SACRAMENTO, California — KHN has uncovered that the wife of a lawmaker from Northern California died late last year after swallowing a plant that is widely seen as safe and used as a herbal cure for a range of diseases, including diabetes, obesity, and high cholesterol.
Lori McClintock, the wife of U.S. Representative Tom McClintock, died of dehydration due to gastroenteritis — an inflammation of the stomach and intestines — caused by “adverse effects of white mulberry leaf ingestion,” according to a report from the Sacramento County coroner dated March 10 but not immediately made public. In July, KHN got this report, along with the autopsy report and a revised death certificate with an updated cause of death.
The coroner’s office determined that her death was accidental. The initial death certificate, dated December 20, 2021, specified “pending” as the cause of death.
Tom and Lori McClintock after casting their votes in Newbury Park, California, on October 7, 2003. UNIQUE UT/AP
According to the coroner’s findings, Tom McClintock, a Republican who represents various counties in northern and central California, discovered his 61-year-old wife comatose in their Elk Grove, California, home on December 15, 2021. He had just returned from Washington, D.C., where he had voted the night before in Congress.
According to the autopsy report, it is unknown if Lori McClintock took a nutritional supplement containing white mulberry leaf, ate fresh or dried leaves, or drank them in a tea, but a “mostly intact” white mulberry leaf was detected in her stomach.
McClintock’s death highlights the dangers of the enormous, burgeoning market of nutritional supplements and herbal treatments, which has grown to a $54 billion industry in the United States – a business that politicians and health care experts agree requires more government oversight.
“Many individuals believe that if a product is offered in the United States of America, it has been inspected and is safe. Sadly, this is not usually the case “Senator Richard Durbin (D-Illinois) stated on the Senate floor this past spring when he sponsored legislation to improve monitoring of nutritional supplements.
Daniel Fabricant, the CEO and president of the Natural Products Association, which promotes the industry of dietary supplements, questioned whether McClintock’s death was caused by a supplement.
“It is entirely speculative. This is a scientific endeavor. It is not only how a coroner feels, “During the Obama administration, Fabricant, who oversees nutritional supplements at the FDA, stated the following. Every day, sadly, people die of dehydration, and there are a variety of causes and reasons.
Fabricant stated that it would have been great if the coroner or the family had reported her death to the FDA so that an investigation could have been begun.
Such reports are voluntary, and it is unclear whether anyone notified the agency of her passing. Courtney Rhodes, a representative for the FDA, stated that the agency does not discuss potential or ongoing investigations.
Fabricant said that the FDA has a procedure in place to review deaths that may be related to a supplement or medication. “Casework,” he stated. It is necessary to perform decent, old-fashioned policing.
Since announcing his wife’s death in a statement on December 19, 2021, and paying respect to her at her funeral on January 4, 2022, Tom McClintock has stayed largely silent regarding her passing. The cause of death was not previously reported.
Wednesday, despite several calls and emails, Tom McClintock was not immediately available for comment.
McClintock informed mourners at his wife’s burial that she was healthy when he spoke with her the day before his return. She told a pal that she was “on a roll” at her new work in a Sacramento real estate agency, which she adored, and that she was “carefully dieting.”
“She recently joined a gym,” he reported. At home, she was counting down the days before Christmas, wrapping all the gifts, and making preparations to make it the finest family Christmas ever.
According to the coroner’s report, she complained of an unsettled stomach the day before her death.
Wednesday by email, Sacramento County spokesman Kim Nava stated that the law bars the coroner’s office from revealing certain case-specific data. As part of a death inquiry, the office “attempts to find and analyze medical documents and to interview family/witnesses,” she said.
Nava stated that if any prescriptions or supplements are discovered at the scene or if there is important information in the individual’s medical records, these are forwarded on to the pathologist to help determine the cause of death.
She stated, “Any information obtained from medical records cannot be disclosed to a third party without a court order.”
The leaves and fruit of the native Chinese white mulberry tree have been utilized in traditional Chinese medicine for millennia. In tests conducted over the past decade, it was discovered that the leaf extract can reduce blood sugar levels and aid in weight loss. As an extract or powder, it is consumed in capsule or pill form or as a powder. They can also make herbal tea from the leaves.
Lori McClintock’s response appears peculiar. According to the American Association of Poison Control Centers, no deaths attributed to the white mulberry plant have been reported in the past decade.
Since 2012, 148 incidents of white mulberry plant ingestion have been voluntarily reported to national poison control officials, with the majority being unintentional ingestion by children under 12 years old, according to the association’s clinical managing director, Kaitlyn Brown. She stated that only one case required medical follow-up.
While poison control centers monitor white mulberry plant exposures, the FDA regulates dietary supplements, such as those containing white mulberry leaf extract. Two cases of mulberry supplement-related illness have been reported to the FDA since 2004, according to its database of “adverse events.” It mainly relies on reports voluntarily submitted by health care providers and consumers. One of these cases resulted in hospitalization.
According to study, white mulberry leaf side effects include nausea and diarrhea. McClintock’s body contained high amounts of nitrogen, salt, and creatinine, all of which are indicators of dehydration, according to three pathologists who reviewed the coroner’s paperwork, which KHN blacked out to remove McClintock’s name.
Dr. D’Michelle DuPre, a retired forensic pathologist and former medical examiner in South Carolina who reviewed the documents, stated that white mulberry leaves “do tend to cause dehydration, and one of the uses for that is to help someone lose weight, primarily through fluid loss, which in this case was kind of excessive.”
The FDA regulates dietary supplements, which include a variety of vitamins, herbs, and minerals. However, because they are categorized as food, they are not subject to the rigorous scientific and safety testing required by the government for prescription drugs and over-the-counter medications.
Some lawmakers are concerned that neither the FDA nor the industry knows how many dietary supplements are on the market, making it nearly impossible for the government to monitor them and penalize bad actors.
The FDA believes that between 40,000 and 80,000 supplement items are available in the United States, while industry surveys suggest that 80% of Americans utilize them.
Durbin and U.S. Sen. Mike Braun (R-Indiana) have introduced legislation that would require manufacturers to register with the FDA and provide a public list of ingredients in their products. The Council for Responsible Nutrition, another industry group that represents supplement manufacturers, supports these provisions.
The council, meanwhile, is campaigning against a section that would oblige supplement manufacturers to furnish consumers with the constituent proportions — or blend — in their products. They argue that this would be tantamount to handing competitors a recipe. This is confidential information that only government authorities should have access to, according to Megan Olsen, senior vice president and general counsel for the organization.
Olsen explained that dietary supplement businesses are subject to the same FDA labeling rules and inspections as other food firms. In addition, they must notify the FDA of any adverse effects identified by consumers or physicians.
“Companies test items throughout the production process, examining how they are created and what goes into them,” Olsen explained. All of these aspects are governed by FDA regulations.
Dietary supplement provisions were incorporated into a wider Senate health committee bill that reauthorizes FDA programs, and senators are currently in negotiations with the House. The Natural Products Association opposes any provisions regarding dietary supplements.
Due to the fact that diet pills, teas, and other dietary supplements are classified as food products, producers cannot market them as treatments or remedies for health conditions. However, they may make claims regarding the supplements’ effects on the body. Some supplement manufacturers market white mulberry leaf extract as a natural cure that can reduce blood sugar levels and encourage weight reduction, so a person who wants to lose weight or get their diabetes under control may reach for a bottle of the extract.
According to Debbie Petitpain, a registered dietitian nutritionist and spokesman for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, these types of claims are enticing to Americans and were especially potent during the pandemic, when people sought to enhance their immune system and fend off covid-19.
But dietary supplements can be hazardous and do not have the same effect on everyone. According to the FDA, combining supplements and prescription medicines can exacerbate the problem.
“I believe that many individuals are thinking, “Oh, it’s a plant.” Or, ‘Oh, it’s only a vitamin. Clearly, this signifies that it will not harm me,’ “Petitpain replied. However, there is always a danger while undertaking anything.
It is unknown why Lori McClintock consumed white mulberry leaf. Friends and family who attended her funeral recalled her as a vivacious, joyful woman who loved her family and her career and who had already placed Christmas gifts under the tree by mid-December. In retirement, she intended to purchase a recreational van with her husband.
Tom McClintock addressed mourners, “We lament the loss because of all the things she was looking forward to achieving and the many years ahead.” “And we grieve for something else, because we’ve all lost a genuinely good person in our lives.”
KHN, which publishes California Healthline, an editorially independent service of the California Health Care Foundation, generated this article.
KHN (Kaiser Health News) is a national news organization that delivers in-depth health-related journalism. KHN, with Policy Analysis and Polling, is one of KFF’s three primary running programs (Kaiser Family Foundation). KFF is an endowed nonprofit organization that provides information on national health issues.