Vitamins in general and antioxidants in particular were noted the end of last week as offering “no protection against lung cancer” according to a “news” item referencing a science journal “study”.

The “study” was actually an analysis of other studies.  There were only eight studies analyzed out of the countless numbers available regarding nutrients and cancer.  Only a few vitamins were singled out.  Some of those were antioxidants.  None of the most potent antioxidants that have demonstrated the best study results regarding cancer were mentioned such as the mineral selenium and carotenoid compounds.

Yet as regarding nutrient supplement use having value for cancer prevention the Harvard Medical School assistant professor of medicine boldly declared, “This is not true, and our study confirmed that.”

Did the experts (so-called) just not want to find the truth?

Supplement use = drug abuse?

The following day warnings were sounded that herbal supplement use in teens may lead to drug abuse in another “news” item referencing another science journal “study”.

Herbal supplements were noted as similar to tobacco, alcohol and marijuana.  These supplements were cited as a potential gateway to drug abuse.

This “news” story referred readers to the United States National Institutes of Health (NIH) for more information.

Hiding in plain sight

One section of the NIH is for “Complementary and Alternative Medicine”.  Yet the studies that they concoct are always negative.  They do not repeat previous studies that were successful to verify them.

Does the NIH have a negative motive regarding non-medical approaches?

The NIH has a “Fact Sheet” section on some nutrients.  These are largely, ‘Yeah, BUT …’ reports constructed as cleverly as old Abbott & Costello routines.  Although there are many positive references given about nutrients with regard to their values in disease prevention and treatment they also caution against use of dietary supplements.

These are filed in the Office of Dietary Supplements.  Displayed as a prominent logo at the top of the web site page on which the fact sheets are located are the initials of that office – ODS.

Say the initials ODS aloud and it comes out ‘odious’.  One meaning for that adjective is given as, “Arousing or meriting strong dislike, aversion, or intense displeasure.  See synonyms at hateful.”

Is the NIH guilty of a bit of a Freudian slip with their ODS office showing forth their anti-nutrition, pro medicine academic laurels in hardy fashion?  Truly another fine mess that government bureaucracy has us in.

Don’t let the three stooges of BIG Government, BIG Pharma and BIG media slap you around in their own missteps and obscure your vision as they poke at the eyes of truth.