You’ve heard the stories by now: New York State Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman launched a secret investigation into several dietary supplements at some of America’s biggest retailers.
But you haven’t heard the whole story. And neither has anyone else outside of Schneiderman’s office.
There may be much more going on here than meets the eye. So we’ll have to keep watching as it unfolds.
But already, blogs and commentators are using this as a way to attack all supplements. And making wild claims that simply aren’t true.
And if the result of this New York investigation makes people think for one minute that all — or even most — supplements are fake, and possibly dangerous, that would cause a lot more harm than good.
Tossing out the baby with the bathwater
What Schneiderman claimed to have found is that some of the herbal products he tested from Walgreens, Wal-mart, Target and GNC didn’t contain the ingredients listed on the label. Walmart products came out the worst.
But many are questioning the methods used to test the seized supplements in the first place.
Dr. Daniel Fabricant, executive director of the Natural Products Association, said that the testing may not have even been accurate, using the “wrong tool.” And also that the attorney general’s office has not released the full details of the study to experts for review.
The supplements were tested by looking for the DNA in the ingredients, a kind of “genetic fingerprinting.” But Dr. Pieter Cohen, an expert on supplements from Harvard Medical School, commented that the results of these tests were so “extreme” that it’s possible the plants were still present but their DNA had been destroyed during the manufacturing process.
Others are saying that the DNA testing method used doesn’t even work to identify botanical extracts, and that the expert responsible for this analysis specializes in looking for DNA in dinosaurs.
And regarding some potential allergens that Schneiderman said were found in some of the seized products, Steve Mister, president of the Council of Responsible Nutrition, said that this DNA testing doesn’t tell us how much of these ingredients were found.
That’s very important, he said, as there are legally allowable thresholds that say trace amounts of some ingredients, such as gluten, and trace amounts of DNA from things like rice and beans, are allowed and “not considered harmful.”
Those are just some of the unanswered questions that need to be answered before people start to panic and to question the value of all dietary supplements.
Of course, it’s worth noting that the old saying applies here. “You get what you pay for.”
And like anything else you can buy super cheap, be it a kid’s toy that falls apart after a day of play or a bottle of ginseng for a $1.99…it is usually worth paying for quality.
Unfortunately, Schneiderman’s investigation will likely do little more than bring all the supplement bashers out from under their rocks and ready for their 15 minutes of fame.
So here are a few things to keep in mind when you hear the talking heads all nodding in agreement about how “dangerous” supplements are.
First, the biggest misconception you’ll hear everywhere this story is covered is that supplements are “unregulated.”
Nothing could be further from the truth. It is true that supplements do not undergo finished product testing review by the FDA before they are brought to market. But the industry is heavily regulated, including ingredients and amounts that are not allowed, manufacturing standards, testing and requirements, labeling requirements, and more.
And beyond the legal requirements, there are ethical standards involved here. Everyone I know in the supplement industry takes your trust very seriously and recognizes how important it is that you know what you are taking and you get what you pay for.
That’s why, at HSI, we only work with companies that follow all of those legal and ethical standards very closely.
You’ll also be hearing how drugs are tested for “safety” before they are allowed on the market and supplements aren’t.
That is true…and there’s a good reason for that. Drugs are inherently dangerous. And supplements, which are technically food, are not.
And even with all the supposed pre-market testing that goes on, drugs still end up killing and injuring people every single day.
Beyond all the headlines and the spin, the truth is clear here: Taking the dietary supplements you need is a safe and effective way to stay healthy.
And when you purchase supplements from reliable, high quality sources that use good manufacturing processes, you should have no reason to worry.
But if you’re looking for supplements you can trust and that work, you won’t find them on the $1.99 shelf next to the water guns.
Sources:
“New York attorney general targets supplements at major retailers” Anahad O’Connor, February 3, 2015, The New York Times, well.blogs.nytimes.com
“New York AG targets herbal supplements at major retailers” February 3, 2015, Nutraceuticals World, nutraceuticalsworld.com
