Bureaucratic B.S Going Too Far...

The following is from the Health Sciences Institutes (HSI) daily e-Alert (UK Edition, 30 March 2012). 

It highlights how out of control our governments are. They are tools to be used and abused by Big Business, especially Big Pharma. The madness has now got to a point that you cannot make health claims about fresh fruit & veg because they have not been classified as 'drugs'. Yes, you read that right! But, as the e-Alert shows, you can make health claims about liquid margarine & crisps...

This utter insanity needs to be stopped! Big Business/Big Pharma need to be reeled in because the consequences are too dire to contemplate if they aren't brought to heel. 

Here is the HSI e-Alert:

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Fresh Fruit And Veg Could Be Unapproved Drugs In The Near Future

Dear Reader,

Things are starting to get a bit stir crazy... Here in the UK and European Union (EU), the European Parliament is about to pass a law that will see all supplements and alternative remedies with un-approved health claims disappear from health food store shelves within 6 months... especially if they are added to the EU's register of rejected claims.

Crazy isn't it?

Yet, concoctions like Flora Cuisine — the liquid margarine-buttery-looking cooking oil is allowed to make the health claim that it can provide better frying, roasting and cooking for heart health!

Anyone with a bit of common sense will tell you that the relentless global campaign against alternative medicine is simply ridiculous... not to mention the clampdown on ordinary food products!

Across the pond

Now this is not meant to be a trick question, but I'm going to ask it anyway:

Are cherries unapproved drugs?

See, cherries contain antioxidants and other anti-inflammatory components. The scientific evidence behind that statement is irrefutable. But when owners of cherry orchards made antioxidant and anti-inflammatory claims and backed them up with evidence, the American Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ruled that the claims "cause your products to be drugs."

So the trick answer to the trick question (in FDA country) is: Yes — cherries are drugs that, so far, have no FDA approval.

So, clearly the craziness has crossed the pond into the US!

Just getting started

This madness doesn't end there. Recently, Dannon settled a dispute with the FDA by paying out $21 million to several states where the company had advertised Activia yoghurt, saying it can, "help regulate your digestive system...naturally."

That claim is based on what we know about the benefits of living cultures in probiotics.

But the FDA decided that Dannon was actually claiming that "Activia provided consumers with bowel movements at fixed, uniform or normal intervals." Clearly, that was not the case, but the agency's absurd decision ended up costing Dannon millions.

And FDA officials were just as picky and difficult when it came to walnuts.

They told a walnut distributer that multiple studies showing the heart health benefits of walnuts were not sufficient to allow such claims on the distributer's website. Again, the FDA ruled that the health claims classified walnuts as drugs.

Now... if all that seems completely bat-house crazy, brace yourself because here's what the FDA allows the king of US snack foods, Frito-Lay, to say about their products...

"You might be surprised at how much good stuff goes into your favourite snack. Good stuff like potatoes, which naturally contain vitamin C and essential minerals. Or corn, one of the world's most popular grains, packed with thiamin, vitamin B6, and phosphorous — all necessary for healthy bones, teeth, nerves and muscles."

Let me get this right: You CAN tell consumers that FRITOS CRISPS help keep bones and muscles healthy, but you CAN'T say cherries are packed with antioxidants that benefit health...

A 2011 Harvard study found that the following three food items top the list for contributing to yearly weight-gain spikes:

* Potato chips
* Potatoes (any type of serving)
* Sugar-sweetened beverages

These rules, regulations and crazy laws are absolute lunacy! 

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Flora Cuisine is Obscene...

You would think from Flora's latest TV ads for its Cuisine 'liquid cooking margarine' that it is a healthy alternative. After all they claim that it has 45% less saturated fat than olive oil and is "...for heart healthy frying, roasting and baking...". 


This is just another example (in a long list of deceptive TV ads) of how people are conned into believing an untruth. In this case, Flora plays on many peoples' confusion about dietary fats. This is especially so, as Flora are trying to convince us that their product makes the unhealthy act of frying food suddenly healthy for your heart. A quick look at their website will have you believing that this is a miracle food (http://www.floracuisine.co.uk/?WT.srch=1). But does it live up to its claims? 


Just take a look at Flora Cuisine's list of ingredients:

• Sunflower Seed Oil: It is categorised as a polyunsaturated fat which protects your vital organs and helps absorb vital micronutrients. However, the act of prolonged heating (like "frying, roasting and baking") means that these fats lose their beneficial properties. As a result they can produce toxins, free radicals and cancer-causing chemicals. Doesn't sound so healthy now, does it?  

• Linseed Oil (aka flaxseed oil): Contains essential fatty acid Omega 3. Omega 3 has been shown to help  lower cholesterol, regulate blood pressure, improve brain function  and mood and  also boost immunity.This makes it sound like a perfect ingredient. The reality is that linseed oil is just like sunflower oil and should not be used for cooking - that includes 'frying, roasting, baking' - because it can also become harmful when heated to high temperatures. The safe way to consume this is by adding the linseed oil to a salad, or after cooking, and just before serving. 

• Soy Bean Lecithin: This is used as an emulsifier which holds all the ingredients together. It is derived from processed soy beans and is a mixture of phospholipids, which arenaturally occurring fatty molecules. It is most often found in  margarines,  ice cream, chocolate bars,  and peanut butter. The problem is not all sources of soy are equal. Furthermore, the biggest problem with soy bean lecithin is that when the soy beans are processed, solvents are used to de-gum the soybean oil. These solvents are very likely to contaminate the soy lecithin. Unfortunately, we don't know if Flora Cuisine contains contaminated soy lecithin. But if you really wanted to put the nail in the coffin, most soy bean sources nowadays are from Genetically Modified (GM) crops. We also don't know where Flora get their soy beans from. 

• Polysorbate 60: This is another emulsifier that is used in food preparation and also pharmaceuticals. Polysorbates are oily liquids and often used in  baked goods, imitation cream  and frozen desserts.  According to the Journal of National Cancer Institute and the Journal of Nutrition, polysorbate 60 can cause reproductive problems, organ toxicity and cancer in high doses. The American Food and Drug Administration (FDA) claims this chemical is safe for limited use in food - but don't define what limited use is. It goes without saying  that products with polysorbate 60 will never feature in the health isle of a supermarket...

• Rapeseed oil: Just like olive oil, when cold-pressed, rapeseed provides an oil that contains omegas 3, 6 and 9. These are essential fatty acids which are well-known to reduce cholesterol and maintain heart health, joint mobility and brain function. Rapeseed oil also contains heart healthy mono-unsaturated fats. This sounds great, but beware if it is the canola version. Canola oil is the genetically modified version of rapeseed oil. Shocked? Read on - it was originally used as an industrial lubricant, but later refined and sold as a 'healthy cooking oil'. In the case of FLora Cuisine, we are thankful that the label clearly states that it contains rapeseed oil and not Canola Oil. However, never mistake canola for rapeseed oil. Always read the label!