Not only has U.S. Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) been making quite an impression during the recent Republican presidential debates, he's introduced a bill that would curb restrictions imposed by the FDA and FTC regarding health claims for dietary supplements.

The Health Freedom Protection Act would prevent the FDA from censoring truthful claims about the curative or preventative effect of dietary supplements, a popular issue for Americans but not necessarily Congressmen, especially for those receiving donations from the mega-drug company cartel.

According to this interesting Lew Rockwell report, one of the more recent flashpoints in the debate over dietary supplements occurred eight years ago after studies emerged that tart cherries may do more good than aspirin or other anti-inflammatory drugs when it comes to pain relief.

When cherry growers began to cite this research, the FDA came down hard on 29 of them, threatening legal action if they didn't remove the scientific evidence about cherries from their Web sites. At the very same time the FDA was harassing cherry farmers, the agency was approving the heart-stopping drug, Vioxx that was pulled from the American market in 2004.

I can only hope Dr. Paul's pending legislation will gain traction in Congress, despite the efforts of legislators and some heavy-handed agencies to protect the interests of big business at the expense of your health. In the meantime, there are plenty of safer, healthier alternatives to treat your pain without the need for a heart-stopping drug.