Natural Causes: A negative view of supplements

In his book, Natural Causes, Dan Hurley blames the Dietary Supplements and Health Education Act (DSHEA) for what he considers an unacceptable state of affairs.

“There’s no good evidence these products are safe and effective, and there’s plenty of evidence that many of these products are unsafe, ineffective, or both,” he asserts.

Michael Shaw, a columnist at HealthNewsDigest.com disagrees. “Hurley either has an appalling lack of understanding about even the most fundamental aspects of dietary supplements, or purposely chooses to mislead consumers in order to draw his conclusions.”

Anyone who reads this blog knows his statement regarding efficacy is false. As with all drugs (which is what they are) supplements must be used intelligently, with an understanding of where they might provide benefits and at what risk.

It’s the underlying reason for maintaining this blog.

My comments on DSHEA are here.

The book is available by clicking the Amazon link at the left.

1/23/07 21:50 JR