Anything which can help you has the potential to harm you if used incorrectly or in wrong amounts.

Many people think that if a product comes from a “natural” source, it has to be safe.

A report just out from the General Accounting Office (GAO) proves that is not always the case. Pesticides in supplements? They found them but whether these are at dangerous levels is not known.  “The government has not set allowable limits for the pesticides found because of a paucity of scientific research.”

The report also says that illegal health claims are made by the makes of at least nine products, claiming benefits for patients who have cancer, Alzheimer’s disease or diabetes.

When health food store clerks offer you what is the equivalent of medical advice, leave. These are not trust-worthy products. If there were something simple which could reduce the suffering caused by Alzheimer’s disease, the U.S.  government would buy up the whole supply and pass it out to Medicare patients. The personal and financial cost of this disease is staggering. A cheap, quick preventative? Everyone would be happy. There are no pills or known preventative agents for Alzheimer’s.

Congressional hearings are scheduled this week, the full story says.

The New York Times

“Nearly all of the herbal dietary supplements tested in a Congressional investigation contained trace amounts of lead and other contaminants, and some supplement sellers made illegal claims that their products can cure cancer and other diseases, investigators found. (Emphasis added)

“The levels of heavy metals — including mercury, cadmium and arsenic — did not exceed thresholds considered dangerous, the investigators found. However, 16 of the 40 supplements tested contained pesticide residues that appeared to exceed legal limits, the investigators found. In some cases, the government has not set allowable levels of these pesticides because of a paucity of scientific research. (Emphasis added)

“Investigators found at least nine products that made apparently illegal health claims, including a product containing ginkgo biloba that was labeled as a treatment for Alzheimer’s disease and a product containing ginseng labeled as a treatment to prevent diabetes and cancer. They also described a salesperson at a supplement specialty store who claimed that a garlic supplement could be taken instead of blood pressure medication. (Emphasis added)

“Any product that claims to treat, cure, prevent or mitigate a disease is considered a drug and must go through strict regulatory reviews.”

Source: New York Times, May 25, 2010