News vs. Opinion

The natural-products community and nutritionally oriented practitioners are very familiar with media bias. For example, the press often reports that “dietary supplements are not regulated.”

The preparation for the weekly Pulse of Health Freedom requires hours of researching news-wire services, newspapers, Web sites and other publications. A review of the Associated Press health articles on one day, 10/26/09, led to two articles with attention-grabbing titles, “’Bioidenticals’ not FDA-approved, contain estrogen” and “Somers’ new target: conventional cancer treatment”. Both articles were preceded by the following editor’s note:

“Ten years and $2.5 billion in research have found no cures from alternative medicine. Yet these mostly unproven treatments are now mainstream and used by more than a third of all Americans. This is one in an occasional series examining their use and potential risks.”

Separating news from mere opinion is important for every American who seeks to make healthcare choices based upon objective information.