What the ...? FDA says walnuts are illegal drugs?

FDA bases their advice on money

I think you need to re-read that article. They are not claiming walnuts to be drugs. They are calling out the manufacturer on their claims.

FDA approves the HCG diet. That alone should be self explanatory.

Wow that is insane, going to go throw out all the nuts and go stock up on heart healthy frito lay products... NOT!!!

FDA bases their advice on money

Which is exactly why Honey Nut Cheerios can put "Heart Healthy" and a nifty little AHA logo on their box.

Thank for the post! I read this article and this author is pretty upset with the FDA and it shows in what he writes, but in regard to Walnuts reducing heart disease the FDA are basically saying: There is not enough research to label their nuts with the claim the their nuts will decrease your risk of heart disease. If this guy is upset with the way in which the FDA makes it decisions to support or not support a product's claim to make people healthier than he should talk about that fact. Now I personally think that the FDA does NOT do the best job of protecting the public and do not nessesarily leave it up to the FDA weather or not I will use a product for me or my family. I do my own research. No where did I find Walnuts classified as a drug by the FDA- that is simply NOT true. Their is a published study about horses being injected with a black walnut extract that was being tested for cardiac disease treatment and possible effects on the heart.

This is all I could find on the FDA's website:

Based on FDA's reassessment of the scientific evidence subsequent to our initial July 14, 2003 qualified health claim enforcement discretion decision, the agency still concludes that there is not significant scientific agreement that the claim "Diets including walnuts can reduce the risk of heart disease" is supported by the totality of publicly available scientific evidence. Thus, FDA will consider exercising enforcement discretion for a qualified claim as presented below:

Supportive but not conclusive research shows that eating 1.5 ounces per day of walnuts, as part of a low saturated fat and low cholesterol diet and not resulting in increased caloric intake, may reduce the risk of coronary heart disease. See nutrition information for fat [and calorie] content.
In the above claim, use of the bracketed phrase "and calorie" is optional in that FDA does not intend for the presence or absence of such phrase to be a factor in whether it considers enforcement discretion for the use of the qualified health claim. FDA considered that this additional information might be beneficial to consumers to heighten their awareness of the caloric contribution from walnuts and encourages companies to include it in product labeling.

In FDA's July 14, 2003 letter to you, FDA included an additional qualified health claim statement that included "most nuts, such as walnuts"(6) as the subject of the claim. However, in reconsidering the basis for the exercise of our enforcement discretion, FDA has concluded that since walnuts, and not nuts in general, are the subject of the qualified health claim for which we have determined there is some credible supporting evidence, we are not including, as part of this enforcement discretion decision, this additional qualified health claim statement.