Friday, October 3, 2008

can the FDA be trusted?



I read a book a few months ago titled skinny Bitch It was pretty much a book about vegan ism and throughout this book facts were given on the shady way the FDA approved things like aspartame that have been proven to be unhealthy and unsafe in lab testings. THe FDA is also approving large amounts of hormones that go into our foods that is causing girls to begin their periods as early as age 7.

"Pollutants are a serious problem. Plastics and insecticides can break down into chemicals similar to estrogen. This is thought cause hermaphroditic fish. Ivelisse Colón of the University of Puerto Rico identified a compelling connection between exposure to chemicals called phthalates and a large increase in breast development among Puerto Rican girls younger than 7."
discovering this truth began my skepticism of our FDA and the way in which stuff gets approved to be "okay" to sell in this country. It truly makes me wonder if the best interest of the American people are at the heart of their decisions or if it is Fast Cheap production that is able to be attained when they turn their head on the potential dangers of the way food and drugs are processed.

On the news this morning I heard again that cold medicines are not safe for children under the age of 6! Yet they remain on the shelves because the FDA fears that if they weren't there parents may justify giving a small amount of Adult cold medicine to their child, which would be a lot worse then giving their sick child - child cold medicine. Studies have shown that not only is cold medicine not recommended for children under the age of 6 but it is also ineffective. I believe that the FDA should give more credit to parents. If we saw a warning on our cold medicines that warned against the DANGER of giving the medicine to a child under the age of 6 then of course we would not give that to our child!

As I looked into this issue a bit more I read the following quotes on a few other blogs...
“Our citizens can no longer trust that their food, drugs or medical devices are safe when the FDA says they are,” Dingell, a Michigan Democrat, said at a hearing on the recent spate of deaths tied to contaminated heparin, the WSJ reports.


"One can question what their effectiveness is in older children and even adults," Shannon said. "Across all ages, the scientific evidence for their effectiveness is very weak and, for children under 6, the data are clear that they don't work."


It is very sad the cycle the FDA creates by approving foods and medicines that are unsafe and or unhealthy for our children. They approve food and drugs to mass market and make money and seemed to be more concerned with that fast production and unconcerned about our rising obesity rates, accidental drug overdose deaths, autism on the rise, Diabetes , and all around unhealthy Americans.

I don't mean to be such a skeptic, but my eye brow is definitely raised and my guard is up. I will be checking labels more carefully and checking with Carson's pediatricians recommendations before giving him unsafe/unhealthy food and medicine.

In a perfect world the FDA would only approve what is the best for our kids and American people. The labels should say exactly what will happen when you consume the product. Like: Consumption of this product will lead to Type II Diabetes, high blood pressure, and clogged arteries possible heart attack.

Maybe this would change the consumption of over processed high in fat foods, or the consumption of unsafe medicines. Also maybe if more people (with the governments help) learned how to eat healthy and exercise then their would be less sick people.

But the government decided not to include mandatory Physical Education in the "No Child Left Behind Act" but that is an another subject you don't want me to get started on. :)

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