The food police are up in arms, citing that some health supplements sold online have nearly the same formula as industrial-strength bleach. The Miracle Mineral Supplement, marketed for its health benefits for people with H1N1, hepatitis, and even HIV, has been marked as a toxic substance by the FDA in the United States and the Food Standards Agency in the United Kingdom.

More than a quarter of the Miracle Mineral Supplement is made up of sodium chlorite, a substance that becomes bleach when combined with citric acid. Failure to dilute the supplement according to instructions can lead to respiratory failure, and even when used as directed some say the supplement can cause extreme cases of diarrhea and vomiting. But is this as horrible as it seems?

Not necessarily!

The use of toxic substances for healing is quite common. For instance, lots of pharmaceutical drugs are inherently far more toxic than the Miracle Mineral Supplement. Chemotherapy drugs cause extreme side effects in cancer patients. I’ve mentioned before that chemotherapy is used to poison rapidly dividing cancer cells. Now experts will tell you that chemo drugs only target the bad cells. However, if this were true, chemo patients wouldn’t suffer devastating side effects like hair loss, vomiting, weight loss, and neuropathy. If that weren’t enough cause for concern, it’s a fact that chemo drugs are also known carcinogens. And speaking of cancer, it’s probably worth mentioning radiation therapy that comes with a whole host of side effects including: nausea, fatigue, low blood count, severe skin rashes, and scarring. And like chemotherapy, radiation is a known carcinogen.

But the use of toxic substances for treating disease is not exclusive to the medical community. Hydrogen peroxide is used in alternative therapies. While you may know about its hair-bleaching properties, it has many other uses. It’s used to make paper and even rocket fuel. In high concentrations, it can harm the skin and your internal organs. But in lower concentrations, it is known to provide numerous health benefits from killing harmful, infection-causing bacteria to treating certain types of cancer.

And what about vitamin B12? B12 is a water-soluble nutrient that our bodies need, and it is found in lots of foods like fish, meat, dairy products, and poultry. It’s responsible for keeping our nerves and red blood cells healthy, and it is essential for DNA production. On the other hand, Mega-doses of B12 have been linked to cancer, because the vitamin stimulates the division of cells whether they are healthy cells or cancerous cells.

In fact, just about anything we do excessively can cause serious health problems. People who eat too much are at risk for obesity, heart disease, diabetes and a number of other problems. People with eating disorders who starve themselves risk malnutrition, dehydration, and vitamin deficiencies. Which brings us back to the Miracle Mineral Supplement. Does it do what its proponents claim? There is some evidence to suggest it does, but it’s hardly conclusive at the moment. And as far as the FDA’s assertions of danger based on high doses, that could apply to almost anything — especially pharmaceutical drugs. The bottom line is that the FDA should be calling for consumers to use their common sense and strive for moderation rather than applying double standards in banning alternative health supplements and therapies.

:ab