Maybe - Maybe Not! A Cynical Look At The Use Of Nutritional Supplements To Cure Cancer - Continued

Yesterday I closed my post about nutrition this way:

Good nutrition is a key to good health and to help fight cancer. But ultimately, it is a way for the patient to feel like he or she is in control. “Maybe if I eat enough spinach…” “Maybe if I take enough magnesium or vitamin D…”Maybe if I get my colon cleansed I can remove the toxins which are causing my cancer…” Maybe. Maybe not. I will share my philosophy about nutrition and cancer with you tomorrow. (Hint: Nutritional extremists aren’t going to like it!)
Feel good, keep smiling and eat your veggies! Pat

“Maybe. Maybe not.” That is the essence of my nutritional philosophy. Whether you already have cancer or are trying to prevent it. Maybe. Maybe not. Truth be told, there is very little science to support the majority of nutritional claims. Why? Clinical trials are expensive. In the pharmaceutical world, it’s the drug companies that pay for these studies—the FDA requires it. But most supplements aren’t regulated by the FDA. If you were a vitamin company, why would you commit to years and years of expensive research when it isn’t required by law? You have too much to lose! Ten years, 30,000 test subjects and you find—like a recent study which looked at the effects of selenium and vitamin C as a way to prevent prostate cancer and/or improve cardiac health—that taking extra selenium or vitamin C had no positive effect. None. Ouch! Anecdotal accounts, speculation and hype are far more effective—and much less expensive! Then add a multi-level marketing plan like Amway, Shaklee or Market American and—Poof—we can mislead even more desperate souls into spending even more money in search of that magic pill or potion. Isn’t that the American way? Selling the myth of American Capitalism and getting them to spend even more money in search of the economic American dream. Only in America do we think we can cure cancer—and get rich—by taking and selling a pill!
More about “Maybe. Maybe not.” tomorrow.
Feel good and keep smiling! Pat

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cancer nutrition, Selenium, vitamin c