What is the Difference Between Big Pharma and Big Supplement?

shokk · May 2012

I have been wondering what is the difference in the minds of people that find Big Pharma bad but embrace Big Supplement?

Both are billion dollar industries........both have lobbyist in Washington.........both can have both good and bad effects on our health........

When I was dx with bc my Onc told me no more supplements not only during chemo but forever......she had said that high doses of vitamins that are suppose to help our good cells can also help our bad cells............

and she said that because supplements are not very well regulated that there really is no sure way that you know exactly what you are taking.........vitamins for the most part are not really natural.....many are filled with fillers and additives and let's face it they are processed.......

What I do find interesting though is our natural girls are so dubious of Big Pharma but not of Big Supp..........

I find it very disturbing that someone would give their six year old 4 times the recommended dose of vitamin C.........that cannot be good for her kidneys and liver.........since she will pee most of that high dose out of her system............

and also why do we Americans (especially) and maybe Canadian/UK/Eastern European think that more is better? whether it is the amount of food we eat.....(super size it)......or the amount of supplements we take....(mega doses)

Is anyone concern about the "amount" of supplements they take and what that may be doing to their liver/kidneys...........

It reminds me of all this vitatim D everyone is taking.......maybe as we get older we are suppose to produce/have less vitamin D........we start to protect our skin from the sun.........cover up when we go outside........maybe it is only natural that we need less vitamin D.....

the best advice I got from my Onc is if God didn't make it don't consume it...........

shokk

Chickadee · May 2012

It's a legitimate question. These are both corporate capitalistic businesses and profit is the main motive. As you have said, time and again when many of these supplements are tested the ingredients range all over the place an we consumers don't have the ability to do these tests. The one time I ventured into the nutritional world was for my disabled son and I worked with a nutritionist and a compounding pharmacy. He didn't get any more colds but it wasn't helpful in any other manner.

The only cliche I'll follow is everything in moderation. Eating healthier is certainly advised but I don't believe it can prevent anything as too many very healthy ladies still contract breast cancer.

There is too much we still don't know.

crazy4carrots · May 2012

Shokk, I ask myself the same question when I walk into a grocery store or pharmacy store and see rows and rows and umpteen brands of supplements. The ones that totally drive me crazy are the so-called "cleanses" -- big expensive containers of powders and advertising that make outrageous claims. Someone on another thread asked about colonics -- my response was that if the "intake" is nutrionally sound and healthy, the out-take shouldn't be a problem! We humans (and our 4-legged pals) all have an extremely sophisticated food machine inside us.

rosemary-b · May 2012

To me the difference is that Big Pharme is regulated, Big Supplement is not.

Beesie · May 2012

Rosemary, I agree. That's the main difference that I see too.

Linda, you mean those "cleanses" don't work??? Oh crap. Wink

crazy4carrots · May 2012

Crap indeed! The natural way!

GmaFoley · May 2012

I know what you girls are talking about. I have a bad case of Kerititis (inflammation of the cornea) that the opthamologist has just recommended a supplement called HydroEye.. I asked my onc nutritionist about it and she said she would research it but thinks if I ate foods that would do the same thing, it would be better... She will get back to me next week.. My eyes have been bad for over a month now and the doc is ready to send me to a cornea specialist if it isn't better in another month. I still don't know what caused the infection in the first place... Guess the BC treatments have really messed up my body and is just arguing with me in other ways....

AnneW · May 2012

Thank you, shokk, for asking the question taht I've been mulling for a long time. The supplement industry gives millions to political campaigns, just like pharma. The supplement industry does NOT want to be regulated. Holy cow, no!

We don't know how much cucermin is actually absorbed from our pills and spice bottle. (Just an example.) And does it inhibit other vital processes in our body? Because it kills a cancer cell in the dish, why do we assume it will do the same for our bodies? Yes, fill in the blank for any supplement or med.

I will actually take the government's "interference" on this one. And watch who are the big supporters in the coming election.

Kaara · May 2012

Regarding cleanses...in optimal condition (a perfect world/or body) the body takes care of detoxifying itself very efficiently. This is assuming the person is eating a healthy diet of whole unprocessed foods. Unfortunately, that is not always the case, and toxins can build up in the digestive tract. Restoring that tract to a natural balance with a cleanse and probiotics is not a harmful process if you do it under the direction of an ND. The majority of our immune system is located in our gut, and if that is not functioning properly, then our immune system is not functioning at optimal power either.

I wouldn't go out and start taking a load of supplements without proper guidance any more than I would take prescription meds that way. It defies logic.

Both big pharma and big supplement are in the business to make money....no doubt about that. We live in a society that promotes that, and profit is not a dirty word. It is up to us to use common sense when putting any kind of supplement or pharmaceutical into our body. Just because a doctor prescribes a med for me doesn't mean that I am going to automatically take it without doing my own research on the SE's. Same with supplements.

ICanDoThis · May 2012

I too agree with Rosemary. One of the most frightening things in the world to me is the Consumer Reports analysis of vitamins - except for a few brands, most of them are simply lying through their teeth about how much content they have, and what their side effects are!

I think we could use us a little FDA, to at least make sure that Big Supplement is delivering what it's selling.

For what it's worth, the best buys are often the Kirkland house brands at CostCo. Not what I expected.

thenewme · May 2012

This is a great discussion, and a topic I'm often vocal about here.

I think Rosemary nailed it. It's about being regulated (Big Pharm) versus the "wild west" (Big Supplement).

Here's an interesting analysis of this very topic, especially as it relates to political undercurrents surrounding the DSHEA: DSHEA is "a stealth weapon that allows the sale of unproven medicines just as long as you pretend they are not medicines.

ICanDoThis - I completely agree, and read this related article just the other day:

Consumer Reports and Alternative Therapies

thenewme · May 2012

ICanDoThis,

You also reminded me of the USP Supplement Verification program, where Kirkland is, indeed, one of the verified brands, along with Safeway, Equaline, NatureMade, Sunmark, Berkley & Jensen, and TruNature. The link in my previous post talks about some of the shortcomings of the USP verification, but IMO, it's a good start to helping sort the hype from the facts in supplement brand claims. Notably absent from this list are frequently-touted MLM and other "designer" brands such as Usana . It's too bad, IMHO, that there are only 7 brands listed!

Kirkland Supplements

shokk · May 2012

I guess my issue is the demonizing of Big Pharm like somehow it is some kind of huge racket but in reality isn't Big Supp the same thing without the regulation?........and as far as I can tell much of Big Supp is based on theory that if we have these natural occurring elements in our body that supplementing say the "b" vitamins or C or D/amino acids/ blah, blah, blah is going to make our antibodies stronger and fight cancer or any other body system that is not working properly and on the extensive research I have done there really is no evidence to back that theory up......... and to top it off the more you take the healthier you will be........I have seen no evidence of that whatsoever ......

In fact I think that for many that they believe that vitamins/supplements are "natural" so that you can take it in much higher doses then what is even recommended by the Supplement Companies............

I think if Big Pharma is some kind of big, bad industry that is out to harm us and don't care about our outcome (which if you think about they want to keep their customers alive) then wouldn't Big Supp be the same........it is not natural.......it isn't even regulated........there is no way to know for sure what you are taking unless you take your vitamins to a lab and have them analyzed......

I think that all of us that are breast cancer survivors need to think long and hard about what we take as far as our health is concern.........there is NO MAGIC PILL regardless if it is from big Pharma or Big Supp.........and taking mega doses of supplements cannot be good for us especially for us that have been through chemo and our Liver and Kidneys have very well may be compromised....... (At least Big Pharma warns us)

shokk

thenewme · May 2012

FWIW, Shokk - I agree with you 1000%.

According to one of the articles I posted above, the current dietary supplement industry is about $30 BILLION dollars a year. Hardly the "poor, little picked-on and victimized industry" they want people to believe them to be.

What is the Difference Between Big Pharma and Big Supplement?

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