FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Orthomolecular Medicine News Service, July 23, 2025

From Regulation to Restoration: Reforming Food and Nutraceutical Policy for Public Health

By Richard Z. Cheng, M.D., Ph.D.
Editor-in-Chief, Orthomolecular Medicine News Service
Expert Medical Reviewer, South Carolina Board of Medical Examiners

🔹 Editor's Note

This article summarizes and comments on a groundbreaking policy paper by Dr. Sunil J. Wimalawansa, MD, PhD, MBA, DSc-Professor of Medicine, Endocrinology, and Human Nutrition, a world-renowned vitamin D researcher, and a Board Member of the Orthomolecular Medicine News Service (OMNS). Dr. Wimalawansa has long championed the role of micronutrients-especially vitamin D-and holistic medicine in public health.

I have had the privilege of co-authoring two recent peer-reviewed papers with Dr. Wimalawansa on vitamin D, in which we emphasized its central role in immune health, chronic disease prevention, and COVID-19 outcomes (1, 2). His current policy proposal reflects the same urgency and scientific integrity shared by the authors, which guided our joint publications.

Importantly, many of the ideas he advocates-nutritional sufficiency, preventive health strategies, and a shift away from pharmaceutical dependency-are closely aligned with the Integrative Orthomolecular Medicine (IOM) principles we have long promoted through OMNS.

The original article, "Reforming Food, Drug, and Nutraceutical Regulations to Improve Public Health and Reduce Healthcare Costs", was published in Foods in June 2025 (3).
📄 https://www.mdpi.com/2304-8158/14/13/2328

📌 Executive Summary

• Non-communicable diseases (NCDs)-such as cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, obesity, and cancer-now account for over 60% of global deaths and 80% of healthcare costs.
• The U.S. healthcare system remains predominantly reactive, focusing on pharmaceutical management rather than disease prevention and lifestyle-based solutions.
• The FDA's centralized oversight of food, drugs, and supplements has led to both overreach and neglect-allowing harmful food additives while delaying or obstructing access to safe, evidence-based nutraceuticals.
• Dr. Wimalawansa proposes and rationalizes the need for splitting the FDA into two separate agencies:
  • A Drug and Device Agency (DDA), focused solely on pharmaceuticals and medical technologies, including devices.
  • A new Food and Nutraceutical Agency (FNA), dedicated to food safety, micronutrient regulation, nutraceuticals, and public health promotion through lifestyles and nutrition.

⚠️ The Problem: Systemic Neglect of Nutrition

Current regulations have failed to protect the public from chronic exposure to food contaminants and toxic additives. The article lists substances that remain legal in U.S. food but are banned in the European Union, due to strong evidence of harm, including:

• Titanium dioxide (linked to genotoxicity)
• Potassium bromate (a known carcinogen)
• Parabens and PFAS ("forever chemicals")
• Bleached flour and excessive added sugars

In parallel, essential micronutrients like vitamin D, magnesium, omega-3s, and vitamin K2 are not only underutilized but actively marginalized by outdated guidelines and limited public access.

💡 The Solution: An Agency for Prevention

The proposed Food and Nutraceutical Agency (FNA) would:

• Regulate food additives with a public safety-first approach
• Mandate transparency in food and supplement labeling
• Fund research on long-ignored contaminants (e.g., glyphosate, BPA, microplastics)
• Establish and publish safe and optimal intake guidelines for essential nutrients
• Encourage the use of evidence-based nutraceuticals to prevent or manage chronic diseases
• The use of community-based, prospective clinical studies, instead of randomized controlled trials for evaluation of food and nutraceuticals

This shift would not only promote health but could save up to US$1 trillion in healthcare costs within four years.

🔬 IOM Commentary: A Root-Cause Revolution

As Editor-in-Chief of OMNS and a long-time advocate of Integrative Orthomolecular Medicine (IOM), I view Dr. Wimalawansa's paper as a critical step toward root-cause, prevention-based public health policy.

The IOM model understands chronic diseases as downstream effects of:

• Micronutrient insufficiency (especially vitamin D, C, magnesium, and K2)
• Toxin overload from diet, environment, and medications
• Hormonal and metabolic imbalances
• Gut and mitochondrial dysfunction

Pharmaceutical symptom management can never resolve these root causes. Instead, an effective practical approach should include:

• Low-carb and anti-inflammatory nutrition
• High-dose nutrient support
• Avoid adding high fructose (corn syrup) to bakery foods
• Minimize and eliminate highly processed food
• Environmental detoxification
• Restoration of metabolic and hormonal rhythm

A dedicated FNA would give regulatory legitimacy and scientific attention to these solutions.

🧠 From Fragmented Care to Functional Systems

By separating food and drug oversight, the U.S. could begin to:

• Acknowledge the profound role of nutrition in disease prevention
• Formal education on nutrition should begin in schools and universities
• Adding a mandated course on food and nutrients in medical and nursing curricula
• Remove conflicts of interest between pharmaceutical and food safety regulators and the CDC
• Non-infringement by the state boards of medical examiners on physicians; physicians' freedom to practice medicine
• Restore public trust in regulatory institutions

This reform isn't just administrative-it's visionary. It reflects a needed return to common sense, biochemistry, cellular health and nutrition, rather than blind allegiance to pharmaceutical paradigms and prescriptions.

✅ Final Thoughts

Dr. Wimalawansa's proposal is bold, timely, and deeply aligned with the mission of OMNS and IOM. We stand at a crossroads:

• Continue down the path of chronic disease, healthcare inflation, and overmedication, leading to escalating premature deaths

or

• Embrace a future of prevention-based, and transparency-driven, and nutrient-powered health via highly economical, holistic programs

The choice is clear. The creation of an independent Food and Nutraceutical Agency could mark the beginning of a new era-one where science, not industry interests, shapes the health of nations.

📚 Reference

1. Grant WB, Wimalawansa SJ, Pludowski P, Cheng RZ. Vitamin D: Evidence-Based Health Benefits and Recommendations for Population Guidelines. Nutrients. 2025 Jan 14;17(2):277. doi: 10.3390/nu17020277. PMID: 39861407; PMCID: PMC11767646.

2. Grant WB, Wimalawansa SJ, Pludowski P, Cheng RZ. Vitamin D: Evidence-Based Health Benefits and Recommendations for Population Guidelines. Nutrients. 2025 Jan 14;17(2):277. doi: 10.3390/nu17020277. PMID: 39861407; PMCID: PMC11767646.

3. Wimalawansa, S.J. (2025). Reforming Food, Drug, and Nutraceutical Regulations to Improve Public Health and Reduce Healthcare Costs. Foods, 14(13), 2328. https://www.mdpi.com/2304-8158/14/13/2328

📌 About the Author

Richard Z. Cheng, M.D., Ph.D. - Editor-in-Chief, Orthomolecular Medicine News Service

Dr. Cheng is a U.S.-trained and board-certified physician practicing in both the USA and China. He specializes in integrative and orthomolecular medicine, with clinical expertise in low-carb nutrition, high-dose vitamin therapy, anti-aging, and functional medicine. He also serves internationally as a medical educator, health consultant, and advocate for root-cause, nutrition-based healthcare reform.

📰 Follow his latest insights on Substack: https://substack.com/@rzchengmd

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