Senate Document #264 debunked
Published Jul 26, 2007
If you spend much time surfing Web sites that sell immune system boosters and other nutritional supplements, you’re bound to come across references to something called Senate Document #264. And if you do, it is a sure thing that the company is operating some type of scam. It’s not that Senate Document #264 isn’t real, it’s just that it’s not useful or relevant as a scientific reference. Here’s a typical statement, chosen at random from many similar sites, that you might find:
However a report, produced by the government, detailing the nutritional value of American’s food supply, US Senate Document #264 states; “99% of the American people are deficient in minerals and a deficiency in any one or more important minerals actually results in disease.”
Ninety-nine percent of the American people are deficient in minerals! That would be shocking â€“ if it were true! The problem is that Senate Document #264 is not a “report,” and it wasn’t “produced by the government.” It’s not research, it wasn’t commissioned by and had absolutely nothing to do with the government other than the fact that Senator Duncan Fletcher, Democrat of Florida, asked that it be put into the Congressional Record (two weeks before his death of a heart attack at the age of 77). Just like any senator can ask for anything to be put in regardless of merit. Did I mention this occurred in 1936? And did I mention that the “document” is actually an article from “Cosmopolitan” magazine written by Rex Beach, a popular writer of the day? See for yourself here.
Many Web sites try to impress you with statements like this: “These are verbatim unabridged extracts from the 74th Congress 2nd Session.” As I’ve said, however, these are verbatim unabridged extracts of an article from Cosmopolitan magazine in 1936 and probably have about even less scientific credibility as an article from Cosmo would have today. Yet hundreds, if not thousands, of Web sites use this reference in an attempt to scare people into believing that we’re all deficient in dietary minerals. And why are we all deficient? The article claims that:
The alarming fact is that foods, fruits and vegetables, and grains, now being raised on millions of acres of land that no longer contains enough of certain needed minerals, are starving us, no matter how much of them we eat.
Yes, back in the 1930s, poor farming practices without crop rotation among cotton, corn and grain farmers using techniques that promoted erosion coupled with severe drought caused the catastrophic conditions that led to the Dust Bowl. We all learned about that in school. But that was 70 years ago! To say that farming has come a long way since then would be the understatement of the century! And yet, unscrupulous websites will twist this all around and say things like:
Whether you eat a balanced diet or not you are probably mal-nourished. This fact has been known for over 60 years but we have not been warned or given information to help us correct the deficiencies.
When they say it’s been known for over 60 years, guess what the reference is? That’s right. Cosmo, 1936. So when you look at it more closely, this purported mineral deficiency is not a “fact,” and it hasn’t been “known for over 60 years,” and there’s no reason anyone should have been “warned or given information.” Can you imagine if we had to be warned about every claim made in every popular magazine article crowding the newsstand shelves?
Go ahead and Google “Senate Document 264” just to see all the sites that use it in their marketing efforts. But remember to substitute “Cosmo, 1936” in your mind’s eye when reading their claims. It’ll help keep things in perspective.