The Supplement Report

The Supplement Report

If you want to present a TV “news” report on dietary supplements, here are three points you MUST remember to include:

1) Supplements might hurt you
2) Supplements could be a waste of money
3) The U.S. government doesn’t regulate supplements

Last week, the local ABC affiliate here in Baltimore presented a report on the ConsumerLab multivitamin analysis I told you about in the e-Alert “No Hazmats!” (1/30/07).

That analysis was useful, but only to a point. The ConsumerLab scientists tested several brands of multis for purity, dissolvability, and content, but missed entirely on other quality measures – such as the fact that the Flintstones Complete brand (which scored high marks) contains trans fatty acids.

So when the local reporters presented their take on the ConsumerLab analysis, they made sure to hit the hot buttons, leading off with this question: “Could these vital vitamins be a waste of money, or, worse yet, could they actually hurt you?”

This was followed a moment later with the claim that supplements are not regulated by the federal government. That’s 100 percent inaccurate, of course – the government DOES regulate supplements. But for some reason, most reporters can’t grasp the simple fact that drugs and supplements are quite different and are regulated differently, as they should be.

To cap off this general misinformation about an incomplete lab analysis, the local reporter also stated that multivitamins are “meant to take the place of the fruits and vegetables we don’t always eat in our busy lives.”

Wrong again on two counts. Supplements don’t take the place of nutritious food; they “supplement” the diet with additional nutrients. The difference is subtle, but it’s important. No pill will ever take the place of fresh fruits and vegetables.

And it’s entirely off the mark to blame bad choices on being busy. If someone chooses French fries instead of carrot sticks, it’s not because they’re busy, it’s because they would rather indulge in some nice, warm, salty, crispy, buttery-tasting fries.

I’m looking forward to the day when a TV report – whether national or local – gets these points right. Until then, I’m afraid we can expect to see much more of this fill-in-the-blanks style of reporting.