Dr. Bill Elliott: Some 'natural' products can be anything but h...

Some natural weight-loss products are not so "natural" after all. In a crackdown of the multibillion-dollar supplement industry, the Food and Drug Administration has found 72 over-the-counter weight-loss products that contain potentially dangerous undeclared pharmaceutical ingredients, some that have not been approved for use in this country.

[BarneyRubble]

yeah quick, take these thoroughly tested pharmaceuticals!!!!!!

There are practically zero studies to test the interactions between medications...and the elderly take boatloads of meds!!!!

Don't let the "real scientists" mislead you!!!

One example:

Women took premarin for 60 yrs to decrease heart disease, delay alzheimers, decrease bone loss etc etc....all based on marginal research at best.

When a decent research study came back...OOPS..premarin did exactly the opposite of what they told women for all those years.

dont believe the scare tactics.....there are many reputable US suppliers of alternative health products...you dont need to buy from other countries.

[mcross]

Funny, I read the article and didn't see Dr. Elliot urging anyone to take any drugs. He is just warning against quacks selling unregulated, unnatural, potentially harmful snake oil. Literacy is a beautiful thing.

And who shall I consider a better source for medical advice? A medical doctor or a cartoon character? Hmmm.

If you want all-natural weight loss, how about diet and exercise? Old fashioned but definitely all-natural.

[Janet Planet]

Some Western meds can be highly toxic and even cause death and many drug studies are fixed. Why does the title not include the words "Weight Loss"? The story is about weight loss products so include it in the title.

The FDA CIA and FBI and any other agency should crack down on Kaiser for not diagnosing and treating Lyme disease. Sadly it is all about greed and not patient's health. The medical system in the USA needs to change.

Can't you come up with better medical columns then this? Whatever happened to Kaiser's transplant department - oh yeah it was shut down for letting people die - Sadly death by spreadsheet is how people die at Kaiser daily. I would rather have no insurance then have Kaiser.

[Janet Planet]

mcross just keep listening to Kaiser doctors and see what that does for your health. Like they have your best interests in mind..- NOT!

[mcross]

Don't worry, the aliens will get those Kaiser doctors someday!:) If the (insert gov't agency name) doesn't get the aliens first!
Jeez, the article is not pushing Western pharmaceuticals. Don't like medicine? Don't like doctors? Don't take it and don't go (respectively). Just don't buy "all-natural" supplements and think that a) the ingredients are all listed and b) the substance is harmless. And I actually agree with you, JP, that 'weight loss' should be included in the headline.

[Richard]

Of course "all natural" doesn't necessarily mean healthy, even if something really doesn't have any added synthetic ingredients. Read about Socrates and the all natural herbal tea that killed him. Tobacco, Cocaine, Poison Hemlock, Digitalis, "Death Cap" mushrooms, and Poison Oak are examples of things that could probably be rightfully called all natural and herbal. Some of those things actually do have medicinal uses in certain contexts, but they're far from being safe for everyone in any amount.