There's been much controversy about the effectiveness and safety of pharmaceutical drugs, and some vaccines have been reported to cause more harm than good. Supplement companies are being raided by the FDA, who many say is just a pawn for Big Pharma. How much of this true? Experts in the field of autism, alternative medicine, supplements, vitamins and pharmaceutical companies (Jon E. Mica/ Wayne Gorsek aka Dr. Vita/ Dr. Mikal Barchenger) joined George Knapp to discuss the control Big Pharma has over our lives, while pondering the question if alternative and natural approaches really work.

In the first hour, Mica argued that autism and vaccines are inextricably linked. The court system has actually established a vaccine injury fund, and damages have been compensated by billions of dollars since the program's inception, he reported. The Prescription Drug User Fee Act extracts fees from Big Pharma that are paid directly to the FDA, "and that's in order to avoid FDA rules and regulations," and allows drugs to come to market faster, he explained. "Nobody knows what causes autism, let's be clear on that. I'm not telling people not to get vaccinated...But after what I've looked at and read, it's all about informed consent," and the risks involved are often downplayed by the CDC, he stated.

Gorsek, who has extensively studied both pharmaceutical and nutritional products, was critical of some of the popular "natural" products such as the typical multivitamin. Multivitamins generally lack the right amount of various ingredients such as B-complex, selenium, and Vitamin K to be effective, and don't even include some of the most powerful nutrients such as resveratrol, Co-Enzyme Q10, and turmeric, he remarked. Certain nutrients like magnesium, selenium, zinc, and Vitamin D are particularly important for keeping the immune system healthy, he continued. "The FDA and FTC are best at restricting our speech. Only in America, that I'm aware of, can you go to jail for telling the truth about a vitamin, mineral or herb," he added.

Dr. Barchenger, a chiropractor with over 32 years of experience in the field of medicine, talked about the quality control problem with nutritional supplements and herbs, as the FDA does not evaluate or test such unregulated products. He cited the lack of sufficient sleep as one of the biggest issues that affects people's health, and subsequently he's worked to develop a natural sleep formula that doesn't have the side effects of prescription sleeping medications.