I finally got my hands on a copy of the book Natural Causes (Broadway, 2006) by Dan Hurley from the local library. Months ago, a friend had introduced me to the title by saying, "It seems to be a drive-by shooting of integrative medicine."

From its subtitle, "Death, Lies and Politics in America's Vitamin and Herbal Supplement Industry," I expected some hard-hitting journalism and, hopefully, some solid research. When the book came out, it caused quite a splash. It even got a ringing endorsement from Marcia Angell, former editor of the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine, who wrote a blunt condemnation of pharmaceutical companies called "The Truth about the Drug Industry."

Despite the big splash and Angell's endorsement, the book is a disappointment. First, the information is based mostly on anecdotes-overly dramatized, sloppily reported anecdotes to boot. One was about a child who aspirated a very large tablet and unfortunately died at home of airway obstruction. Although this had nothing to do with the content of the tablet, it was implied that a "health product" caused his death.

Second, much of the science used to support the book's arguments is either inaccurate or incomplete. The flagship story is about "eosinophilia-myalgia syndrome," caused by the amino acid supplement L-tryptophan, which was manufactured by the Japanese corporation, Showa Denko. The manufacturers used genetically altered E. coli (one of the first uses of genetic engineering for such a purpose) to make the product. Once again, the true problem is skimmed over-the use of genetically engineered E. coli. Hurley hints at the truth in passing but never spells it out. In actual fact, the altered E. coli contaminant was entirely responsible for the disease.

The third problem with this book is that it highlights the most colourful personalities in the industry, including the flamboyant con artists, and the plain dumb clucks that purvey natural health products (NHPs) with less consideration for the truth than their obvious concern for making money. It's a huge disservice to the thousands of responsible, well-trained manufacturers, physicians, naturopathic doctors, herbalists and many others who make and use NHPs carefully, knowledgeably and effectively.

Thomas Kuhn, in his landmark book, The Structure of Scientific Revolution (1962), suggested that the last phase before replacing an old concept by a new one is aggressive resistance and loud condemnation of the new perspective. After that, the new concept, quietly and uneventfully, takes over the territory of the old one. I can only guess, then, that with all this fuss and noise over nutritional supplementation, we are on the eve of a revolution. One of these days, we're all going to wake up to a truly open, integrated approach to healing and natural remedies. And not a moment too soon.

Warren Bell, MD, is a HANS member practising in the heart of the Okanagan Valley. He's past president of the Association of Complementary and Integrative Physicians of BC.

Want to search for other articles that may interest you?

Readers of this article also enjoyed...