Let's Look at Two Nutrients to Lower Our Blood Sugar Levels

"Side effects may include: restlessness, irritability, headaches, dry mouth, gastric upset, or impotency." We've all heard this statement before. It, or something similar, follows practically every prescription medication commercial advertisement on television or radio. We all know that there will be side effects to any medication, because that's the nature of our bodies. We accept these small inconveniences in exchange for the benefits of the drug in question.

We also have a national tendency to trust, with little or no question, what pharmaceutical companies tell us. Why is that? Because we have the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) watching out for us. The FDA's job is to screen all new medications for safety and efficacy. They make sure that before a drug goes to market, it has been thoroughly tested. They ensure that the manufacturer is up-front about any adverse side effects.

Recent news articles, though, cast some serious doubt on our ability to trust the FDA. Take, for example, the headlines regarding the prescription diabetes medication Avandia: "Study: Avandia Raises Risk of Heart Attack," "Diabetes Drug Avandia Boosts Heart Attack Risk, Study Finds," and "Lawmakers to Grill GlaxoSmithKline, FDA on Diabetes Drug."

Drug safety expert, Dr. Curt Furberg, requested that the FDA remove Avandia from the market. He and Dr. Bruce Psaty both pointed out that Avandia "represents a major failure of the drug-use and drug-approval processes in the United States."

So, how did the FDA miss this? Really, it's somewhat puzzling. Puzzling, considering the fact that New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer has just settled a $2.5 million lawsuit with Glaxo for withholding results of studies on Paxil and its use in children. Puzzling, considering Dr. Rosemary Johann-Liang asked for the highest warning put on Avandia following evidence that Avandia caused swelling which could result in heart failure; FDA agents who work closely with Glaxo complained and she was removed from the position. Why wasn't the FDA looking more closely at Glaxo's studies?