Optimal Health Newsletter #4
Quality Issues in Nutritional Supplements
There is such a tremendous amount of material to cover when broaching the subject of 'Optimal Health' that it is overwhelming to even contemplate how to approach the subject. But, the answer I am sure, is just 'one step at a time'. So where to start....
In an earlier OHN I mentioned what I believe to be the most important supplement every person should take. My recommendation was a good quality trace mineral supplement. So do that first. We can get at least some of the other essential items from our diet, but adequate trace minerals almost always need to come from a supplementary source. Soil depletion and food processing are the main items responsible for the dietary shortfall. One reader responded (and questions from all of you are most welcome) by asking for a specific brand recommendation. This is important! It is like the 'wild west' in the nutritional supplement industry. It is big business and a lot of players are in the game that should not be. Anyone can contact a supplement manufacturer and create a 'brand'. The quality will depend on a lot more than just the ingredients. The biological activity and availability of products can vary greatly. The ingredients and their amounts listed on the label represent only part of the story. Binders and coatings are particularly important. If a product is glued together or coated so that it doesn't dissolve, not many of the ingredients will actually enter the bodies biological systems. Currently, there are no Federal requirements for standardization of the supplement industry. In actuality, it is almost impossible to tell by reading a label how good a product is. Uniformly they will all claim to be 'the best'. If you want to take the time and trouble, here are some things you can do to check on the quality of the supplement you take or are considering taking: - (if you don't want to take this time and trouble, ask someone knowledgeable who you trust)
1) The first thing to do is to find out who actually makes the product. This is not always easy to accomplish. If you can find the manufacturers name on the label (you will probably need a magnifying glass) call them up. The first thing to ask is whether the company you are talking to manufactures the product themselves, or if they buy if from someone else who re-labels it for them (this is the case in most situations). If you can't find out who actually makes the product, that is not a good sign and I personally would probably not choose to take that product. If you are able to find out who the manufacturer actually is, call them separately and directly.
2) another key question to ask is: 'is this product 'pharmaceutical grade'. If the answer is 'yes', the product is very likely to be a good one. Pharmaceutical grade products are assayed to contain 99% exactly what the label specifies. All prescription medications are, by law, pharmaceutical grade. Supplements can be made to pharmaceutical grade standards, but since it is not required by law, and it is more expensive, most are not. Other classifications are 'Food grade' and 'industrial grade' and these should be avoided.
3) It is also worth asking if the manufacturing facility is FDA inspected. Although there are certain issues where I disagree with the FDA, they are very commendable in their inspection and certification of pharmaceutical and supplement manufacturing facilities. If a supplement manufacturer is FDA inspected, this is a positive sign. You have to call to find out. If the answer to your question is '...supplements are not required to be FDA inspected...', this is dodging the questions and really means the answer is 99% likely to be 'no'. This is not a good sign. The fact remains that FDA approval is a sign of quality assurance and the best supplement manufacturers will voluntarily invite FDA inspection even though it is not required by federal statutes.
4) If you can read the fine print on the label (and it is really fine in most cases, usually requiring a magnifying glass) and you see the words 'pharmaceutical food glaze', don't buy it. This means 'shellac', the most common (because it is the cheapest) coating used on tablets. Shellac causes cancer when applied repeatedly to the skin of mice. Do you want to put this in your body every day for the rest of your life? I don't, and I doubt if you do either.
Like I said, there is no regulation of the supplement industry at this time, so it is worth being careful. I myself have made phone calls to a number of supplement manufacturers and asked the above questions. Companies who I personally know meet my criteria for quality are Enzymatic Therapy, Twinlabs, Ortho Molecular, Bronson, Phytopharmacia, and Body Wise. I am sure there are other good companies besides these and I would like to know about them. The companies listed are ones that I personally have researched and therefore I can attest to what I found out. I would appreciate any readers of OHN to submit to me results of their personal research (good and bad reports wanted). I would love to compile a big list and pass it around.
Personally, I take the Body Wise products and recommend them to others . More than any other reason, probably, I take this brand because they were the first ones that I became aware of which met all the standards of quality that I was looking for in a supplement that I would take myself. The companies mentioned above, with the exception of Body Wise, are available in Health Food stores and other retail outlets. Body Wise products are distributed via a 'network marketing' format and can be obtained directly from the manufacturer or from a Body Wise 'consultant'.
Further comments about the Body Wise products: Because I want to be unbiased and objective, I am always somewhat uncomfortable discussing a product from which I personally receive a direct economic benefit. I do receive a variable income from Body Wise based somewhat on volume. As I mentioned above, I recommend these products because of their quality. If the quality was not there I would neither take them personally nor recommend them to others. Because I choose to take these products myself and make them available to others who might want them, I am a member of the Body Wise consultant cadre. Products and further information can be explored at the Website 'Bobyoungmd@bodywise.com'. These products can be obtained at our office, directly from the company, or from anyone who is a Body Wise consultant.
Again, the purpose of this newsletter is to be informative and not to sell anything to anyone. This edition was directed at the issue of quality in nutritional supplements. This was in response to a direct question from a reader and, in fact, is a subject of significant importance.
Again, please feel free to submit any questions or comments by hitting the 'reply' button. My apologies to anyone who I may have offended with the tint of some commercialism in this newsletter. It is not the purpose of this newsletter.
Until next issue,