VITAMIN AND NUTRITIONAL SUPPLEMENT SAFETY ALERT!

[Guest guest]

VITAMIN AND NUTRITIONAL SUPPLEMENT SAFETY

ALERT!

 

Recent Tests Reveal Shockingly

High Incidence of LABELS THAT LIE!

 

The facts are frightening, but undeniable, as recently

revealed and documented by ConsumerLab, the leading source for

independent test results of vitamins, nutritional supplements and herbal

health products: 1 out of every 4 supplements or nutrition products

tested by ConsumerLab does not contain what is on the label, may be

contaminated, or does not properly release its ingredients!

Here are some alarming examples from ConsumerLab's latest test-report

findings: The ginkgo biloba supplement with a recommended daily dosage

that contained 30 times more lead than the state of California

permits without a warning label. That's more lead than the average person

is exposed to in an entire week!

 

The popular children's vitamin with dangerously high levels of

vitamin A­enough to weaken a growing child's bones.

Chondroitin products that may not relieve your joint pain because

testing showed they contain much less chondroitin than advertised. In

fact, one product contained no chondroitin at all!

Green tea may or may not help prevent cancer. But what was discovered

about 3 of the 4 green tea supplements tested is enough to

convince you to stop taking them forever.

Consumers buy echinacea to fight colds and the flu. But 4 popular

brands contained up to 75% less phenols­the key bioactive

ingredient­than their labels claim. Isolated examples? If only they were. In fact, tests further

revealed the following highly dangerous contaminants among

" health " supplements analyzed, some of them from major brand

names: Lead, Mercury, Arsenic,Toxic Metals, Pesticides and Fumigants ...

and more

 

We contacted Dr. Tod Cooperman, president of ConsumerLab.com and a noted

researcher, writer and expert on consumer health care issues, to find out

what he has learned about government oversight of the supplement industry

after years of intensive study. (note from me - Consumerlab.com looks

pretty interesting. It's worth a look-see.

 

http://www.consumerlab.com/)

Here's the statement he sent us:

 

 

 

A National Scandal:

Why Consumer Protection Must Be a Do-it-Yourself Project When It Comes to

Vitamins and Dietary Supplements By Tod Cooperman, MD

It was when I was studying to become a medical doctor that I first

came to understand what a huge problem Americans face because vitamins,

herbs and other dietary supplements are not regularly tested or regulated

by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)­or any other government

organization, for that matter.

In contrast to prescription drugs, which must successfully pass an

extensive checklist of requirements to the satisfaction of the FDA before

they can be released, and are then subject to close monitoring to ensure

public safety, the regulation of supplements is virtually

nonexistent.

 

Although supplement labels are supposed to state exactly what's in

the package, no government agency routinely checks for compliance.

 

Manufacturers are permitted to make general, government-approved

statements about ways their products may help or maintain normal body

functioning, but they are not required to back the statements with

research or provide information about proper uses, adverse effects or

risks.

Supplements are not required to be manufactured under specific

standardized conditions.

In 1994, the FDA was given the authorization to issue regulations on how

supplements should be made. But for 13 years it delayed and delayed, and

only recently, in 2007, did it finally publish a set of rules.

Unfortunately, these rules have a lot of weaknesses. Their main focus is

on manufacturers' record keeping, but­amazingly­they include no basic

standards for purity or how to test for ingredients.

Still worse, the is that the FDA hasn't allocated the resources

needed to see that the regulations are properly enforced.

PROBLEM: Supplements that contain too little, poor quality or even

none of the active ingredient they claim to contain­even those advertised

as " high potency. "

For example, in ConsumerLab's tests a whopping 73% of the supplements

that claimed to contain chondroitin failed to receive an

" Approved " rating. In fact, scarcely any chondroitin (only

1%–8%) of the claimed amount was found in three products, and none at all

could be detected in a fourth product. Unfortunately, this is not

an isolated case; the same problem exists with other supplements besides

chondroitin.

PROBLEM: Dangerously incorrect dosage levels.

This danger typically involves too much of an active ingredient, as

in the children's multivitamin that tests revealed to contain a huge 216%

of the labeled amount of vitamin A­a toxic level. Too much vitamin A can

cause abnormalities in the liver, central nervous system, bone and skin,

and even modestly excessive doses can cause birth defects in pregnant

women.

PROBLEM: Misleading or insufficient ingredient information.

A concern more common in products claiming to be special

" formulas, " " blends, " or " complexes, "

because those descriptions can be used to hide the real facts. Example:

The label that indicated each dosage of the pills inside contained 1,000

mg of a " pyruvate formula, " when, in fact, the pills were only

about 600 mg pyruvate.

PROBLEM: Misleading or unsupported health claims.

Dishonest or deceptive claims cheat you financially and medically.

Most commonly, this involves labels that make unsupported claims about

treating or preventing a disease or health problem­like the supplements

and skin gels claiming the ability to cause weight-loss of more than 20

pounds.

PROBLEM: Contamination.

Possible contaminants include pesticides, microorganisms, heavy

metals, manufacturing by-products and even plants harvested accidentally,

all of which can pose serious risks of a toxic or carcinogenic nature.

For example, 3 out of the 13 ginkgo biloba products tested by ConsumerLab

were found to have lead contamination; one of them had a recommended

daily dosage that contained 30 times more lead than the state of

California permits without a warning label­more lead than the average

person is exposed to in an entire week!

PROBLEM: Pills and tablets that fail to release their ingredients

properly.

Pills that don't disintegrate properly can't be absorbed by the body,

so even if the ingredients are of good quality and in the right amounts,

you're not getting what you paid for. ConsumerLab found one multivitamin

for women, manufactured by a leading brand, that required more than an

hour to break apart properly­twice as long as the time period established

as the acceptable limit by the U.S. Pharmacopoeia (USP).

PROBLEM: Special dangers posed by herbal supplements.

With only a few exceptions, herbal remedies are largely unregulated

and not required to meet standards of safety and purity. Furthermore,

unlike most manufactured supplements and drugs, herbal products are by

nature complex mixtures of chemicals, so it is difficult to find

standardized sources. For example, of the 10 St. John's wort products

submitted for testing by ConsumerLab only 3 received a passing score.

[Guest guest]

This is not surprising as I've been in the supplement industry since

1983 and am continually appauled at some companies and the BS they

strew about. I tested an electrolyte product once made by a

competitor and found that the label claims and the actual content of

the bottle were so far apart that the product needed to be put in the

fiction category. I have seen numerous " male enhancement " products

contain viagra, cialis or levitra in them. It is a lack of honesty

amongst a few companies and their manufacturers that pull the entire

industry down. If we don't do a better job of policing ourselves, the

FDA will do it for us and that is the worst case scenario.

This type of problem goes to the esoteric alternative labs as well. I

have seen split samples of urinary organic acids done on a few labs

where it seems that some use a random number generator to come up

with their results. I have also seen some darn good labs where I did

split samples and they were spot on (US Biotek and MetaMetrix).

The alternative/complimentary medical field has some of the same

problems as big pharma which boils down to greed.

 

Mark Schauss

www.ToxicWorldBook.com

 

, Lynn Ward <lynnward

wrote:

>

>

>

> VITAMIN AND NUTRITIONAL SUPPLEMENT SAFETY ALERT!

>

>

>

>

> Recent Tests Reveal Shockingly High Incidence of

>

>

> LABELS THAT LIE!

>

>

> The facts are frightening, but undeniable, as

> recently revealed and documented by ConsumerLab,

> the leading source for independent test results

> of vitamins, nutritional supplements and herbal

> health products: 1 out of every 4 supplements or

> nutrition products tested by ConsumerLab does not

> contain what is on the label, may be

> contaminated, or does not properly release its ingredients!

>

> Here are some alarming examples from

> ConsumerLab's latest test-report findings: The

> ginkgo biloba supplement with a recommended daily

> dosage that contained 30 times more lead than the

> state of California permits without a warning

> label. That's more lead than the average person

> is exposed to in an entire week!

>

> * The popular children's vitamin with

> dangerously high levels of vitamin A­enough to weaken a growing

child's bones.

> * Chondroitin products that may not relieve

> your joint pain because testing showed they

> contain much less chondroitin than advertised. In

> fact, one product contained no chondroitin at all!

> * Green tea may or may not help prevent

> cancer. But what was discovered about 3 of the 4

> green tea supplements tested is enough to

> convince you to stop taking them forever.

> * Consumers buy echinacea to fight colds and

> the flu. But 4 popular brands contained up to 75%

> less phenols­the key bioactive ingredient­than their labels claim.

> Isolated examples? If only they were. In fact,

> tests further revealed the following highly

> dangerous contaminants among " health " supplements

> analyzed, some of them from major brand names:

> Lead, Mercury, Arsenic,Toxic Metals, Pesticides and Fumigants ...

and more

>

>

> We contacted Dr. Tod Cooperman, president of

> ConsumerLab.com and a noted researcher, writer

> and expert on consumer health care issues, to

> find out what he has learned about government

> oversight of the supplement industry after years

> of intensive study. (note from me -

> Consumerlab.com looks pretty interesting. It's

> worth a look-see. http://www.consumerlab.com/)

>

> Here's the statement he sent us:

>

> <http://www.healthorharm.com? & sid=D031708A1C & ea=lynnward

>

>

>

> A National Scandal:

> Why Consumer Protection Must Be a Do-it-Yourself

> Project When It Comes to Vitamins and Dietary Supplements By Tod

Cooperman, MD

>

> It was when I was studying to become a medical

> doctor that I first came to understand what a

> huge problem Americans face because vitamins,

> herbs and other dietary supplements are not

> regularly tested or regulated by the U.S. Food

> and Drug Administration (FDA)­or any other

> government organization, for that matter.

> In contrast to prescription drugs, which must

> successfully pass an extensive checklist of

> requirements to the satisfaction of the FDA

> before they can be released, and are then subject

> to close monitoring to ensure public safety, the

> regulation of supplements is virtually nonexistent.

> * Although supplement labels are supposed to

> state exactly what's in the package, no

> government agency routinely checks for compliance.

> * Manufacturers are permitted to make

> general, government-approved statements about

> ways their products may help or maintain normal

> body functioning, but they are not required to

> back the statements with research or provide

> information about proper uses, adverse effects or risks.

>

> * Supplements are not required to be

> manufactured under specific standardized conditions.

>

> In 1994, the FDA was given the authorization to

> issue regulations on how supplements should be

> made. But for 13 years it delayed and delayed,

> and only recently, in 2007, did it finally publish a set of rules.

>

> Unfortunately, these rules have a lot of

> weaknesses. Their main focus is on manufacturers'

> record keeping, but­amazingly­they include no

> basic standards for purity or how to test for ingredients.

>

> Still worse, the is that the FDA hasn't allocated

> the resources needed to see that the regulations are properly

enforced.

>

> PROBLEM: Supplements that contain too little,

> poor quality or even none of the active

> ingredient they claim to contain­even those advertised as " high

potency. "

> For example, in ConsumerLab's tests a whopping

> 73% of the supplements that claimed to contain

> chondroitin failed to receive an " Approved "

> rating. In fact, scarcely any chondroitin (only

> 1%–8%) of the claimed amount was found in three

> products, and none at all could be detected in a

> fourth product. Unfortunately, this is not an

> isolated case; the same problem exists with other

> supplements besides chondroitin.

>

> PROBLEM: Dangerously incorrect dosage levels.

> This danger typically involves too much of an

> active ingredient, as in the children's

> multivitamin that tests revealed to contain a

> huge 216% of the labeled amount of vitamin A­a

> toxic level. Too much vitamin A can cause

> abnormalities in the liver, central nervous

> system, bone and skin, and even modestly

> excessive doses can cause birth defects in pregnant women.

>

> PROBLEM: Misleading or insufficient ingredient information.

> A concern more common in products claiming to be

> special " formulas, " " blends, " or " complexes, "

> because those descriptions can be used to hide

> the real facts. Example: The label that indicated

> each dosage of the pills inside contained 1,000

> mg of a " pyruvate formula, " when, in fact, the

> pills were only about 600 mg pyruvate.

>

> PROBLEM: Misleading or unsupported health claims.

> Dishonest or deceptive claims cheat you

> financially and medically. Most commonly, this

> involves labels that make unsupported claims

> about treating or preventing a disease or health

> problem­like the supplements and skin gels

> claiming the ability to cause weight-loss of more than 20 pounds.

>

> PROBLEM: Contamination.

> Possible contaminants include pesticides,

> microorganisms, heavy metals, manufacturing

> by-products and even plants harvested

> accidentally, all of which can pose serious risks

> of a toxic or carcinogenic nature. For example, 3

> out of the 13 ginkgo biloba products tested by

> ConsumerLab were found to have lead

> contamination; one of them had a recommended

> daily dosage that contained 30 times more lead

> than the state of California permits without a

> warning label­more lead than the average person

> is exposed to in an entire week!

>

> PROBLEM: Pills and tablets that fail to release their ingredients

properly.

> Pills that don't disintegrate properly can't be

> absorbed by the body, so even if the ingredients

> are of good quality and in the right amounts,

> you're not getting what you paid for. ConsumerLab

> found one multivitamin for women, manufactured by

> a leading brand, that required more than an hour

> to break apart properly­twice as long as the time

> period established as the acceptable limit by the U.S.

Pharmacopoeia (USP).

>

> PROBLEM: Special dangers posed by herbal supplements.

> With only a few exceptions, herbal remedies are

> largely unregulated and not required to meet

> standards of safety and purity. Furthermore,

> unlike most manufactured supplements and drugs,

> herbal products are by nature complex mixtures of

> chemicals, so it is difficult to find

> standardized sources. For example, of the 10 St.

> John's wort products submitted for testing by

> ConsumerLab only 3 received a passing score.

>

[Guest guest]

Hi Lynn and the group,

 

This information is so true, and so important for people to know. I

have fibromyalgia, and started doing a lot of research on what would

help me, and what was hurting me. I was so shocked to find out about

all of this deceit, and the fact that their is hardly any regulation

on vitamins and supplements. If the manufacture that is making them

happens to be in China or some place else over seas, there is even

less regulation. Instead of vitamins and supplements to help us stay

safe and healthy, they are selling us products that harm us and our

families.

 

I changed over to a very wonderful wellness co., and the difference

in my health is just outstanding. I went from being in terrible

condition and taking 9 scripts a day, to a healthy person that has

hardly any effects of the fibromyalgia and off all the fibro scripts.

I feel so blessed that I did all of this research, and came up with

such a great co. to help me and my health.

 

 

This is definitely one of those situations where " Buyer Beware " is

very important. Your health depends on it!

 

Annie

 

 

 

, Lynn Ward <lynnward

wrote:

>

>

>

> VITAMIN AND NUTRITIONAL SUPPLEMENT SAFETY ALERT!

>

>

>

>

> Recent Tests Reveal Shockingly High Incidence of

>

>

> LABELS THAT LIE!

>

>

> The facts are frightening, but undeniable, as

> recently revealed and documented by ConsumerLab,

> the leading source for independent test results

> of vitamins, nutritional supplements and herbal

> health products: 1 out of every 4 supplements or

> nutrition products tested by ConsumerLab does not

> contain what is on the label, may be

> contaminated, or does not properly release its ingredients!

>

> Here are some alarming examples from

> ConsumerLab's latest test-report findings: The

> ginkgo biloba supplement with a recommended daily

> dosage that contained 30 times more lead than the

> state of California permits without a warning

> label. That's more lead than the average person

> is exposed to in an entire week!

>

> * The popular children's vitamin with

> dangerously high levels of vitamin A­enough to weaken a growing

child's bones.

> * Chondroitin products that may not relieve

> your joint pain because testing showed they

> contain much less chondroitin than advertised. In

> fact, one product contained no chondroitin at all!

> * Green tea may or may not help prevent

> cancer. But what was discovered about 3 of the 4

> green tea supplements tested is enough to

> convince you to stop taking them forever.

> * Consumers buy echinacea to fight colds and

> the flu. But 4 popular brands contained up to 75%

> less phenols­the key bioactive ingredient­than their labels claim.

> Isolated examples? If only they were. In fact,

> tests further revealed the following highly

> dangerous contaminants among " health " supplements

> analyzed, some of them from major brand names:

> Lead, Mercury, Arsenic,Toxic Metals, Pesticides and Fumigants ...

and more

>

>

> We contacted Dr. Tod Cooperman, president of

> ConsumerLab.com and a noted researcher, writer

> and expert on consumer health care issues, to

> find out what he has learned about government

> oversight of the supplement industry after years

> of intensive study. (note from me -

> Consumerlab.com looks pretty interesting. It's

> worth a look-see. http://www.consumerlab.com/)

>

> Here's the statement he sent us:

>

> <http://www.healthorharm.com? & sid=D031708A1C & ea=lynnward

>

>

>

> A National Scandal:

> Why Consumer Protection Must Be a Do-it-Yourself

> Project When It Comes to Vitamins and Dietary Supplements By Tod

Cooperman, MD

>

> It was when I was studying to become a medical

> doctor that I first came to understand what a

> huge problem Americans face because vitamins,

> herbs and other dietary supplements are not

> regularly tested or regulated by the U.S. Food

> and Drug Administration (FDA)­or any other

> government organization, for that matter.

> In contrast to prescription drugs, which must

> successfully pass an extensive checklist of

> requirements to the satisfaction of the FDA

> before they can be released, and are then subject

> to close monitoring to ensure public safety, the

> regulation of supplements is virtually nonexistent.

> * Although supplement labels are supposed to

> state exactly what's in the package, no

> government agency routinely checks for compliance.

> * Manufacturers are permitted to make

> general, government-approved statements about

> ways their products may help or maintain normal

> body functioning, but they are not required to

> back the statements with research or provide

> information about proper uses, adverse effects or risks.

>

> * Supplements are not required to be

> manufactured under specific standardized conditions.

>

> In 1994, the FDA was given the authorization to

> issue regulations on how supplements should be

> made. But for 13 years it delayed and delayed,

> and only recently, in 2007, did it finally publish a set of rules.

>

> Unfortunately, these rules have a lot of

> weaknesses. Their main focus is on manufacturers'

> record keeping, but­amazingly­they include no

> basic standards for purity or how to test for ingredients.

>

> Still worse, the is that the FDA hasn't allocated

> the resources needed to see that the regulations are properly

enforced.

>

> PROBLEM: Supplements that contain too little,

> poor quality or even none of the active

> ingredient they claim to contain­even those advertised as " high

potency. "

> For example, in ConsumerLab's tests a whopping

> 73% of the supplements that claimed to contain

> chondroitin failed to receive an " Approved "

> rating. In fact, scarcely any chondroitin (only

> 1%–8%) of the claimed amount was found in three

> products, and none at all could be detected in a

> fourth product. Unfortunately, this is not an

> isolated case; the same problem exists with other

> supplements besides chondroitin.

>

> PROBLEM: Dangerously incorrect dosage levels.

> This danger typically involves too much of an

> active ingredient, as in the children's

> multivitamin that tests revealed to contain a

> huge 216% of the labeled amount of vitamin A­a

> toxic level. Too much vitamin A can cause

> abnormalities in the liver, central nervous

> system, bone and skin, and even modestly

> excessive doses can cause birth defects in pregnant women.

>

> PROBLEM: Misleading or insufficient ingredient information.

> A concern more common in products claiming to be

> special " formulas, " " blends, " or " complexes, "

> because those descriptions can be used to hide

> the real facts. Example: The label that indicated

> each dosage of the pills inside contained 1,000

> mg of a " pyruvate formula, " when, in fact, the

> pills were only about 600 mg pyruvate.

>

> PROBLEM: Misleading or unsupported health claims.

> Dishonest or deceptive claims cheat you

> financially and medically. Most commonly, this

> involves labels that make unsupported claims

> about treating or preventing a disease or health

> problem­like the supplements and skin gels

> claiming the ability to cause weight-loss of more than 20 pounds.

>

> PROBLEM: Contamination.

> Possible contaminants include pesticides,

> microorganisms, heavy metals, manufacturing

> by-products and even plants harvested

> accidentally, all of which can pose serious risks

> of a toxic or carcinogenic nature. For example, 3

> out of the 13 ginkgo biloba products tested by

> ConsumerLab were found to have lead

> contamination; one of them had a recommended

> daily dosage that contained 30 times more lead

> than the state of California permits without a

> warning label­more lead than the average person

> is exposed to in an entire week!

>

> PROBLEM: Pills and tablets that fail to release their ingredients

properly.

> Pills that don't disintegrate properly can't be

> absorbed by the body, so even if the ingredients

> are of good quality and in the right amounts,

> you're not getting what you paid for. ConsumerLab

> found one multivitamin for women, manufactured by

> a leading brand, that required more than an hour

> to break apart properly­twice as long as the time

> period established as the acceptable limit by the U.S.

Pharmacopoeia (USP).

>

> PROBLEM: Special dangers posed by herbal supplements.

> With only a few exceptions, herbal remedies are

> largely unregulated and not required to meet

> standards of safety and purity. Furthermore,

> unlike most manufactured supplements and drugs,

> herbal products are by nature complex mixtures of

> chemicals, so it is difficult to find

> standardized sources. For example, of the 10 St.

> John's wort products submitted for testing by

> ConsumerLab only 3 received a passing score.

>

[Guest guest]

What I want to know is how are we supposed to know which ones are good

and which ones are bad. I've chosen a company that I, as well as many

of my friends and my chiro, trust but how would I ever know the truth

about whether it's legit or not? Occasionally when I run out of

something I'll buy off the shelf at the local health food store. How

do I know that what I'm getting there is good stuff? I'm not a

skeptic at heart but I feel like I'm forced to be one. It's so

frustrating!

 

 

, Lynn Ward <lynnward wrote:

>

>

>

> VITAMIN AND NUTRITIONAL SUPPLEMENT SAFETY ALERT!

>

>

>

>

> Recent Tests Reveal Shockingly High Incidence of

>

>

> LABELS THAT LIE!

>

>

> The facts are frightening, but undeniable, as

> recently revealed and documented by ConsumerLab,

> the leading source for independent test results

> of vitamins, nutritional supplements and herbal

> health products: 1 out of every 4 supplements or

> nutrition products tested by ConsumerLab does not

> contain what is on the label, may be

> contaminated, or does not properly release its ingredients!

>

> Here are some alarming examples from

> ConsumerLab's latest test-report findings: The

> ginkgo biloba supplement with a recommended daily

> dosage that contained 30 times more lead than the

> state of California permits without a warning

> label. That's more lead than the average person

> is exposed to in an entire week!

>

> * The popular children's vitamin with

> dangerously high levels of vitamin A­enough to weaken a growing

child's bones.

> * Chondroitin products that may not relieve

> your joint pain because testing showed they

> contain much less chondroitin than advertised. In

> fact, one product contained no chondroitin at all!

> * Green tea may or may not help prevent

> cancer. But what was discovered about 3 of the 4

> green tea supplements tested is enough to

> convince you to stop taking them forever.

> * Consumers buy echinacea to fight colds and

> the flu. But 4 popular brands contained up to 75%

> less phenols­the key bioactive ingredient­than their labels claim.

> Isolated examples? If only they were. In fact,

> tests further revealed the following highly

> dangerous contaminants among " health " supplements

> analyzed, some of them from major brand names:

> Lead, Mercury, Arsenic,Toxic Metals, Pesticides and Fumigants ...

and more

>

>

> We contacted Dr. Tod Cooperman, president of

> ConsumerLab.com and a noted researcher, writer

> and expert on consumer health care issues, to

> find out what he has learned about government

> oversight of the supplement industry after years

> of intensive study. (note from me -

> Consumerlab.com looks pretty interesting. It's

> worth a look-see. http://www.consumerlab.com/)

>

> Here's the statement he sent us:

>

> <http://www.healthorharm.com? & sid=D031708A1C & ea=lynnward

>

>

>

> A National Scandal:

> Why Consumer Protection Must Be a Do-it-Yourself

> Project When It Comes to Vitamins and Dietary Supplements By Tod

Cooperman, MD

>

> It was when I was studying to become a medical

> doctor that I first came to understand what a

> huge problem Americans face because vitamins,

> herbs and other dietary supplements are not

> regularly tested or regulated by the U.S. Food

> and Drug Administration (FDA)­or any other

> government organization, for that matter.

> In contrast to prescription drugs, which must

> successfully pass an extensive checklist of

> requirements to the satisfaction of the FDA

> before they can be released, and are then subject

> to close monitoring to ensure public safety, the

> regulation of supplements is virtually nonexistent.

> * Although supplement labels are supposed to

> state exactly what's in the package, no

> government agency routinely checks for compliance.

> * Manufacturers are permitted to make

> general, government-approved statements about

> ways their products may help or maintain normal

> body functioning, but they are not required to

> back the statements with research or provide

> information about proper uses, adverse effects or risks.

>

> * Supplements are not required to be

> manufactured under specific standardized conditions.

>

> In 1994, the FDA was given the authorization to

> issue regulations on how supplements should be

> made. But for 13 years it delayed and delayed,

> and only recently, in 2007, did it finally publish a set of rules.

>

> Unfortunately, these rules have a lot of

> weaknesses. Their main focus is on manufacturers'

> record keeping, but­amazingly­they include no

> basic standards for purity or how to test for ingredients.

>

> Still worse, the is that the FDA hasn't allocated

> the resources needed to see that the regulations are properly enforced.

>

> PROBLEM: Supplements that contain too little,

> poor quality or even none of the active

> ingredient they claim to contain­even those advertised as " high

potency. "

> For example, in ConsumerLab's tests a whopping

> 73% of the supplements that claimed to contain

> chondroitin failed to receive an " Approved "

> rating. In fact, scarcely any chondroitin (only

> 1%–8%) of the claimed amount was found in three

> products, and none at all could be detected in a

> fourth product. Unfortunately, this is not an

> isolated case; the same problem exists with other

> supplements besides chondroitin.

>

> PROBLEM: Dangerously incorrect dosage levels.

> This danger typically involves too much of an

> active ingredient, as in the children's

> multivitamin that tests revealed to contain a

> huge 216% of the labeled amount of vitamin A­a

> toxic level. Too much vitamin A can cause

> abnormalities in the liver, central nervous

> system, bone and skin, and even modestly

> excessive doses can cause birth defects in pregnant women.

>

> PROBLEM: Misleading or insufficient ingredient information.

> A concern more common in products claiming to be

> special " formulas, " " blends, " or " complexes, "

> because those descriptions can be used to hide

> the real facts. Example: The label that indicated

> each dosage of the pills inside contained 1,000

> mg of a " pyruvate formula, " when, in fact, the

> pills were only about 600 mg pyruvate.

>

> PROBLEM: Misleading or unsupported health claims.

> Dishonest or deceptive claims cheat you

> financially and medically. Most commonly, this

> involves labels that make unsupported claims

> about treating or preventing a disease or health

> problem­like the supplements and skin gels

> claiming the ability to cause weight-loss of more than 20 pounds.

>

> PROBLEM: Contamination.

> Possible contaminants include pesticides,

> microorganisms, heavy metals, manufacturing

> by-products and even plants harvested

> accidentally, all of which can pose serious risks

> of a toxic or carcinogenic nature. For example, 3

> out of the 13 ginkgo biloba products tested by

> ConsumerLab were found to have lead

> contamination; one of them had a recommended

> daily dosage that contained 30 times more lead

> than the state of California permits without a

> warning label­more lead than the average person

> is exposed to in an entire week!

>

> PROBLEM: Pills and tablets that fail to release their ingredients

properly.

> Pills that don't disintegrate properly can't be

> absorbed by the body, so even if the ingredients

> are of good quality and in the right amounts,

> you're not getting what you paid for. ConsumerLab

> found one multivitamin for women, manufactured by

> a leading brand, that required more than an hour

> to break apart properly­twice as long as the time

> period established as the acceptable limit by the U.S. Pharmacopoeia

(USP).

>

> PROBLEM: Special dangers posed by herbal supplements.

> With only a few exceptions, herbal remedies are

> largely unregulated and not required to meet

> standards of safety and purity. Furthermore,

> unlike most manufactured supplements and drugs,

> herbal products are by nature complex mixtures of

> chemicals, so it is difficult to find

> standardized sources. For example, of the 10 St.

> John's wort products submitted for testing by

> ConsumerLab only 3 received a passing score.

>

[Guest guest]

At 08:36 PM 3/17/2008, you wrote:

It's becoming increasingly difficult to trust anyone...especially when

there are brands that we have trusted and felt good about that have

problems. I think we have to check as many places as we can to try to get

to the truth. ConsumerLab.com

(

http://www.consumerlab.com/) does independent testing on

herbal, vitamin and mineral supplements.and has tested a number of things

there are now concerns about. It looks pretty good, and addresses

some of the concerns brought up in the posts below. For example, in the

category of Mulitvitimns, 47 were tested and 12 failed for various

reasons. If you go to the site, they'll give you details on why something

has or has not failed.

Ronnie Cummins from NaturalNews took part in a press conference March

14th that announced the findings. NaturalNews was there to record

the press conference, and has posted the 28-minute announcement as an

audio file (MP3) at:

 

http://www.naturalnews.com/Index-Podcasts.html (see

Health Ranger

Report #12). They also took numerous photos, which they'll be posting in

a follow-up article on this topic. Also, they've conducted a live

interview with Ronnie Cummins , and will post the complete audio of that

interview shortly. (my note: the interview should have occurred

March 15th, the same day they sent out their article on the issue. Can

can read it here http://www.naturalnews.com/022846.html if you haven't

already.

All I can say, is we've got to do our homework, and can't take claims

on what's in something, how much there is, or if the pills dissolve well,

Until something changes drastically, we're just going to have to do our

homework as best we can before deciding which brand or what type of

vitamin, herb or whatever to take.

Lynn

 

What I want to know is how are

we supposed to know which ones are good

and which ones are bad. I've chosen a company that I, as well as

many

of my friends and my chiro, trust but how would I ever know the

truth

about whether it's legit or not? Occasionally when I run out of

something I'll buy off the shelf at the local health food store. How

do I know that what I'm getting there is good stuff? I'm not a

skeptic at heart but I feel like I'm forced to be one. It's so

frustrating!

--- In

 

, Lynn Ward <lynnward

wrote:

>

>

>

> VITAMIN AND NUTRITIONAL SUPPLEMENT SAFETY ALERT!

>

>

>

>

> Recent Tests Reveal Shockingly High Incidence of

>

>

> LABELS THAT LIE!

>

>

> The facts are frightening, but undeniable, as

> recently revealed and documented by ConsumerLab,

> the leading source for independent test results

> of vitamins, nutritional supplements and herbal

> health products: 1 out of every 4 supplements or

> nutrition products tested by ConsumerLab does not

> contain what is on the label, may be

> contaminated, or does not properly release its ingredients!

>

> Here are some alarming examples from

> ConsumerLab's latest test-report findings: The

> ginkgo biloba supplement with a recommended daily

> dosage that contained 30 times more lead than the

> state of California permits without a warning

> label. That's more lead than the average person

> is exposed to in an entire week!

>

> * The popular children's vitamin with

> dangerously high levels of vitamin A­enough to weaken a growing

child's bones.

> * Chondroitin products that may not relieve

> your joint pain because testing showed they

> contain much less chondroitin than advertised. In

> fact, one product contained no chondroitin at all!

> * Green tea may or may not help prevent

> cancer. But what was discovered about 3 of the 4

> green tea supplements tested is enough to

> convince you to stop taking them forever.

> * Consumers buy echinacea to fight colds and

> the flu. But 4 popular brands contained up to 75%

> less phenols­the key bioactive ingredient­than their labels

claim.

> Isolated examples? If only they were. In fact,

> tests further revealed the following highly

> dangerous contaminants among " health " supplements

> analyzed, some of them from major brand names:

> Lead, Mercury, Arsenic,Toxic Metals, Pesticides and Fumigants

....

and more

>

>

> We contacted Dr. Tod Cooperman, president of

> ConsumerLab.com and a noted researcher, writer

> and expert on consumer health care issues, to

> find out what he has learned about government

> oversight of the supplement industry after years

> of intensive study. (note from me -

> Consumerlab.com looks pretty interesting. It's

> worth a look-see.

http://www.consumerlab.com/)

>

> Here's the statement he sent us:

>

>

> A National Scandal:

> Why Consumer Protection Must Be a Do-it-Yourself

> Project When It Comes to Vitamins and Dietary Supplements By

Tod

Cooperman, MD

>

> It was when I was studying to become a medical

> doctor that I first came to understand what a

> huge problem Americans face because vitamins,

> herbs and other dietary supplements are not

> regularly tested or regulated by the U.S. Food

> and Drug Administration (FDA)­or any other

> government organization, for that matter.

> In contrast to prescription drugs, which must

> successfully pass an extensive checklist of

> requirements to the satisfaction of the FDA

> before they can be released, and are then subject

> to close monitoring to ensure public safety, the

> regulation of supplements is virtually nonexistent.

> * Although supplement labels are supposed to

> state exactly what's in the package, no

> government agency routinely checks for compliance.

> * Manufacturers are permitted to make

> general, government-approved statements about

> ways their products may help or maintain normal

> body functioning, but they are not required to

> back the statements with research or provide

> information about proper uses, adverse effects or risks.

>

> * Supplements are not required to be

> manufactured under specific standardized conditions.

>

> In 1994, the FDA was given the authorization to

> issue regulations on how supplements should be

> made. But for 13 years it delayed and delayed,

> and only recently, in 2007, did it finally publish a set of

rules.

>

> Unfortunately, these rules have a lot of

> weaknesses. Their main focus is on manufacturers'

> record keeping, but­amazingly­they include no

> basic standards for purity or how to test for ingredients.

>

> Still worse, the is that the FDA hasn't allocated

> the resources needed to see that the regulations are properly

enforced.

>

> PROBLEM: Supplements that contain too little,

> poor quality or even none of the active

> ingredient they claim to contain­even those advertised as

" high

potency. "

> For example, in ConsumerLab's tests a whopping

> 73% of the supplements that claimed to contain

> chondroitin failed to receive an " Approved "

> rating. In fact, scarcely any chondroitin (only

> 1%–8%) of the claimed amount was found in three

> products, and none at all could be detected in a

> fourth product. Unfortunately, this is not an

> isolated case; the same problem exists with other

> supplements besides chondroitin.

>

> PROBLEM: Dangerously incorrect dosage levels.

> This danger typically involves too much of an

> active ingredient, as in the children's

> multivitamin that tests revealed to contain a

> huge 216% of the labeled amount of vitamin A­a

> toxic level. Too much vitamin A can cause

> abnormalities in the liver, central nervous

> system, bone and skin, and even modestly

> excessive doses can cause birth defects in pregnant women.

>

> PROBLEM: Misleading or insufficient ingredient information.

> A concern more common in products claiming to be

> special " formulas, " " blends, " or

" complexes, "

> because those descriptions can be used to hide

> the real facts. Example: The label that indicated

> each dosage of the pills inside contained 1,000

> mg of a " pyruvate formula, " when, in fact, the

> pills were only about 600 mg pyruvate.

>

> PROBLEM: Misleading or unsupported health claims.

> Dishonest or deceptive claims cheat you

> financially and medically. Most commonly, this

> involves labels that make unsupported claims

> about treating or preventing a disease or health

> problem­like the supplements and skin gels

> claiming the ability to cause weight-loss of more than 20

pounds.

>

> PROBLEM: Contamination.

> Possible contaminants include pesticides,

> microorganisms, heavy metals, manufacturing

> by-products and even plants harvested

> accidentally, all of which can pose serious risks

> of a toxic or carcinogenic nature. For example, 3

> out of the 13 ginkgo biloba products tested by

> ConsumerLab were found to have lead

> contamination; one of them had a recommended

> daily dosage that contained 30 times more lead

> than the state of California permits without a

> warning label­more lead than the average person

> is exposed to in an entire week!

>

> PROBLEM: Pills and tablets that fail to release their

ingredients

properly.

> Pills that don't disintegrate properly can't be

> absorbed by the body, so even if the ingredients

> are of good quality and in the right amounts,

> you're not getting what you paid for. ConsumerLab

> found one multivitamin for women, manufactured by

> a leading brand, that required more than an hour

> to break apart properly­twice as long as the time

> period established as the acceptable limit by the U.S.

Pharmacopoeia

(USP).

>

> PROBLEM: Special dangers posed by herbal supplements.

> With only a few exceptions, herbal remedies are

> largely unregulated and not required to meet

> standards of safety and purity. Furthermore,

> unlike most manufactured supplements and drugs,

> herbal products are by nature complex mixtures of

> chemicals, so it is difficult to find

> standardized sources. For example, of the 10 St.

> John's wort products submitted for testing by

> ConsumerLab only 3 received a passing score.

>

_