Normally, I roll my eyes when I see anti-supplement articles printed in the mainstream media. But I’m going to make an exception for this article in the Chicago Tribune by Trine Tsouderos.
An industrial chemical developed to help separate heavy metals from polluted soil and mining drainage is being sold as a dietary supplement by a luminary in the world of alternative autism treatments.
Called OSR#1, the supplement is described on its Web site as an antioxidant not meant to treat any disease. But the site lists pharmacies and doctors who sell it to parents of children with autism, and the compound has been promoted to parents on popular autism Web sites.
…In an interview, Haley said that the compound had been tested on rats and that a food safety study was conducted on 10 people. Asked to provide documentation of the studies, he stopped communicating with the Tribune.
Experts expressed dismay upon hearing children were consuming a chemical not evaluated in formal clinical trials for safety, as would be required for a drug prescribed by doctors.
Ellen Silbergeld, an expert in environmental health and a researcher funded by the National Institutes of Health studying mercury and autism at Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, said she found the sale of the chemical as a supplement for children “appalling.”
Creepy…
Now, it’s possible that the stuff is perfectly safe at recommended doses… and the hand-wringing is so much ado over nothing.
BUT: anyone who knows me, also knows that I’m a stickler for good science and transparency. In addition, children represent a real gray area when it comes to drugs and – by extension – supplements. So there’s no excuse – particularly for a former professor like Boyd Haley – for failing to produce toxicity/safety data. Needless to state, controlled studies looking at efficacy are indicated too - especially when desperate people are involved. To offer false hope is cruel beyond belief.