gladorca's blog

This post is not about whether or not to take dietary supplements, but rather to reflect on a recent article that I read in Business Week which raises a concern about quality. Supplements are not regulated very strongly. Since there isn't very good regulation of these substances, the lack of information has spawned the development of a commerical lab at www.ConsumerLab.com that does testing. This isn't a non-profit or governmental lab, but a commerical venture making money (so I tend to be somewhat skeptical). However, some of their results are somewhat concerning. For example, the lab tested multi-vitamins and found that most were ok, but some did not disolve (what good does that do you), some were deficient in the amount of ingredients that they say they have, and some even contained lead (wait.. I wanted to get the lead out, not put it in me). Consumers Reports did a report on Sport-Supplements back in June of 2001 and it's focus was more on whether they are beneficial or not, but it said "Any dietary supplement can be marketed without advance testing under current federal law. The only restriction: The label can't claim the product will treat, prevent, or cure a disease. But a label can traffic in vague claims like 'enhances energy' or 'supports testosterone production.' If serious problems are reported, it's up to the FDA to prove they are real before it can order a supplment off the market or impose other restrictions. So far that has not happened." So if I've got a protein supplement; how do I verify its ingredients. Any suggestions? Hmmm, maybe I'll stick to the known, like the mercury ridden solid white albacore tuna. :-)