It’s true that Oats can lower cholesterol and while I wouldn’t eat Cheerios because it’s a highly processed grain, their claim, for healthy individuals is most likely true. Why is it that if you say a food or supplement is healing it has to be classified a drug. This is called not letting the public know the TRUTH. That FOODS HEAL and often drugs do the opposite! Sickening.
From Wall Street Journal Blog:
Hey, General Mills: If you want to say Cheerios is “clinically proven to lower cholesterol,” you better get your whole-grain Os approved as a new drug by the FDA.
That’s what the FDA told the company in this letter, which says the labeling on Cheerios boxes is in “serious violation” of federal rules. The letter continues:
Based on claims made on your product’s label, we have determined that your Cheerios® Toasted Whole Grain Oat Cereal is promoted for conditions that cause it to be a drug because the product is intended for use in the prevention, mitigation, and treatment of disease. (rest here)
The FDA is controlled by pharma and they are scared of Cheerios because by god, we want to sell lots of statins–heaven forbid people should eat right to avoid drugs—and the FDA is helping them.
PharmaGossip is on this too, though I imagine he’s got a different perspective than I do…his commentary is still funny. Pretty much reads like a cartoon. Will take one second of your time.
D Bunker,
I’m not a big centralized government guy myself.
But, one of the jobs of govt is to provide a judicial system….
Civil and criminal – to investigate, to charge, to prosecute – to uphold the law.
If the law were being upheld, we wouldn’t be in this mess.
There are state laws on the books….federal laws on the books – that would have made sure these drugs never hit the market – and those who were involved in the crime, would have been charged, prosecuted and put into prison.
Tote bags?
What about Medicaid fruad, and negligent homicide(thousands of cases) with atypicals?
What about criminal justice – not civil justice – with the mfgrs, the front-groups – all of them.
I’m for a smaller government on the federal-end, but a strong federal government – in a judicial system that works – to prosecute and convict people who break the law.
Duane
The FDA is late. GM has been making this claim for years. Since I can’t remember when.
The FDA must be bored if they’re going after Cheerios of all things.
Duane;
As to a 75% lack of merit (with only 75 DOJ lawyers):
Imagine what the Press would do with a Statement from DOJ that read, Sorry, but we’re only interested in cases which recover Big, BIG money. Even DOJ is as muzzled by this crushing, top heavy, Socialist Bureaucracy as Pharma’s victims are.
When you go through the work CL Psych has done on Abilify and the MacGuffin has on Fanapt, there’s no justifying Any of it being on the market.
I’m the Last person to argue for Any expansion of State power, so I have to add the Caveat of restricting, by Statute, those additional DOJ Prosecutors to working the Health Sector, exclusively. Because if we Don’t, some bought and paid for political fools will take the Drug Money to re-legislate ‘Mental Health’ into a ‘Hands Off’ National Security issue.
And for the upcoming APA Convention?
I suggest that the Drug Makers be forbidden to hand out any more Brand Marked tote bags and be Required to pass out what they’re Really buying.
D Bunker,
Even if the majority lack merit, they outta be taking care of the minority that have merit!
I’m all for more lawyers with Dept of Justice – seems like money well spent to me….
I’m for getting some hardcore prosecutors on those at the top with Pharma, and putting some of them in prison.
If we had more rule of law, they’d be a lot less law-breaking –
by Pharma, and the FDA – both.
Seems to me we’ve lost any sense for the rule of law. Pharma makes drugs that injure, and in some cases kill – the FDA approves these drugs, and non-profits work as front-groups to market them….and everyone goes home at the end of the day……Once “home” becomes prison – for a few of these people at the top – the ones who knew of the dangers, and manufactured, sold, and pushed the drugs anyway…, things will change – not a minute before.
Duane
Duane;
Kaiser Network, from July 2008, says we’ve only got 75 lawyers at DOJ dealing with 1 out of 4 Health Industry walk ins, because the majority of cases lack merit.
If President Obama, or anyone else, really wanted to straighten out things; they’d spend that FDA money hiring at Least another 300 Federal Prosecutors to deal with the 10 year Backlog DOJ already has in Pharma Fraud, Health Care Fraud, Medicare Fraud, and Medicaid Fraud.
The Industry itself has Become our Govt: justifying itself with the BS that the needed expertise to regulate itself can’t be found Outside of itself.
Govt doesn’t Give a damn, because Govt/Industry can’t Afford to give a damn.
D Bunker
D. Bunker,
I’m surprised they’re having any debate on this bill – any public testimony at all….
Seems like they keep passing legislation that has 100’s of billions of dollars in spending that nobody’s read!!!
What exactly is in this health care package?
I guess we’ll all find out after they pass the damned thing.
It’s been the same thing with these clowns – a “trust us” approach…..
A lot of that crap going on lately!!!
Duane
lots of typos in my comments – ie, should be ‘legislators’ – tired
duane
“WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama’s new budget includes more than $1 billion to help the U.S. Food and Drug Administration strengthen its (1) food safety efforts, $6 billion for (2) cancer research and a program to (3) send nurses to the homes of new mothers to check their babies.”
In English?
1: How many people actually Died in the Great Peanut Disaster? 10, or 12?
And the Media Lost its mind screaming that the sky was falling.
2: Cancer Research is veering off toward making Cancer a Lifelong, Pharmaceutically Manageable, Pill Buying condition, rather than finding a cure.
3: MOTHER’S ACT. Sell Psych Drugs to 4.3 Million new mothers & babies.
Cheerios? How many people have actually committed Suicide, or Homicide, after eating a box of Cheerios, as compared to Pharma’s FDA Approved Psych Drugs?
The FDA does Not need More money. It needs Less. Far less, especially if it’s going to keep approving garbage like Fanapt, to submit America to a Decade of Fanapt Casualties before the State Attorneys General finally move in and Start cleaning up yet another Pharma Funded, FDA created, disaster.
Bevy,
I think the problem is not just the Feds, but the joint partnership with the Pharma industry and the Feds…
We have it in banking, agriculture….and medicine.
So, what we have is a system where key players in industry (monopolized, to a large extent – banking, agriculture, and medicine – ie, citibank, monsanto, pfizer) are connected with key players in legislation (committee chairs, power brokers in the house and senate)….
A few people control our money, our food, and our health…..
Industry gets lots of money, and the legislatures get lots of power…
A win-win.
For everyone except the “people.”
If I were a bettin’ man, I’d place my money on a system that forces people into a ‘preventive care’ model – one that forces them to get screening – ie, cancer, diabete….and mental health….
Once the costs of keeping the system alive go off the charts – they will then say that in order for someone to keep “health care benefits”, a person has to go through these screeings, and folow “medical protocol” – in order to “keep costs down” – to prevent “costly, long-term costs” that come with “not getting appropriate treatment” – that’s my guess….
I tend to think they’ll pull it off, and it will be payback time for Pharma….Industry and legislatures will play “good-cop, bad-cop”….Congress insisting on “price control” on drugs…..winking at Pharma as they increase market share (while “losing” profits per prescription…..hidden secret, they’ll be a lot more prescriptions).
A win-win.
For everyone – but the “people.”
Once our medicine goes down this way, they’ll be no getting the toothpaste back into the tube. But, maybe they’ll be “free dental.”
Duane
Good point Duane,
Also, once the Feds re-vamp our failing health system – the way they did Social Security and Medicare and everything else they’ve messed up – WILL people be prescribed drugs and be REQUIRED to take them no matter what – and IF you don’t will you get to see the dr. again? See where this is going?
No choice of how to treat yourself – I am AGAINST the feds taking over health care. But with all that’s going on in Wash D.C. I’m sure it will happen – just hand O the rubber stamp and the taxes of our GREAT GREAT GREAT grandchildren are to pay for OUR health care let alone theirs.
That’s my rant! And there’s nothing I can do about it. But pray!
Gianna,
The system is not broken – it’s shattered.
The FDA was set up by Teddy Roosevelt to protect consumers from getting hurt, after antifreeze was used in a concoction (at least, if memory serves me right). Ironically, he was a President who went after monopolies, and we had some strong anti-trust action taken in his administration – to bust up monopolies….
As fate would have it, his FDA has been the driving force (monitoring force) to build a monopoly – Pharma. It costs on average, 800 million (just shy of a billion) dollars to get a drug approved through the FDA. The pharma companies pay fees to the govt, and the FDA has about half of its budget relying on those user fees….So, there’s an incentive to “work with” the drug companies…..
The other problem….a major problem is that theoretically, all data on a drug (from the trials) has to be sent to the FDA by the drug companies….but, the drugmakers do not have to publish the data….the FDA holds onto unpublished data, and does not have to reveal it to the public….nor does the drugmaker….So, there is lots of hidden data that never sees the light of day.
The reality is even worse – who is watching the research people behind the drug trials – to make sure they pass on the data to the FDA….The FDA can’t even monitor our ports – points of entry from foreign lands into this country – with drugs that make their way into our markets….
As far as “false claims”, this is a brutal area for any mfgr of foods, herbs, supplments….because to get something “approved”, we’re talking some real money….Most of the drugs in this country are re-treads from earlier version – only a third are actually “new”. Many are copy-cats of herbs – with slight alterations – which cause fallout. Herbs can occassionally cause injury – “medications” can often cause injury – that’s the difference.
To have to “prove” food works. Our bodies are living organisms….our cells – each of them…..who we are, what we are….are living creatures….Of course food heals….of course supplements do the same thing….especially, with soils that have been leeched of nutrient value through commercial farming…..
I have a feeling things are going to get worse, before they get better….(if they get better). Pelosi is intent on getting a healthcare reform bill finished up in the House by July….You can best believe Pharma has been taken into consideration in the bill, and will have lots of money coming their way, as we “revolutionize” health care…..to the tune of probably 1.2 trillion dollars…..on a broken system – one that has never worked….
It’s all just ingenious….More money on something that doesn’t work….so everyone can have access to drugs….And, now that “parity” has already been taken care of – you can best believe that the “mentally ill” will have their drugs – paid for and delivered by the federal govt – cocktails for everyone….with spending that my sons will still be paying for when they’re my age.
Duane
I KNOW – I heard that dang commercial the FIRST time and said – WHOLE GRAINS – wHERE???? They’re all chopped up – they’re not WHOLE – and the sugar in that stuff.
I don’t think that cheerios will do much for your cholesterol – MAYBE oatmeal in the morning and I’m talking from scratch without alot of sugar on it … added that is … not the stuff from the pouch that you put with water – stir and then pop in the microwave …
I’m with you – UGH! 🙂 oh – and cheerio!