In the poisons and toxins bracket I learnt some interesting facts. The Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 (DSHEA 94) is an example of the power of big business in Washington. Subsequent to acts such as the Nutrition Advertising Coordination Act of 1991 that would have tightened the regulations regarding supplement labeling there was a campaign to exempt supplements and vitamins from the rigorous standards of the FDA. One advertisement featured Mel Gibson being arrested by the FDA for buying vitamin C! On October 25 1994, president Bill Clinton signed the Act into law, saying that "After several years of intense efforts, manufacturers, experts in nutrition, and legislators, acting in a conscientious alliance with consumers at the grassroots level, have moved successfully to bring common sense to the treatment of dietary supplements under regulation and law.” This shocking discovery (for me) made DHSEA go all the way to the sweet sixteen to be knocked out by fomepizole.
Another very interesting fact was that Glycyrrhizic acid is removed from licorice sold in the US by a process called de-glycyrrhizination (DGL). This eliminates to risk of apparent mineralocorticoid excess (AME). Us Europeans should take a leaf out of the FDAs book!
Please feel free to post a comment on your picks for the poisons bracket!
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