The IRE Resource Center is a major research library containing more than 23,250 investigative stories — both print and broadcast. These stories are searchable online or by contacting the Resource Center directly (573-882-3364 or rescntr@ire.org) where a researcher can help you pinpoint what you need. Browse or search the tipsheet section of our library below. Stories are not available for download but can be easily ordered by contacting the Resource Center:
Search results for "diet remedies" ...
-
Dose of Denial
After decades of researching cold and diet remedies and discovering that these medicines could cause a stroke, major pharmaceutical companies continued to sell these drugs in the markets. This LA Times story describes the life of Tricia Newenham who took this medication and is now mentally disabled after suffering from a stroke.
Tags: Pharmaceutical companies; drugs that cause stroke; Tricia Newenham; diet remedies; cold medicines; FDA; FDA regulations; PPA; phenylpropanolamine
-
Slim Chance
"A Slim Chance" is a two part investigation of the use of diet drug combinations and herbal diet remedies by NurtiSystem, a national weight loss chain. Dateline sent two producers wearing hidden cameras to NurtiSystem chains in three states. One of the producers was significantly overweight, whereas the other was only moderately overweight. The investigation discovered NutriSystem doctors making claims as to the effectiveness and safety of their drugs without any clinical data to support them.
-
"'Natural' Remedies, Unnatural Deaths"
When 37-year-old June Grell, a healthy mother of three, died unexpectedly in her sleep in the summer of 1991, her devastated husband had no idea what happened. June was in excellent health. The coroner's report said she died of "apparent natural" causes. But for two months before her death, June Grell had been drinking a diet herbal tea with senna, an herb similar to federally approved manmade laxatives. In another case, a 24-year-old woman died a bloody, painful death after attempting to induce an abortion with pennyroyal, an herb that is lethal in high doses. The article examines the dangers of the unregulated natural medicine industry.