Consumer report
Well, it came. Right there, amid the holiday bills and what seemed like hundreds of catalogs announcing after-Christmas sales, was my latest issue of Consumer Reports.
And they’re at it again. This morning, when I saw the first article in the February issue of Consumer Reports, I was so frustrated that I immediately sat down to tell you about it. (I should really just read CR at my computer.) Because, once again, their “information” is no more than a completely biased view, based on a mainstream mindset.
The article in question calls for a ban on the herb, ephedra (also known as ma huang), which has received a lot of negative press in recent years for its potentially dangerous side effects. In general, HSI has shied away from recommending ephedra, because, although it can be a useful supplement (employed in Chinese medicine for hundreds of years), we also recognize its dangers – especially for those with heart problems, or those who don’t follow recommended dosage instructions.Ephedra contains ephedrine alkaloids that can have an amphetamine-like stimulant effect on the nervous system and heart.
Historically, it has been used as one ingredient in multiple herb formulas – most designed to treat respiratory ailments. Problems occurred when the ephedrine content of the herb was isolated and concentrated. As it began to be included in more weight loss products, as a stimulant and appetite suppressant, people began using more than the recommended dosages. Following reports of seizures, heart attacks and even death, many companies pulled products containing ephedra from their shelves, and the AMA called for a complete ban of the herb.
As you would expect, Consumer Reports sides with the AMA and the mainstream consensus that if an herbal supplement can kill people, then it should be struck completely from the marketplace.
Seeing what they want to see
According to the FDA, about 14,000 unintentional overdoses of this product result in about 100 deaths each year. But this isn’t an ephedra statistic. This statistic concerns a product that can be found on shelves in every grocery store and in just about any medicine cabinet in the U.S. – acetaminophen. That’s right: Tylenol, and literally hundreds of other over-the-counter products that contain acetaminophen. But 100 deaths per year is probably a low estimate, because many hospitals don’t report unintentional poisonings.How many people have died as a result of taking ephedra? A search on the web brings conflicting numbers, but the highest estimate I could find was 81. That’s not 81 per year – that’s 81 over a period of eight years.
Meanwhile, on the Consumer Reports web site I searched for articles about acetaminophen. I found seven. One article mentions a woman who received multiple doses of acetaminophen from various sources, resulting in liver toxicity from which she quickly recovered. None of the other six articles addresses any side effects of the drug. And none of the seven articles reveal that scores of people die each year from acetaminophen overdose. And I expect you won’t be surprised to learn that Consumer Reports has not called for a complete ban of acetaminophen.
Balance
Without question, ephedra is a potent botanical that should be used with caution. And I agree that the public should be educated about the dangers of the herb. But I don’t think that state and local laws need to be passed to protect people from ephedra (one of CR’s recommendations), and I believe that calling for a ban of the supplement is an overreaction.
Without any laws being passed, and without any FDA directives, guidelines for ephedra dosage and label warnings were drafted in 1994 by the American Herbal Products Association, in collaboration with the National Nutritional Food Association and the Utah Natural Products Association. The draft was revised and adopted in 2000 by the Consumer Health Products Association.
Herbal product manufacturers have recognized the dangers of ephedra and their responsible reaction has been in the best interest of the public. Consumer Reports would serve their readers far better by acknowledging this and putting their efforts toward a balanced reporting of the dangers of ephedra rather than an over-the-top campaign to have ephedra banned.
As I’ve said a number of times before: Consumer Reports should stick to what it does best: rating toasters, microwave ovens and cell phones. Their writing about serious health care is akin to TV Guide telling me what stocks to buy. It’s simply not their job.
