Last week I began an article on POM Wonderful pomegranate juice's troubles with the FDA. I complete it with references this week.

What I find particularly galling is that at the same time as these FDA attacks on POM Wonderful the National Cancer Institute (NCI) is striving to get Americans to prevent cancer by consuming more fruits and vegetables. "People whose diets are rich in plant foods such as fruits and vegetables have a lower risk of getting cancers of the mouth, pharynx, larynx, esophagus, stomach, lung, and there is some suggested evidence for colon, pancreas, and prostate," NCI states at its Web site. "They are also less likely to get diabetes, heart disease, and hypertension. A diet high in fruits and vegetables helps to reduce calorie intake and may help to control weight." Indeed.

"To help prevent these cancers and other chronic diseases, experts recommend 4 to 13 servings of fruits and vegetables daily, depending on energy needs," NCI adds. "This includes 2 to 5 servings of fruits," including presumably pomegranates. In actual fact, however, only "32.6% of adults consumed fruit two or more times per day and 27.2% ate vegetables three or more times per day" (CDC 2005 figures).

But when a private company is able to motivate tens of thousands of people to increase their intake of a perfectly healthful beverage, and to accurately report scientific findings about that juice, they are viciously attacked by another branch of government. The government, and legislators in both parties, profess concern over the rising burden of health care, including its cost.Yet they allow rampant attacks on companies whose actions, at worst, are harmless, and at best could lead to a major improvement in public health. We live in a topsy-turvy world.

--Ralph W. Moss, Ph.D.

Resources:

http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5610a2.htm

http://www.fda.gov/ICECI/EnforcementActions/WarningLetters/ucm202785.htm

Snake oil?
http://www.pomwonderful.com/community/pom-wonderful-received-a-letter-from-the-fda/

Longtin R: The pomegranate: nature's power fruit? J Natl Cancer Inst 95,346-348, 2003.

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