The Health Food Movement

Finally, a label for the lunacy

As you probably know, I've been writing about the ludicrous
fads and factions of the so-called "health food" movement
for years now, and I've called it just about every name in
the book. All except the right one, that is.

That's because I didn't know until recently that there's an
actual MEDICAL NAME for what ails those malnourished,
protein-less souls I've called diet Nazis more than once.

But as I was poring over a stack of articles I'd gathered, I
stumbled across the proper name for this increasingly common
affliction in a Reuter's piece from some months ago.     

It's called orthorexia nervosa: An extreme obsession
with "healthy" eating habits.

That's right - the irrational devotion to any of the various
fringe diet groups within the "health food" lobby: militant
vegetarianism, veganism, fruitarianism, etc., is now
actually beginning to be classified among some in the
medical community as an EATING DISORDER along the lines of
anorexia nervosa and bulimia. In fact, the term has even
found its way into such mainstream sources as the vaunted
Journal of the American Medical Association. And while
orthorexia nervosa is not an "official" medical term yet,
I'm sure I'm not alone in believing it should be.

Discovered through personal experience by alternative
medicine doctor Steven Bratman, it's the subject of his book
entitled Health Food Junkies: Overcoming the Obsession with
Healthful Eating. He suggests that orthorexia nervosa may be
even more widespread nowadays than either of its finger-down-
the-throat stable mates. Theories abound as to why
orthorexia has become so common, but the most intriguing
notion among them is the idea that in this day and age, a
person's "dietary identity" is crucial to self-esteem, and
the more extreme the diet, the better it serves as a tool
for self-definition.

Dietary identity? What a load of pop-psychology baloney!

My advice to you if you're food-obsessed: Stop using your
food as a way to make a statement about yourself and start
using it the right way - to give your body what it really
needs to stay healthy and long-lasting. Then maybe you'll
actually live long enough to discover who you really
are.    

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Don't be the first to take a new drug

According to former agency insiders and private-sector
government watchdogs, the FDA's supposedly consumer-focused
review and decision-making process is heavily influenced by
the drug industry. Surprised? I'm not.

Much of the controversy stems from a 1993 law-the
Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA) that allows the FDA
to charge pharmaceuticals manufacturers a substantial fee
for reviewing and evaluating marketable drugs. This isn't a
nuisance fee - in 2001, the fees amounted to $161,713,000,
just slightly less than half of the budget for FDA's review
process.

What's wrong with that, you ask? Well, for starters, it's a
blatant conflict of interest. The FDA is supposed to be a
totally objective body concerned only with public safety.
How objective can they be if drug companies are footing the bills?

But what's more important is this: Under PDUFA, the FDA is
bound to certain timelines with regard to the review and
approval process - or they can't collect the fee. This
shifts the agency's primary focus toward expediency, rather
than safety. And it's definitely succeeded in speeding
things up. Since 1990, they've cut the time required for
drug approval in half.

I maintain that the drug companies' rush to get drugs to
market and the FDA's eagerness to collect the fees are
behind the large number of recent withdrawals from the
marketplace of drugs soon after their approval. And as
shocking as it is to consider, this may also be the reason
why some people have died, prompting those withdrawals.

But none of this should surprise you. As with any kind of
corruption, you need only follow the money to discover it... 

My recommendation? Don't be among the first to try a new
drug.