The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has released its long-anticipated plan to implement national disclosure requirements for genetically modified foods––and GMO labeling advocates say it keeps key information hidden from consumers.
There are a lot of anxious, needy people eager to cross the line that separates the US from Mexico. Go to the border towns of Southern California and Arizona, and you’ll see them— US citizens heading south to Mexican clinics and farmacias, seeking lower cost surgeries and cheap meds.
Medical and pharmacy “tourism” to Mexico is a large and growing phenomenon, one that has received little attention amid the bitter political rancor over immigration policy and border control.
There are well over 10,000 chemical additives–flavorings, colorings, preservatives–that the federal government permits for use in food products sold in the US. While a few occasionally grab headlines–think monosodium glutamate, sodium nitrite, high-fructose corn syrup, aspartame–the vast majority garner very little public attention.
The Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA) has certainly had its share of critics over the 25 years since it was signed into law by then-President Bill Clinton.Some contend the regulation is weak, and that it gives the supplement industry too much latitude, while providing too little consumer protection. On the other side, many argue that the law puts a stranglehold on truthful communication about supplements. Is the time right to revisit–and revise–this landmark law?
Several recent surveys indicate that the majority of American medical professionals see therapeutic value in cannabis and cannabis-derived substances, and would support federal legalization of adult-use medical cannabis.
Call it the Eleventh Commandment: “Thou Shalt Not Commit Adulteration!”
Though it may not quite be a divine decree, the elimination of contaminants and adulterants is an imperative that conscientious herbal supplement companies are taking very seriously these days, as the American Botanical Council spearheads a major drive to tackle the problem.
For their efforts to promote vitamin D supplementation as a preventive for pre-term births, Carole Baggerly of Grassroots Health, and Karen Howard of the Organic & Natural Health Association were recently recognized with Nutrition Business Journal’s 2018 Education Award.
The Senate budget proposal, approved at the end of July, would increase FDA’s discretionary spending budget to just under $3 billion, a raise of approximately 5% over FY 2018.
War is chronic inflammation writ large, says Dr. Decker Weiss reflecting on his last 4 years of work in refugee camps throughout the Middle East. Weiss believes the principles of natural medicine have much to offer not only the victims of war and strife but to the larger policy dialogs aimed at engendering peace.
Once the stuff of science fiction, modern scientists are now using the techniques of synthetic biology to generate a vast range of useful compounds – including a growing number of ingredients and raw materials that end up in dietary supplements.
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