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Study: Many herbal supplements aren't what the label says

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Posted 2/3/2015 9:53 PM (GMT 0)
Interesting.

Who knows, this is going to create a bit of a blow up,perhaps in the industry.

Anyhow something we found is that my sons DDS-100 probiotic from one company appears to have mold in it.

It gave D to both him and his wife.

I have the real stuff, which some of it is 4 years old, no mold.

I am guessing that in some cases, you get what you pay for, might apply.

Old Mike

http://medicalxpress.com/news/2015-02-herbal-supplements.html

If you think mold cant happen in probiotics, think again, and Solgar is a good company,been around a long time.

Infant death.

http://medicalxpress.com/news/2014-12-infant-dies-health-urge-caution.html

 

Post Edited (Old Mike) : 2/3/2015 3:31:33 PM (GMT-7)

Posted 2/3/2015 10:08 PM (GMT 0)
Yes... when it comes to the realm of supplements, there is a strong possibility that someone is ingesting a whole bunch of nothing along with the popular fillers. I am sure there are hundreds, if not thousands of companies selling snake oil and getting rich off it. Can't say I haven't taken some of them myself.

That being said, there are reputable brands like nordic naturals that have shown efficacy in clinical trials. I tend to trust real food over them though.

However, I'd also question the infant death since it appeared he was immunocompromised and hospitalized prior to being given the probiotic. There had to have been some other factors. I think it's unfair to lay the blame entirely on solgar.

Nevertheless, when comparing the fiasco to the pharmaceutical industry, I think it's somewhat hypocritical for people to want tighter regulation on supplements but ignore the fact that deaths from pharmaceutical drugs are the fourth leading cause of death in the United States, with as many as 80 million suffering adverse reactions. In contrast, supplement deaths are very rare, but seem to hit the headlines when something does happen. I think this a real problem.

Best.
Posted 2/3/2015 10:39 PM (GMT 0)
Would be good for all of us to regulate the industry.

My guess is that China is most likely the worlds largest raw material supplier to the natural foods/vitamins/powdered products market so there's no doubt most of what comes from there contains nothing even close to the label. China has serious, series issues - sadly we fuel these issues by purchasing their goods cause they are cheap.

I now sell my Canadian made product (an industrial air cleaning system) in China to the actual Chinese manufacturers and when I ask why they buy my product versus buying a much less expensive local machine - 100% of the time the answer is "We don't trust Chinese manufactured products". How crazy is that? Ha.

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In the article someone from the natural products sector says the testing should be re-confirmed by other means aside from DNA analysis and says this was the problem with the study.

In fact that guy from the University of Guelph tested a bunch of off the shelf natural stuff out of sheer curiosity and because he had the means - wasn't even a formal study. He used the "alternate suggested testing methods". He found the very same thing. Ingredients inside that were not listed and in some cases not even close to what was on the label and so on.

Aside form China, the whole industry has troubles.

Post Edited (Canada Mark) : 2/3/2015 3:44:43 PM (GMT-7)

Posted 2/4/2015 12:09 AM (GMT 0)
I just read an article that the NY Attorney General has issued a demand that some major retailers remove their store brand supplements because they didn't contain the herbs listed on the labels and they found many ingredients that weren't listed. I suspect that regulations will be coming and the industry has only themselves to blame.

www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/new-york-attorney-general-targets-supplements-at-major-retailers/ar-AA8VmjN
Posted 2/4/2015 12:17 AM (GMT 0)
Seriously, what did people think was going to happen when you have a completely unregulated free market? There has not been a single industry in the world that hasnt cut corners and lied when regulations werent in place. This is why Im a leftist; oversight is necessary.
Posted 2/4/2015 1:40 AM (GMT 0)
Amen, Marauder!
Posted 2/4/2015 11:58 AM (GMT 0)
Maybe this is why my gut hated so many supplements, other ingredients were in them (not on the label) or they did not actually contain what was on the label at all.
Posted 2/4/2015 2:26 PM (GMT 0)
This industry is scary. People are duped into believing that the words "natural" mean safe and healthy. That's what the supplement industry has given us. Natural has never meant safe and it certainly doesn't mean pure. There are no regulations in this billion dollar industry that preys on those that are sick.

Sue
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