Hurley, Dan

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Hurley, Dan

PERSONAL:

Married; children: one daughter.

ADDRESSES:

Home—NJ.

CAREER:

Writer, editor, and journalist. Medical Tribune, senior writer.

WRITINGS:

Natural Causes: Death, Lies, and Politics in America's Herbal Supplement Industry, Broadway Books (New York, NY), 2006.

Contributor to periodicals, including the New York Times, Houston Chronicle, Seattle Times, Men's Health, New York, Newsday, Good Housekeeping, Woman's Day, and Family Circle.

Psychology Today, former contributing editor.

SIDELIGHTS:

A journalist who focuses on issues of health and medicine, Dan Hurley presents an in-depth critique of the herbal product and dietary supplement industry in his debut book, Natural Causes: Death, Lies, and Politics in America's Herbal Supplement Industry. Demonstrating little love for the natural supplement industry, Hurley maintains that herbal supplements, vitamins, and other natural products are poorly regulated, potentially dangerous, and in general unwise to consume. He portrays the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 as an example of the worst of laws, as he alleges it prevents herbal products from being tested by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and requires only that such products make no claims of being able to cure any condition. He describes instances of political maneuvering that sustain the supplement industry. He discusses medical and scientific evidence surrounding the use of herbal products, and relates several conclusions from case studies. For example, Hurley reports that ingesting more than the federal recommended daily allowance (RDA) of vitamins can be harmful to the body. He recounts a number of alarming incidents, such as a case wherein the user of an herbal salve discovered, too late, that the substance was eating away her flesh. Ultimately, Hurley states, the best source of vitamins and healthful materials is through food, not pills or supplements, and we would be well advised to craft our diets to support our optimal health.

Hurley's book does address controversial issues, and some reviewers found considerable fault with his presentation and conclusions. "To those deciding whether this book is worthy of purchasing, I find that many of the author's claims are overblown. Some are demonstrably untrue," commented Neil E. Levin on the Now Foods Web site. For example, Levin disputed Hurley's claim that the FDA is powerless to regulate the safety and quality of dietary supplements, pointing out that supplement manufacturing facilities are FDA inspected as well as subject to state and local laws governing health and sanitation. Among his other statements, Levin also took issue with Hurley's claim that greater-than-RDA doses of vitamins were unsafe, and that the supplement Echinacea was ineffective.

Other critics, however, were more favorably disposed toward Hurley's work. The author "presents a highly readable and convincing narrative," commented Library Journal critic Dick Maxwell. He "puts all such substantive information in the context of plenty of absorbing and moving stories of death, deceit, and political chicanery," remarked Ray Olson, writing in Booklist. Business Week contributor Catherine Arnst called Natural Causes a "sometimes strident wake-up call" and an "angry and detailed exposé of the largely unregulated field" of vitamins and natural dietary supplements.