The Question of Bottled Water

As you know, not all bottled water is pure. We've been reading and writing about that for a year or more now. We've learned that the FDA doesn't regulate bottled water - that comes under the Environmental Protection Agency - and they don't pay much attention to it.

We also learned that the conscientious bottlers police themselves. But - very few bottlers belong to their associations.

So I thought it was interesting when I got the following in my e-mail. It might be fun to participate:

"Ever look at a bottle of water and wonder, "Where does the water come from? Is it purified? Did the FDA make sure it's safe and clean?"

Join EWG's Bottled Water Label Scavenger Hunt and get your questions answered.


Here's how to get involved (and win EWG prizes!):


1) The next time you buy a bottle of water (even we EWG'ers sometimes forget our reusable bottle) choose a non-sparkling, unflavored water bottled in glass or clear plastic.


2) Carefully remove the entire label from the bottle. We need all the information from the label, so if necessary, cut the plastic around the label to get it all off.


3) Write down:


the name and location of the store where you purchased the water

the date you purchased the water

your name, email and mailing address

4) Mail your labels and other information to:


Environmental Working Group
Attn: Nneka Leiba
1436 U St. NW, Suite 100
Washington, DC 20009


Whoever sends the most labels (duplicates not counting) by June 15 will win a stainless steel water bottle with the EWG logo and a jumbo-sized, reusable grocery tote printed with EWG's pollution solutions tips. Plus, everyone who participates will get a Shopper's Guide to Pesticides magnet!

Thank you in advance for helping us with our research to make sure bottled water companies are honest with you about the water you buy.


Sincerely,


EWG Bottled Water Research Team"

Does big pharm control the FDA?

My guess is yes, big pharm does control the FDA. Possibly because so much of the "research" done by the FDA is funded by pharmaceutical companies.

And big pharm does not want the sale of natural health products cutting into its revenues.

Thus my email last night held a message about a new assault on our freedom. It seems the FDA, under pressure from big pharm, is hiring more agents to monitor the advertising from people selling natural health products. Those who dare to say natural products might help someone avoid illness or become well will be subject to stiff penalties, and could be put out of business entirely.

Those who advertise and sell herbal remedies, for instance, must not even mention the name of a disease or a symptom of a disease in their advertising. Talk about a way to get rid of the competition!

I suppose it makes sense. As more and more people realize the benefits of herbs and other natural supplements, and as more and more people are becoming ill from pharmaceuticals, big pharm knows that many will shift from trusting them to mis-trusting them - and will switch to natural remedies with no evil side-effects.

So... they promote the idea that natural products should be regulated because they might be "dangerous" to the public. Never mind that nearly all of the products they sell carry the risk of serious disability or death.

Thank goodness we are all free to do our own research and find out just what good things herbs, vitamins, and supplements such as mangosteen can do for us. I keep a copy of Dr. Tanton's "A Drug Free Approach to Health Care" by my desk, because I know he's done years of research into natural health. It's a great place to start - and if I want to know more, there's always Google.

I firmly believe that every person should research the side effects before taking any medication - and should explore natural alternatives before taking the risk that pharmaceuticals present. Even if it does mean lost revenue for big pharm.

The FDA fails again

Here we go again - learning that the FDA didn't really check the facts before they said yes to big pharm. This time it's Vytorin in the news.

The news post (link below) and the comments that follow it are pretty interesting, and also pretty scary. Just think how many people are on cholesterol lowering drugs - and then think about the natural health practitioners who say that no one should be taking those drugs - at all. The better solution is a healthy diet.

Are Americans so brainwashed by big pharm that they'll just pop any pill that promises health while eating junk food and never moving from the couch? That mindset scares me almost more than the FDA failing to do its job.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/03/30/cholesterol.drug.ap/index.html

In case you missed it, The Readers Digest recently ran a very informative article about the corruption in the FDA - how researchers were told to "shut up" about negative and even deadly findings when the big guys wanted to approve a drug. (Gee, I wonder why?)

Anyway, if you're taking Vytorin, you might want to read the article and consider your options. After I heard about it this morning I tried the newspaper and found not a word (?) but a friend sent me this link to the CNN site.

Wishing you health - pharm-free health, if possible!

Marte

Test drugs killed how many?

I only caught a part of that newscast - a major drug company doing a test on medications for diabetes and heart disease - and a huge percentage of the test subjects died.

Is that OK as long as the percentage was low?

I realize that drugs have to be tested, and I do hate the idea of testing on our 4 legged friends as if they were inanimate objects.

I know! Maybe the people who formulate these drugs, or the ones who stand to become wealthy selling them are the ones who should be the test subjects.

You can bet they'd be a bit more careful if that were the case.

One can hope that the FDA, that entity that's supposed to be protecting us, will crack down a little harder on big pharm after this episode. But I doubt it.

All of us who truly want to be healthy will just have to keep reading and learning about natural cures and preventatives - and fighting big pharm's efforts to ban the sale of vitamins and minerals without a prescription.