International Journal
of Human Nutrition and
Functional Medicine
International Journal of Human Nutrition and Functional Medicine® www.IntJHumNutrFunctMed.org
(ISSN 2378-4881) is published and © copyrighted by the
International College of Human Nutrition and Functional Medicine® www.ICHNFM.ORG
North America • Latinoamerica • Europe
International Journal of Human Nutrition and Functional Medicine (ISSN 2378-4881) ICHNFM.ORG/journal
Editorial • Informed Consent • Medical Politics • Industry Influence • Direct to Consumer Advertising
(DTCA) • Ethics • Military-Industrial Complex • Private and Industry Influence in Education
Pharma Echo Chamber, Sociopolitical Matrix,
and Power Vortex: A Diagram-Centric
Conceptualization
Alex Vasquez DO ND DC FACN
Current Status of Vortex Diagram and Descriptions Data and Citations
Due to escalating political misbehavior in March 2019, 1. Medical journals are inherently biased toward
the main diagram has been updated and is now being publishing drug-praising articles that can also
further developed and more widely distributed. This serve as advertisements and infomercials for the
version was updated on March 3, 2019, and updated pharmaceutical industry, which commonly pays
versions will be periodically uploaded to the archival millions of dollars for journal reprints: Medical
website: https://www.academia.edu/38476348 journals/organizations publish pro-drug research
which becomes paid advertising when the drug
Previous versions companies buy reprints or direct advertising for
1. This diagram originated spontaneously during the millions of dollars (Smith, PLOS Medicine 2005).
production of a review—titled “Introduction to 2. Headline-making newspapers, magazines, and
#Cardionutrition: Kidney Stones and the Ketogenic television programs re-publish pro-drug
Diet”—published in video and text format in 2018. information to the delight of their drug advertisers:
2. The diagram was again published with additional Positive news about drugs and vaccines is headlined
explanation in a peer-reviewed editorial published in and featured, while actionable information about
2019: Vasquez A, Pizzorno J. Concerns About The nutrition is unavailable or tainted with controversy.
Integrity of The Scientific Research Process—Focus Medicine-positive television features "medical heroes"
On Recent Negative Publications Regarding Nutrition, reinforcing medical authority, medical dependency,
Multivitamins, Fish Oil And Cardiovascular Disease. and the drugs-as-salvation paradigms. News stories
Integrative Medicine 2019 Feb; 8-15 highlighting fear of infectious diseases serve to
maintain constant fear, medical dependency, and
Commentary xenophobia (e.g., "Africanized" bees, Zika, El Niño,
The recent censorship of information that has occurred— Asian flu, Xenophobia: Ebola Stigma, Discrimination
originating from the United States but also influencing for Africans. Time Magazine 2014). Many of these
access to information worldwide—requires commentary, stories are revealed as lies after they have served their
context and concrete documentation of its existence. political purposes; PolitiFact named the panicked US
Perhaps the most important contribution of this response to Ebola as the 2014 "Lie of the Year", Time
article is the demonstration of the interconnectedness Magazine 2014.
of the systems that originate and sustain thought- 3. Science and popular media become an echo
control and intellectual censorship in what otherwise chamber of biased pro-drug propaganda; drug
might appear to be democratic societies. This article companies pay US politicians to promote pro-drug
contends that information requires context and that while laws (e.g., mandatory vaccinations), protect drug
isolated facts may be very important by themselves they companies from liability (e.g., National Childhood
cannot be more important or influential than their overall Vaccine Injury Act of 1986), and promote
context and the resulting synergistic-exponential international expansion of US drug sales. US
influence they produce; furthermore, the appreciation of politicians gag and censure free speech on topics
these components that occur over time establishes that related to medical dangers by pressuring bookstores
these events are systematic and coordinated rather than and social media to burn books and ban documentary
incidental and isolated. films. Documentary and case report films of vaccine-
induced injury and death are labeled “anti-vaccine
movies” and are disappeared from bookstores and
Source: International Journal of Human Nutrition and Functional Medicine ® (IJHNFM) http://www.ichnfm.org/journal is published by the
International College of Human Nutrition and Functional Medicine ® (ICHNFM). Copyrights © held by the author(s) and ICHNFM.ORG
Citation: Vasquez A. Pharma Echo Chamber, Sociopolitical Matrix, and Power Vortex: A Diagram-Centric Conceptualization. Int J Hum Nutr
Funct Med 2019;7:2 https://www.ichnfm.org/ijhnfm2019 Externally archived at https://www.academia.edu/38476348
Vasquez A. Pharma Echo Chamber, Sociopolitical Matrix, and Power Vortex. Int J Hum Nutr Funct Med 2019;7:2 ichnfm.org/ijhnfm2019
media outlets. (CNN Business 2019). This Price of “Free” Trade: U.S. Trade Agreements and
government-representative-directed action must be Access to Medicines. Journal of Law, Medicine &
noted as a violation of the First Amendment of the Ethics 2013. "The United State seeks to redesign
United States Constitution that explicitly protects “free national health care systems in its own image... By
speech” among American citizens; in the 2019 concluding bilateral and regional agreements, the
situation, the books and documentary films were United States is gaining greater influence over the
effectively banned from public access when a US domestic health care and drug coverage programs of
politician sent a “warning letter” to various social its trading partners... The U.S. (and Australian)
media platforms and media retailers, thereby using pharmaceutical industry perceived a free trade
government influence to restrict privately-distributed agreement to present an opportunity to undermine the
access to information. U.S. Constitution, First evidence-based, strict and effective procedures
Amendment: "Congress shall make no law respecting underpinning Australia’s Pharmaceutical Benefits
an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free Scheme (PBS)... After the treaty’s conclusion,
exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, however, drug manufacturers expressed delight with
or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to the implications for prices, profits and investment...
assemble, and to petition the government for a redress Free trade agreements reflect the U.S.’ enduring
of grievances." adherence to market-based solutions, coupled with a
4. Drug companies become more profitable and conviction that government intervention is
therefore more powerful than governments. Drug unnecessary and unhelpful. Thus the U.S. Trade
companies utilize US political and military power by Representative is mandated to pursue “the elimination
influencing international trade agreements, eg, of government measures such as price controls and
enforcing mandatory drug/vaccine policies, reference pricing which deny full market access for
dismantling consumer protections, replicating US's United States products” in overseas markets. This is
healthcare bureaucracy, expense, risk; note the despite the U.S. health care system itself exhibiting the
Orwellian description of vaccines as "weapons of mass characteristics of market failure... enabling triple
protection" (Milstien et al, Health Affairs 2006) and damages for patent violations... The United States
the deployment of military forces under the banner of deploys an aggressive trade agenda to expand markets
humanitarian health aid (National armies for global for U.S. goods and services " Tully SR. Free Trade
health? Lancet 2014) Agreements with The United States: 8 Lessons For
5. Drug companies infiltrate media, television shows, Prospective Parties From Australia’s Experience.
education, and public policy. Defunding public British Journal of American Legal Studies 2016.
science forces schools and journals to rely on pharma "There is growing international concern about the risks
funding. Drug companies pay "researchers", posed by direct-to-consumer advertising (DTCA) of
professors, and editors to publish and teach prescription pharmaceuticals, including via the
information favorable to the drug paradigm and internet. Recent trade agreements negotiated by the
products; medical schools love to receive funding from United States, however, incorporate provisions that
drug companies. Medical students and doctors are kept may constrain national regulation of DTCA. Some
insanely busy, exhausted, suicidally provisions explicitly mention DTCA; others enable
depressed/stressed, and fearfully compliant; anyone foreign investors to seek compensation if new
who questions the drug paradigm, especially vaccines, regulations are seen to harm their investments."
is a target for censure, expulsion. US medical Gleeson D, Menkes DB. Trade Agreements and
physicians have the highest rates of suicide of any Direct-to-Consumer Advertising of Pharmaceuticals.
profession. (Physicians Experience Highest Suicide International Journal of Health Policy and
Rate of Any Profession. Medscape 2018) Management 2013. "Opposition to Breast-Feeding
6. International political agreements are written to Resolution by U.S. Stuns World Health Officials. …
the favor of drug companies rather than to the When that failed, they turned to threats, according to
citizens of those countries: Notice the language of diplomats and government officials who took part in
such "free trade" agreements, "seek the elimination of the discussions. Ecuador, which had planned to
government measures such as price controls and introduce the measure, was the first to find itself in the
reference pricing which deny full market access for cross hairs. The Americans were blunt: If Ecuador
United States products in overseas markets... refused to drop the resolution, Washington would
legalizing direct to consumer advertising (DTCA) via unleash punishing trade measures and withdraw
the internet: Each Party shall permit a pharmaceutical crucial military aid. The Ecuadorean government
manufacturer to disseminate… information regarding quickly acquiesced." Opposition to Breast-Feeding
its pharmaceuticals that are approved for sale in the Resolution by U.S. Stuns World Health Officials. New
Party’s territory…" Lopert R, Gleeson D. The High York Times 2018 "Global health experts say breast
Vasquez A. Pharma Echo Chamber, Sociopolitical Matrix, and Power Vortex. Int J Hum Nutr Funct Med 2019;7:2 ichnfm.org/ijhnfm2019
milk is especially important for babies in poor Current status of Vortex Diagram
countries, where unsafe water supplies can make This article is currently being updated, cited and
powdered infant formula dangerous. The Trump substantiated. This version was updated on March 3,
administration’s aggressive attempts to water down an 2019, and upcoming versions will be uploaded to the
international resolution supporting breast-feeding go archival website: https://www.academia.edu/38476348
against decades of advice by most medical
organizations and public health experts." Trump
Stance on Breast-Feeding and Formula Criticized by
Medical Experts. New York Times July 9, 2018
Citations:
1. Vasquez A. Introduction to #Cardionutrition: Kidney Stones and the Ketogenic Diet.
academia.edu/36947369/Introduction_to_Cardionutrition_Kidney_Stones_and_the_Ketogenic_Diet
2. Vasquez A, Pizzorno J. Concerns About the Integrity of The Scientific Research Process. Integrative Medicine 2019
Feb; 8-15 https://www.ichnfm.org/public
3. Smith R (2005) Medical Journals Are an Extension of the Marketing Arm of Pharmaceutical Companies. PLoS Med
2(5): e138. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.0020138
4. Sanburn J. Ebola Brings Another Fear: Xenophobia. Time Magazine. October 29, 2014
http://time.com/3544130/ebola-panic-xenophobia/
5. Liljas P. PolitiFact named the panicked US response to Ebola as the 2014 "Lie of the Year", Time Magazine Dec 16,
2014 http://time.com/3635315/ebola-lie-of-the-year/ see also Angie Drobnic Holan, Aaron Sharockman. PolitiFact
names its 2014 Lie of the Year. https://www.politifact.com/texas/article/2014/dec/15/politifact-names-its-2014-lie-
year-tx/ Monday, December 15th, 2014
6. Sarlin J. Anti-vaccine movies disappear from Amazon after CNN Business report. CNN Business. March 1, 2019
https://edition.cnn.com/2019/03/01/tech/amazon-anti-vaccine-movies-schiff/index.html
7. Milstien JB, Kaddar M, Kieny MP. The impact of globalization on vaccine development and availability. Health Aff
(Millwood). 2006 Jul-Aug;25(4):1061-9 https://doi.org/10.1377/hlthaff.25.4.1061
8. “The stated aims of the DoD have moved from just protecting the health of US forces and US citizens from security
threats to “partnering with other nations to achieve security cooperation and build partner capacity”. But this concept
reflects the challenges posed by placing military personnel in sites of public health emergencies: the goals of
deployments are in support of military strategy rather than as a purely humanitarian action. The use of the military
for humanitarian operations is not militarily, politically, or legally neutral. Peacekeeping with combat troops has often
proved to be a complicated arrangement and at times at odds with humanitarian needs and sometimes a precursor
to hostility.” National armies for global health? Lancet. 2014 Oct 25;384(9953):1477. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-
6736(14)61923-1
9. "With one completed suicide every day, US physicians have the highest suicide rate of any profession. In addition,
the number of physician suicides is more than twice that of the general population, new research shows." Anderson
P. Physicians Experience Highest Suicide Rate of Any Profession. Medscape May 07, 2018
https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/896257
10. Lopert R, Gleeson D. The High Price of “Free” Trade: U.S. Trade Agreements and Access to Medicines. Journal of
Law, Medicine & Ethics 2013 Apr, 199-223 https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1111/jlme.12014
11. Tully SR. Free Trade Agreements with The United States: 8 Lessons For Prospective Parties From Australia’s
Experience. British Journal of American Legal Studies 2016 Dec, 395-418 https://doi.org/10.1515/bjals-2016-0014
12. Gleeson D, Menkes DB. Trade Agreements and Direct-to-Consumer Advertising of Pharmaceuticals. International
Journal of Health Policy and Management 2013 Feb, 98-100 http://dx.doi.org/10.15171/ijhpm.2017.124 and
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5819384/
13. Jacobs A. Opposition to Breast-Feeding Resolution by U.S. Stuns World Health Officials. New York Times July 8,
2018 https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/08/health/world-health-breastfeeding-ecuador-trump.html
14. Rabin CR. Trump Stance on Breast-Feeding and Formula Criticized by Medical Experts. New York Times July 9,
2018 https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/09/well/breastfeeding-trump-resolution.html
About the author and presenter: Alex Kennerly Vasquez DO ND DC (USA), Fellow of the American College of
Nutrition (FACN), Overseas Fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine: An award-winning clinician-scholar and
founding Program Director of the world's first fully-accredited university-based graduate program in Human Nutrition and
Functional Medicine, Dr Alex Vasquez is recognized internationally for his high intellectual and academic standards and
for his expertise spanning and interconnecting many topics in medicine and nutrition. Dr Vasquez holds three doctoral
degrees as a graduate of University of Western States (Doctor of Chiropractic, 1996), Bastyr University (Doctor of
Naturopathic Medicine, 1999), and University of North Texas Health Science Center, Texas College of Osteopathic
Medicine (Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine, 2010). Dr Vasquez has completed hundreds of hours of post-graduate and
continuing education in subjects including Obstetrics, Pediatrics, Basic and Advanced Disaster Life Support, Nutrition
and Functional Medicine; while in the final year of medical school, Dr Vasquez completed a Pre-Doctoral Research
Vasquez A. Pharma Echo Chamber, Sociopolitical Matrix, and Power Vortex. Int J Hum Nutr Funct Med 2019;7:2 ichnfm.org/ijhnfm2019
Fellowship in Complementary and Alternative Medicine Research hosted by the US National Institutes of Health (NIH).
Dr Vasquez is the author of many textbooks, including Integrative Orthopedics (2004, 2007 2012), Functional Medicine
Rheumatology (Third Edition, 2014), Musculoskeletal Pain: Expanded Clinical Strategies (commissioned and published
by Institute for Functional Medicine, 2008), Chiropractic and Naturopathic Mastery of Common Clinical Disorders (2009),
Integrative Medicine and Functional Medicine for Chronic Hypertension (2011), Brain Inflammation in Migraine and
Fibromyalgia (2016), Mitochondrial Nutrition and Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress in Primary Care, 2nd Edition (2014),
Antiviral Strategies and Immune Nutrition (2014), Mastering mTOR (2015), Autism, Dysbiosis, and the Gut-Brain Axis
(2017) and the 1200-page Inflammation Mastery 4th Edition (2016) also published as a two-volume set titled Textbook of
Clinical Nutrition and Functional Medicine. "DrV" has also written approximately 100 letters and articles for professional
magazines and medical journals such as TheLancet.com, British Medical Journal (BMJ), Annals of Pharmacotherapy,
Nutritional Perspectives, Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics (JMPT), Journal of the American
Medical Association (JAMA), Original Internist, Integrative Medicine, Holistic Primary Care, Alternative Therapies in
Health and Medicine, Journal of the American Osteopathic Association (JAOA), Dynamic Chiropractic, Journal of Clinical
Endocrinology and Metabolism, Current Asthma and Allergy Reports, Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice,
Nature Reviews Rheumatology, Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, and Arthritis & Rheumatism, the Official
Journal of the American College of Rheumatology. Dr Vasquez lectures internationally to healthcare professionals and
has a consulting practice and service for doctors and patients. DrV has served as a consultant, product designer, writer
and lecturer for Biotics Research Corporation since 2004. Having served on the Review Boards for Journal of Pain
Research, Autoimmune Diseases, PLOS One, Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine, Neuropeptides,
International Journal of Clinical Medicine, Journal of Inflammation Research, BMC Complementary and Alternative
Medicine (all PubMed/Medline indexed), Integrated Blood Pressure Control, Journal of Biological Physics and Chemistry,
and Journal of Naturopathic Medicine and as the founding Editor of Naturopathy Digest, Dr Vasquez is currently the
Editor (2013-) of International Journal of Human Nutrition and Functional Medicine and Editor (2018-present) of Journal
of Orthomolecular Medicine, published for more than 50 consecutive years by the International Society for
Orthomolecular Medicine.
Vasquez A. Pharma Echo Chamber, Sociopolitical Matrix, and Power Vortex. Int J Hum Nutr Funct Med 2019;7:2 ichnfm.org/ijhnfm2019
International Journal of Human Nutrition and Functional Medicine is a peer-reviewed evidence-based
clinically-oriented publication produced quarterly with periodic special releases in print and/or digital formats
(per author request/permission and Editor judgment), available as pay-per-issue, free/open access, or as a
membership benefit (included or discounted), in English and/or other languages. As the title of the journal
indicates, the focus of the journal is human nutrition (i.e., we publish only human-referent information, not
animal studies; however, we will publish translational summaries of new animal research) and functional
medicine, a broad clinical and conceptual discipline that seeks to protect, restore, and optimize human health by
appreciating human physiology’s systems biology construct and thus the necessity of addressing the totality of
factors that influence health and disease outcomes in the psyche and soma of individual patients as well as the
social corpus of local and international groups of persons. The journal is dynamic and adaptive; updated
information about the journal is available on-line at the website www.IntJHumNutrFunctMed.org. Statement
of Social Responsibility: Due to the recent mis-use of science and the misuse of prominent positions to mis-
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physical health and psychosocial freedom, both of which are required for the optimization of human potential
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Notable publications in 2014— Lab Fraud in Functional Medicine, ISIFMC Position on HPS2-THRIVE;
Unified Antiviral Strategy, Metabolic Correction: www.ichnfm.org/journal
Journal title, ISSN: International Journal of Human Nutrition and Functional Medicine
ISSN: 2378-4881
Abbreviation: Int J Hum Nutr Funct Med
Websites: www.IntJHumNutrFunctMed.org moved to www.ICHNFM.ORG/journal
Facebook.com https://www.facebook.com/IJHNFM and https://www.facebook.com/ICHNFM
Editor-in-Chief Alex Vasquez DC ND DO FACN
Inaugural Review Sergio Abanades MS MD PhD, Michael Gonzalez MS MHSN DSc PhD FACN, Ryan
Staff—see website Bradley ND MPH, Jill Carnahan MD, Deanna Minich PhD FACN, David H Haase MD,
for updated list of Steve Hickey PhD, Jorge R Miranda-Massari DrPh, Tim Jackson DPT CNS, Dorothy D
reviewers Zeviar EdD LAc MPH CPH, Kenneth Cintron MD, Annette D'Armata NMD, Tariq Shafi
MD, Joseph Iaccino DC MS, Nick Karapasas DC, Jerry Bailey DC MS, Ismael Samudio
PhD, Pedro Bastos MA MS (PhD candidate at Lund University, Sweden), Maelan Fontes
MS (PhD candidate at Lund University, Sweden), Terri Ward CPA, MS, Sayer Ji BA,
Julie Jean BS BSN RN, Thomas Easley, Mathieu Bouchard
Now available from ICHNFM (discount on the paper/print version:
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Print discount: http://www.ichnfm.org/im4
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and without fear for newer and richer
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