The problem with the FDA

THIS WRITER wonders why the Bureau of Food and Drugs (BFAD) has changed its name to Food and Drug Administration (FDA), betraying itself as copycat of the FDA of the United States of America. Indeed, what the FDA-USA approves as medicine, the FDA-PH approves, too, for prescription.

Unfortunately, an FDA seal does not guarantee safety, according to Dr. Marcia Angell, a senior lecturer at Harvard Medical School.

She cited for example an FDA-approved drug for heart diseases, dronedarone, which was withdrawn from the market after causing liver failure in two patients.

She said, “There is growing evidence that financial conflicts of interest are compromising the integrity of clinical research.”

In other words, since the sponsors of most clinical trials are drug companies whose first priority is to make profits, the researchers tend to favor their products.

I am reminded of that time when a doctor prescribed me an anti-cholesterol “statin” drug. Alas, however, within three days of religiously taking the drug, I could no longer put on my polo shirt without enduring excruciating muscle pain.

I researched the internet and read of other patients complaining of similar side effect.

I bought the book Stop Inflammation Now by American author, Dr. Richard Fleming, who wrote that fruits and vegetables are better than “statin” drugs in restoring cardio-vascular health; and that pork, beef and other red meat should be replaced by fish.

Today, we all know that vegetables and fruits strengthen the body’s built-in immune system, giving it the capacity to fight disease-causing bacteria and virus. The lowly and cheap malunggay has already been proven effective in boosting the immune system.

There were no “fast foods” and preserved “junks” during the good old days. But despite the primitive means of transportation and communication, herbal medicine as practiced in China for centuries had already gained global patronage. Today, such previously doubtful Chinese practices as acupuncture, acupressure and reflexology have gained a niche in modern medicine.

Shed of hypocrisy, conventional medicine ought to be integrated with alternative medicine because they really do not oppose but complement each other like parallel railroad tracks. Indeed, modern medicine has evolved from this time-honored coexistence.

For instance, the latest discoveries in cancer prevention and treatment are actually rediscoveries. The supposedly newly discovered therapeutic “isoflavones” in soybeans and “carotenoids” in certain fruits and vegetables have served our ancestors well.

There was a time when representatives of a Japanese drug company came to Manila looking for suppliers of rosas sa baybayon, which they would like to formulate into tablets and capsules to be sold in Japan.

Isn’t it ironic that Filipino doctors doubt the potency of this plant for early-stage cancer?

In the United States, according to the book Living Longer and Healthier by Dr. Allan Magaziner, 50 percent of the population is hooked to alternative health programs that claim to “add years to life and life to years.” No wonder even the manufacturers of soft drinks now imprint “vitamin-enriched” tag on their products.

The Philippine government, unfortunately, appears half-hearted in implementing the Traditional Alternative Medicine Act (TAMA) of 1998, which is supposed to encourage drug companies to use native herbs as active components of their products. Hindi tama iyan.

Too bad, more than a decade has passed since FDA approved the therapeutic claims of 10 of them, namely: lagundi for cough and asthma; ampalaya, diabetes; sambong, urinary stones; yerba buena, body aches and pains; acapulco, ringworms and other skin fungal infections; garlic, hypertension; guava, wounds; niyog-niyogan, intestinal worms; tsaang gubat, intestinal motility; and ulasimang bato or pansit-pansitan, arthritis and gout. (hvego31@gmail.com/PN)