I wrote this in June of last year.
Trace Minerals.com an analysis of the products vs. scientific evidence
The first claim that grabs me off the bat is the one that states through soil erosion trace minerals are being taken from the soil and being swept into the sea. This now compels you to buy supplements derived from the ocean to replace these essential minerals. Here is the scare pitch:
The complexity of the mineral imbalance problem is apparent. It is apparent that our understanding of the mechanisms of mineral imbalances is fragmentary. New inter-relationships are constantly being discovered. We are presently recognizing and correcting only a small fraction of the mineral imbalance problems plaguing animals and man. 5*5.Hoekstra, W.G. Federation Proceedings. National Academy of Sciences: Washington D.C. (Sept./ Oct., 1964).
The complexity of the mineral balance problem is apparent? Mineral imbalances are plaguing animals and man? No studies to back this scary statement up. As a matter of fact no normal American that follows the Dietary guidelines for Americans has any risk of having a vitamin deficiency. The main groups of Americans that are malnourished are the obese population.
This plays into the new marketing technique of why Americans are so unhealthy. It is not because we sit all day, eat fast food and do not exercise, it is because of over aggressive farming, soils erosion and mineral imbalances. The solution is not to eat healthy foods, since trace minerals.com alleges that over use of fertilizer is robbing our foods of essential nutrients. We can blame someone else and get the quick fix solution to what ails us.
The other claim made is that if the minerals we intake do not have the proper ionic charge they cannot be properly absorbed? I spoke with Dr. John Snider M.D a medical internist and teacher at Tufts Medical School and after he stopped laughing he told me this is false and that the small intestine will absorb minerals without you worrying about how ionically charged they are. I have been unable to find any reliable medical sources indicating that this is backed up with any science.
The trace minerals once abundant in our soils are gone because of "overaggressive farming" whatever that means. The site claims synthetic fertilizers are only good for plants and are missing elements humans need. Fertilizer is fertilizer; it enriches the soil causing plants to grow. There are no scientific studies I can find linking synthetic fertilizer with less nutritious crops. Here is a quote from quack watch:
Plants convert natural fertilizers into the same chemicals that synthetic fertilizers supply. The vitamin content of a food is determined by its genetic makeup Stephen Barrett, M.D.
Victor Herbert, M.D., J.D.
The Traceminerals.com has a clever pitch, peppered with scare tactics with enough medical word thrown in to sound pseudo- intellectual, but with no real data other than the articles written by the founder Dr. Meltis who is not an MD but a Naturopath.
The phenomenon of quick fix, take a pill, blame someone else that is pervasive in our culture is a gold mine for the supplement charlatans. We are willing to spend untold mounts of money to ensure our longevity. The fact that the ads also lay the blame elsewhere is a particularly appealing marketing technique.
Added 2/05/2009
I am seeing more of this junky science trickling into real life and it scares me. Parents of Autistic children who have no medical back round at all are allowing Chelation treatments for their children. Chelation treatment has no scientific support as a treatment for Autism. It is supposed to remove lead and arsenic from poisoned people.
Can we please stop pretending we are all doctors? Can we stop thinking anecdotal evidence is good enough to do something as drastic as chelation?
Can we stop trying to quick fix and use science to our advantage?
Bah!
5 comments:
"Naturopaths" are nothing but modern day tree-hugging, hippie, witch-doctors.
Shaking a rainstick, and lighting candles at a drum circle or going on a vision quest with your spirit guide at Burning Man is NOT MEDICINE!!!
Friggin' Hippies, "Nothing a good leeching can't fix!"
Natural selection at work, right here.
C, that is a really ignorant and generalized statement. I've met many Naturopathic Doctors that are a far cry from being some tree hugging hippie who lights candles and chant mantras to make your health problems go away. Certified ND's go through a 4-6 year program that involves extensive training in alternative medicine & nutrition- learning to look at the whole body, not just one symptom (Bastyr University requires a Bachelors degree before entering the 4-6 year Naturopathic graduate program). I realize some schools are better that others, but the same can be said for medical schools too. The ideal solution is to have a doctor that has knowledge of conventional & alternative therapies and can use the appropriate treatment for the situation. Dismissing all of alternative medicine is like dismissing all pharmaceuticals because there were some bad (or badly marketed) drugs.
Unfortunately, there's not a lot of extensive studies- most supplement companies don't have the bankroll that pharmaceutical companies do, nor do they attract the interest of medical universities.
Of course there is a ton of hype and misinformation in the world of supplements. They are businesses pushing a product, just like any one else. I worked in that field for 6 years, met with many companies, did trainings on their products and even visited several manufacturing facilities. The best I could do when a product came along that claimed to cure everything was try to inform my customers & cut through the bull. However, you might be amazed at the lengths legitimate companies go through to produce a safe & consistent product.
As for the trace minerals, I've heard the ionic argument before and thought it was a bit bizarre-glad for some clarification. Kelly, I would be interested in your thoughts on the USDA daily intake amounts on vitamins & minerals. I've heard that they were formulated in the 1940s as the minimum needed to prevent deficiency diseases (ie. scurvy). I've heard many arguments that they need to be updated for today's needs- we are more stressed and overall eat a less healthy diet.
Finally, I have to say, when I was working in that industry, there was a huge emphasis on having a healthy lifestyle, and using these products as a supplement to your diet. Maybe that was just where I was, or just some of the better companies I met with. I think there were some great products at our store, I just wish more doctors could work with their patients who are interested in exploring alternative therapies so that people wouldn't feel the need to play doctor on their own (or worse yet, try make a random store clerk do it- yikes!). Likewise, I wish people would listen to their doctor's suggestions about changing their lifestyle/eating habits instead of reaching for the quick fix, whether that's pharmaceutical or otherwise.
Chris,
I would think that the daily nutritional requirments would be even less now than back in the 40's. We fortify and enrich much of our grains and drinks.We certainly consume a lot more food as well.
I am more concerned with the supplement industries casual shrug at the daily required intake of vitamins and the fact that they encourage mega doses of supplemnts. I totally disagree that us being more stressed and eating unhealthy is the slippery slope to mega doses of vitamins.
On the contrary mega doses have been proven to be quite harmful for many viatmins and can couteract prescribed medications.
I concur the clerk at whole foods is not the person you should be asking advice from. There are many foods people can eat to obtain the vitamins that they need and there are very few that you would need to ingest in pill form unless you eat a very restricted diet like a vegan or a gluten caesin free diet.
Ironically the true quick fix is to eat whole and unprocessed foods in a variety and try to move your body as much as possible.
Chris,
you may be right in referring to my response as generalized, but ignorant, no.
Mean, cynical, prejudiced, and stereotyping, you bet. But I, too, have worked in the medical profession, dealing with doctors, (real ones, and, uh, other individuals in the field,) and my comments are no more ignorant than yours are naïve.
For example, citing education and length of training is hardly a sound argument for the reputation of all Naturopathy. As the term, "University" is not a federally protected term, the U.S. is, in essence, a breeding ground for degree/diploma mills, dispensing any type of framable award one cares to pay for. Moreover, the term ‘Naturopathic Medical Doctor’, or 'NMD', is also not a protected term and can legally be used by anyone, with or without any medical training, (including you, me, or Granny from 'The Beverly Hillbillies!')
I understand that modern medicine and pharmaceutic companies are not the perfect solution to people's healthcare needs, (which is one reason why I tend to avoid doctors in general,) but to chuck out the baby with the bath water, and eschew all the acquired knowledge and results of contemporary medical practices for unfounded holistic approaches is utopian and foolhardy, (and the homeopathic practitioners that I have met were too quick to go all evangelistical to their cause and quickly dismiss western medical practices. It is my comfortable presumption that they would display no hesitation in expressing these viewpoints to their patients.)
Not my problem with this, though. This is:
If a person cares to experiment with holistic treatments, or put faith in alternative "sciences," Fine! Smoke some patchouli! Have fun! But when you impose your will to utilize treatments that do not have thorough empirical testing and results on others, that is wrong, (see Jett Travolta's story.) As a former healthcare proxy for a mentally handicapped individual, and one of many overseeing my mother's failing health's treatment, I would never consider risking someone else's chance at improved health by assigning my beliefs and priorities on them without regard.
If my opinions offended you for their lack of tact, okay. It won’t be the first time insensitivity put me on a person’s shit list. But don’t believe that just because your opinion differs, (and it IS an opinion,) that mine is less valid.
We've been the Homeopathic route and it worked for a while the problem with this as a child for instance gets older you can't control every facet of his/her life. Once you ingest say caffeine you have to go back and get another "cure" which will cost another $90+
As far as eating healthy have you tried to micromanage a 13 year olds diet, especially on with ED problems. I know that I can't even keep mine out of the fridge without bolting it closed. He hoards food, tries to steal soda etc...so to make him stay on a strict diet including supplements and vitamins is next to impossible then include the cost of these supplements/vitamins. They run over $100+ a month been there done that. With a minimal result. We did the hair test got the results back with the copper, magnesium, etc being out of whack. While I agree there is some truth in these studies at the end of the day until the child or adult depending on who it is...is willing to participate and give wholeheartedly to this it will never work.
The modern day drugs have had a better result overall for my child, however longterm we don't know what the outcome will be.
It's harder to do the nutrition and supplements, eating healthier etc...and a child that has so many issues and will only eat three things and refuses all other foods and then you have to feed him/her a strict diet well the outcome becomes an utter disaster. It is SO hard that you can't explain this to the Naturopath...she says well try harder (Honey he isn't going to eat that no matter what I put on it...Unless it is a pepperoni pizza he ain't eatin it sorry...tofu sucks!)
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