Disclaimer
October 18th, 2006 by The Doc
DISCLAIMER
(Everybody Has One These Days)
PREAMBLE: None of this site’s content is intended to diagnose, treat, prevent, or cure any disease or condition. Information contained herein cannot substitute for consultation with a responsible, trained health care practitioner.
ARTICLE I: We are in no way attempting to impinge upon, impugn, or otherwise malign the pharmaceutical industry’s exclusive right to make spurious claims and to continue its lobbying efforts to guarantee said right. Any such intrusion on our part is purely accidental.
ARTICLE II: We accede to the magnanimous authority of the FDA in its noble efforts to ensure the safety of the American consumer…in spite of its documented ties to the aforementioned pharmaceutical industry.
ARTICLE III: We acknowledge that enduring institution called Western Medicine, which—though sullied by its association with the above-named FDA and the pharmaceutical industry—does the best it can in these perilous times.
The FDA is corrupt. Look at all the money they spend on campaigns to rush things through. They own the presidency and most of the congress and senate WBR LeoP
LeoP
It’s difficult to say where the corruption is, exactly. The cynic (I am one, I must confess) would point out that graft and evil-doing can be found EVERYWHERE. It is unquestionably true that many reputedly protective organizations are, at best, failing us miserably; at worst, they are openly disdainful of their stated missions and are blatantly following the instructions of monied interests.
I just read your article http://autism.suite101.com/article.cfm/autism_and_immunity and I am writing for permission to reprint it in our quarterly, full color, printed Pathways magazine. Pathways offers parents resources and information to make informed choices for family wellness. It is published by the ICPA in collaboration with the Holistic Pediatric Association and Families for Conscious Living. All organizations are 501c3 status and the magazine serves as part of their mission for public outreach and education.
All references about you and links to your site are kept on our Pathways website as a continued resource for our readers. Articles are archived on-line for continued access with live links back to your website as well. The copyright for all of Pathways articles is maintained by you.
If you decide to give us permission, please forward a printable photo, bio and an address to mail the issue to. Thank you for your consideration.
Jeanne Ohm, DC, ICPA Executive Director
Doctor’s Site: www.icpa4kids.com
Public Education Site: www.icpa4kids.org
Pathways Magazine: www.pathwaystofamilywellness.com
Holistic Pediatric Association: www.hpakids.org
families for Conscious Living: http://familiesfornaturalliving.org/
Please consider the environment before printing this email
Hi Dr. Christensen:
I would prefer to contact you by direct email rather than posting, but I can’t find another option, so please bear with me here.
I want to thank you for your recent article entitled “Do Supplements Help to Prevent Colds and Flu?” and the information you provided, particularly regarding ginseng.
As a representative of Afexa Life Sciences and our lead product COLD-FX, this is an issue near and dear to my heart. In that you are a great practioner and supporter of alternative medicine, please let me tell you a little bit about COLD-FX, the most effective form of ginseng available.
COLD-FX is a highly refined ginseng derivative that serves, essentially, as an immune system booster. Developed in Canada, by a team of research scientists at the University of Alberta, COLD-FX is the chemical essence of that part of ginseng that specifically enhances the immune system and fights respiratory infections.
COLD-FX has been recognized and approved by Health Canada, the Canadian equivalent of the FDA. Because there are differences in the way Canada and the United States regulate, we are regarded in the United States as a dietary supplement and come under DSHEA legislation. In early 2006 our company obtained clearance from the FDA to market COLD-FX in the United States.
COLD-FX has been the subject of ten clinical trials (and counting) and has been proven to be particularly effective in regard to upper respiratory ailments, especially colds and the flu. The increased recogniton we have received from the scientific community is evident in the fact that the National Cancer Institute is currently sponsoring a clinical trial at Wake Forest University in North Carolina to study the cold and flu prevention potential of COLD-FX when taken by chronic lymphocytic leukemia patients, a group especially vulnerable to acute respiratory infections (ARI). On the National Cancer Institute website, the following is written about COLD-FX:
“Two randomized, controlled trials have shown that an extract of North American Ginseng, called CVT-E002 (COLD-FX), can significantly reduce the risk of ARI in older adults. Other research suggests that the active ingredient in CVT-E002 enhances the function of certain white blood cells (macrophages and natural killer cells) that are part of the immune system.”
You can read the National Cancer Institute’s announcement of the COLD-FX-based clinical trial on the NCI website at: http://www.cancer.gov/clinicaltrials/ft-CCCWFU-98308.
As you might imagine, we are pleased and honored to participate in this NCI clinical trial and are hopeful that we will be of benefit to this highly vulnerable group of cancer patients.
Second, the Washington, D.C. based Center for Science in the Public Interest, a highly respected, non-profit consumer advocate group, has recognized COLD-FX’s immune system benefits in a survey of cold and flu remedies in their public health letter, Nutrition Action (January/February 2007 and again in January/February 2008). It is the most widely read public health newsletter in the world. In the 2007 report on ten different popular remedies that included everything from orange juice to echinacea, the CSPI noted that:
“COLD-FX is the only remedy we found with any evidence that it might improve your chances of getting through the cold and flu season without coming down with anything.”
The University of California’s School of Public Health has also praised COLD-FX in its highly influential health newsletter.
Unlike many natural health products, COLD-FX plays by all the rules, seeks scrutiny, and actually offers real benefit to its users. As I mentioned above, we have participated in ten peer-reviewed, double-blind clinical trials including the one you reference in your piece where you note that ginseng “can significantly reduce the incidence (by 25%) and duration (by about six days) of colds in adults.” Further, the American Association of Pediatrics found that COLD-FX was safe and tolerable for children, publishing the results in the August 2008 edition of its journal Pediatrics.
Finally, just as an aside, I have contacted Marilynn Marchione of the AP in response to her recent assertions about supplements and to let her know about COLD-FX. She was kind enough to write back to me and asked that I keep her informed in regard to the NCI trial at Wake Forest.
For more information, please visit our website at afexa.com. I can be reached at hfischer@afexa.com and would be more than happy to send you any documetation or information you might like.
Thanks,
Hal Fischer