Print

[ama]

[*QUOTE*]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Consumer Health Digest #15-09
March 1, 2015

Consumer Health Digest is a free weekly e-mail newsletter edited by Stephen Barrett, M.D., with help from William M. London, Ed.D. It summarizes scientific reports; legislative developments; enforcement actions; news reports; Web site evaluations; recommended and nonrecommended books; and other information relevant to consumer protection and consumer decision-making. If you enjoy this newsletter, please recommend it to your friends.

###
NAS says chronic fatigue syndrome should be considered a valid diagnosis

The National Academy of Sciences has released a book-length report that discuses chronic fatigue syndrome, also called myalgic encephalitis, or ME/CFS. The report notes:

ME/CFS is a serious, chronic, complex, systemic disease that often can profoundly affect the lives of patients. Many people with ME/CFS report difficulty completing everyday tasks, and at least one quarter have been home- or bed-bound at some point as a result of their illness.
Many health-care providers are skeptical about the seriousness of ME/CFS, mistake it for a mental health condition, or consider it a figment of the patient's imagination.
Misconceptions and dismissive attitudes on the part of health care providers make the path to diagnosis long and frustrating for many patients.
The report proposes renaming the condition systemic exertion intolerance disease (SEIF) with four criteria that must be satisfied to make the diagnosis:

Substantial reduction or impairment in the ability to engage in pre-illness levels of occupational, educational, social, or personal activities, that persists for more than 6 months and is accompanied by fatigue, which is often profound, is of new or definite onset (not lifelong), is not the result of ongoing excessive exertion, and is not

* substantially alleviated by rest
* Post-exertional malaise
* Unrefreshing sleep
* Cognitive impairment; orthostatic intolerance (symptoms when standing upright that are relieved when sitting down again); or both

The full text of "Beyond Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: Redefining an Illness"
http://www.iom.edu/reports/2015/me-cfs.aspx
can be downloaded free of charge from the National Academy Press Web site.

###
“Food Babe" severely criticized

David Gorski, M.D., has posted a lengthy analysis of the activities of Vani Hari, a 35-year-old North Carolina woman who has developed a large following—including more than a million Facebook followers—despite her lack of relevant scientific training or credentials. Her targets have included flu vaccine, microwave ovens, and various food chemicals she claims are toxic.
[Gorski D.
Vani Hari, a.k.a. "The Food Babe," finally responds to critics
http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/vani-hari-a-k-a-the-food-babe-finally-responds-to-critics/
Science-Based Medicine Blog, Dec 8, 2014]

###
Article tells how Congress weakened the FDA

Quackwatch has expanded its article about the health-food industry campaigns that weakened the FDA's ability to regulate dietary supplements
http://www.quackwatch.org/02ConsumerProtection/dshea.html
The 1976 Proxmire Amendment prohibits the FDA from regulating dosage, and the 1994 Dietary Supplement and Health Education Act (DSHEA) prevents the banning of useless ingredients and enables sellers to make misleading "structure/function claims" with impunity. Both campaigns generated huge amounts of "grass-roots" mail to Congress that appeared to be from consumers but actually came primarily from sellers. The article also links to the full texts of relevant Congressional hearings.

###
Full text of classic vitamin book posted

The full text of Charles Marshall's

Vitamins and Minerals: Help or Harm?
http://www.nutriwatch.org/01Basics/vm.pdf

has been posted to Nutriwatch. The book, which was edited by Dr. Stephen Barrett, won the American Medical Writers Association's award for best book of 1983 for the general public and was republished in 1985 by Consumer Reports Books. It focuses on nutrient discoveries, functions, food source, toxicity, and myths. Despite the book’s age, most of what it says is still valid.

###

Continuing request for help from Dr. Barrett

In June 2010, Doctor's Data, Inc. sued Dr. Barrett because it didn't like what he wrote about them on Quackwatch and in this newsletter. The events leading up to the suit are described at
http://www.quackwatch.org/14Legal/dd_suit.html

In November, 2011, about half of the allegations were dismissed, but discovery was permitted for more than a year. The rest of the suit is ripe for dismissal (the court is now considering another motion to dismiss), but the proceedings have cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. Even small donations, if sent by enough subscribers to this newsletter, will be very helpful. Contributions to reduce the cost can be made by mail or through
http://www.quackwatch.org/00AboutQuackwatch/donations.html

###

Other issues of the Digest are accessible through
http://www.ncahf.org/digest15/index.html
To help prevent the newsletter from being filtered out as spam, please add
bounces-chd@lists.quackwatch.org
to your address book or other "whitelist." To unsubscribe, log into your chd account or send a blank message to
chd-unsubscribe@lists.quackwatch.org
This must be sent from the address you used to subscribe. To subscribe from a new address, send a blank message to
chd-subscribe@lists.quackwatch.org

=================================

Stephen Barrett, M.D.
Consumer Advocate
Chatham Crossing, Suite 107/208
11312 U.S. 15 501 North
Chapel Hill, NC 27517

Telephone: (919) 533-6009

http://www.quackwatch.org (health fraud and quackery)
http://www.allergywatch.org (guide to questionable theories and practices)
http://www.acuwatch.org (skeptical guide to acupuncture history, theories, and practices)
http://www.autism-watch.org (guide to autism)
http://www.cancertreatmentwatch.org (guide to intelligent treatment)
http://www.casewatch.org (legal archive)
http://www.chelationwatch.org (chelation therapy)
http://www.chirobase.org (skeptical guide to chiropractic history, theories, and practices)
http://www.credentialwatch.org (guide to health-related education and training)
http://www.dentalwatch.org (guide to dental care)
http://www.devicewatch.org (guide to questionable medical devices)
http://www.dietscam.org (guide to weight-control schemes and ripoffs)
http://www.fibrowatch.org (guide to the fibromyalgia marketplace)
http://www.homeowatch.org (guide to homeopathy)
http://www.ihealthpilot.org (guide to trustworthy health information)
http://www.insurancereformwatch.org (guide to an equitable health-care system)
http://www.infomercialwatch.org (guide to infomercials)
http://www.mentalhealthwatch.org (guide to the mental help marketplace)
http://www.mlmwatch.org (multi-level marketing)
http://www.naturowatch.org (skeptical guide to naturopathic history, theories, and practices)
http://www.nccamwatch.org (activities of the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine)
http://www.nutriwatch.org (nutrition facts and fallacies)
http://www.pharmwatch.org (guide to the drug marketplace and lower prices)
http://www.ncahf.org (National Council Against Health Fraud archive)
http://www.chsourcebook.com (consumer health sourcebook)
 
Editor, Consumer Health Digest
http://www.quackwatch.org/00AboutQuackwatch/chd.html

Donations to help support Quackwatch can be made through PayPal or by mail.
See:  http://www.quackwatch.org/00AboutQuackwatch/donations.html
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[*/QUOTE*]

[Rastapopoulos]

Marke: 2000