Response to inquiries about my credentials and independence

A couple of people have asked me to comment on other sites, or to refer to other sites, which I generally will not do. After all, this blog is an archive of my non-commercial writings, which are heavily referenced; so you may analyze and determine whether or not you think my scholarship and logic are valid, or not. I do not wish to comment on other people's sites; it is beyond the scope of my purpose. I think for myself and you can, too. Don't let self-appointed experts tell you what to think, unless you respect their scholarship, not just their arguments. That goes for believing me, as well! One writer has pointed out that the FDA does not approve supplements and pointed me to the agency's site, implying ignorance. If my blog entries were inspected more carefully, many references to the FDA's web site exist and in quite a bit more detail than the writer gave. Apparently the writer did not carefully consider my nuances of meaning while asserting that he/she was the expert. In fact, the agency requires all label claims ("structure-function" claims) to be submitted to them, allowing it to deny those claims, and then paradoxically requires all labels to say that the agency hasn't evaluated the claims. Kind of makes you think, no? It should! The agency also has to receive safety documentation for all new ingredients before they are sold on the market, but again does not explicitly approve them, though the absence of action to stop them does ring loud and clear. Again, the agency has plausible deniability, while retaining control. Yes, I do understand how the FDA works. Do you? One writer has persisted in questioning whether I work for and profit from vitamin companies. I do state in my bio that I am a vitamin formulator. But, you may notice that I scrupulously avoid mentioning any company names or endorsing them. If I were to post the comment, it would name names and could promote products. I am trying to maintain a professional detachment and tell the truth, as I see it. If I involve my clients/employers, I would not be able to have the freedom and independence necessary to "speak truth to power". But I write from the heart and do my own research. I formulate my own opinions as to the validity and accuracy of scientific and news reports, which I have done for decades. If you want to debate my conclusions and references, fine. But I assure you that my references are much more scrupulous and to the point than those of many of the published research I critique! THIS IS MY PERSONAL BLOG AND I WRITE PROFESSIONAL, WELL-REFERENCED TEXT ABOUT NUTRITION. NO ONE TELLS ME WHAT TO WRITE OR NOT WRITE. THIS IS NOT ABOUT PROFIT, "For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?" But my credentials and reputation do not substitute for you carefully dissecting my writings and my arguments. That is why I don't belabor their defense. The point is that people should realize that there are second opinions and not to rely on experts and authorities to tell us what to think. Yet I point out that the emperor has no clothes, and someone wants to know my tailoring credentials...seems like they kind of missed the point, doesn't it?