Death by Regulation Thoughtfully Reveals the Food and Drug Administration to be Neither Safe nor Effective. (Book Review Article)
"If people let government decide what foods they eat and what medicines they take, their bodies will soon be in as sorry a state as are the souls of those who live under tyranny." -- Thomas Jefferson
Dr. Mary Ruwart’s Death by Regulation looks with sobering professionalism into the FDA. Full of relentless in-line citations and assertive direct quotes, this book maintains an important message to the reader. Whether you are a healthcare professional, a parent or an electrician, your health is important. Death by Regulation gives us the score of the past, present and imminent future of government’s impact on our health.
Dr. Ruwart holds a degree in Biochemistry and received her doctorate in Biophysics. She was employed by Upjohn Pharmaceuticals for nearly 20 years as a research scientist. Here she gained the experience and behind-the-scenes insight that she bravely shares with us. I have had the pleasure of meeting this bright warm-hearted woman whose kindness cannot go unmentioned. My personal launch into health occurred when I witnessed my wife literally drop dead next to me. Fortunately, I saw her resuscitated soon after. An ambulance ride to the hospital was followed by ten days in the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit. The answers we were expecting never came. I have my theories but, to this day, we still do not know what the cause was and, we probably never will. Dr. Mary Ruwart’s book has been promoted by prominent professionals such as Medical Director of Internal Medicine at Elite Locum Tenens Dr. Kyle Varner, Bartley Madden author of Free to Choose Medicine, and Libertarian party nominee Dr. Ron Paul. These names, like my own and many others, mean to uphold the crucial information contained in Dr. Ruwart’s book.
Death by Regulation opens in the early 1960s before the inception of “the Amendments.” A set of strict regulations whose time-line parallels that of the Codex Alimentarius Commission established in 1961. The reader is guided by Dr. Ruwart’s masterful ability to translate scientific literature into simple logic. Dr. Ruwart has appeared in multiple interviews and conferences where she can be found eager to address a wide-ranging demographic. We follow “the Amendments,” as well as their causes, effects, and subsequent court cases. We see the potential dawning of the “Golden Age of Health” and arrive at the current pressing situation. Dr. Ruwart’s efforts, as a scientist in the health field as well as an ethicist, echo the National Health Federation’s message on the importance of freedom of choice, preventative care, protection of individuals’ rights, and government restriction.
Dr. Ruwart’s easy-to-follow description brings with it an unexpected sense of hope. Her voice serves as a calming one in an apparent sea of incompetence and corruption. Roughly three fourths through Death by Regulation I was hit by a deeper, at the time shameful, inner question. “Is this really true?” The question was not one that could be persuaded by logical reasoning. It was, to be honest, more a question of my own ability to accept the truth, rather than identify it. In that moment, I connected with the author’s message and my purpose for picking up this book. It is the same reason I believe most of us pick up any book. Not simply to be informed or entertained, but to connect.
Death by Regulation is merciless in its calculations of the realities brought upon countless people throughout the world. It’s tone is reminiscent of Dr. Ron Paul’s fundamental Liberty Defined. Dr. Ruwart’s book gives us an objective leg to stand on when considering the principal forces affecting our health. For those planning to pursue a career in Health and Wellness, or those simply planning their health responsibly, Death by Regulation should be required reading.
