACHING OF ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE IN U.S. MEDICAL SCHOOLS.
September 1, 1998... A survey of US medical schools conducted in January, 1997, found that 75 schools reported offering elective courses in complementary or alternative medicine or including these topics in required courses. Of 123 courses among these schools, 68%...

STRONG EMOTION DISPLAYED AT HEARINGS ON ACCESS TO ALTERNATIVES.
September 1, 1998... Alternativists have been clamoring for Congress to pass a federal "medical freedom" law that would legitimize "alternative" health care. The so-called "Access to Medical Treatment Act" has been reintroduced in every session of congress since...

QUALITY CONTROL STILL A PROBLEM WITH HERBALS.
September 1, 1998... The Los Angeles Times commissioned an analysis often brands of St. John's wort. Three were found to have no more than half the potency listed on the label, and another four had less than 90% of the labeled amount. One of the lowest scoring...

DO CHIROPRACTORS HAVE TO TELL THE TRUTH IN PATIENT EDUCATION BROCHURES?
September 1, 1998... In January, 1995, the Federal Trade Commission ordered Tedd Koren, DC, president of Koren Publications, Inc, to substantiate numerous claims made in Koren's chiropractic brochures. Included were the claims that chiro care: is more effective...

Mainstream drug companies marketing herbal remedies.
September 1, 1998... It has been a dirty little secret that some herbal remedy producers were owned by mainstream drug companies, but now well-known manufacturers are coming out with herbal remedies under their own names. According to the September issue of the...

BURZYNSKI PROBE FINDS UNFLATTERING PICTURE.
September 1, 1998... An in-depth investigation by U.S. News & World Report (Oct 5, 1998:28-35) took the glow off of the positive report issued by the Burzynski Research Institute (BRI) in May (see May-June, NCAHF Newsletter, p.2). According to the report, the...

FDA GUIDELINES ON DIETARY SUPPLEMENTS.
September 1, 1998... The Sept-Oct FDA Consumer contains "An FDA Guide to Dietary Supplements" which provides some background information on the 1994 Dietary Supplements Health & Education Act and FDA's current rules of regulation. The article contains some useful...

CONTAMINANT RESPONSIBLE FOR EMS DETECTED IN HEALTH FOOD SUPPLEMENT.
September 1, 1998... Mayo Clinic researchers said that they had found a possibly harmful chemical contaminating tryptophan, a supplement sold in health food stores to promote sleep and as a diet aid. The contaminant, known as peak-X has been linked to the...

DR. WEIL'S POPULARITY FINALLY EXPLAINED.
September 1, 1998... Andrew Weil, MD, has become the poster boy for nonstandard medicine. Even Time magazine saw fit to put him on its cover. We could never quite figure out why Well was so prominent. His books are trite,(a) his idea of spontaneous healing...

THE NCHRI BULLETIN BOARD SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER, 1998.
September 1, 1998... The NCRHI Bulletin Board is sent to members and complimentary media recipients only. It is intended to stimulate and aid in activism against health fraud, misinformation and quackery at the state & national levels. NEW GENERAL COUNSEL ...