First it was fish, now it's supplements

gouf78
Mon, 04 Nov 2013 14:21:55 +0000

So the NYT is doing a filler piece with really old news…like at LEAST a decade old…
But it’s always nice to be reminded to be careful out there.
I say this as someone who likes and has studied alternative medicine and herbal remedies.
The regulations are really loose on herbal meds and supplements; you can make all the claims and advertise as much as you want and by the time (if ever) you get caught with a bad claim the formulation is changed or the company shut down after making a ton of money. Just open a new company. No biggie.
It’s difficult to find out how a company actually internally regulates its supplements . One company can be producing a vitamin or supplement for multiple distributors under different names. All those products may be great. Or, The amounts of herbal supplements can vary wildly from not only one company but one bottle to the next. For that very reason I back off from St. John’s wort and other products for mood elevation or other conditions that are near and dear to my heart (I need my brain…and other body parts). Adulteration of products is another huge problem–just look at pet food claims.
Do a bit of research and TRY (it’s not easy) to stay with major companies, the tried and true (been around for awhile). The ones with some skin in the game who care about their reputation.
Herbal supplements can be really tricky since the ingredients often come from foreign countries and suppliers who aren’t always the most “honest”

It is a huge problem in the industry. But alternative medicine exists because it’s most often cheaper and as effective as prescription drugs. After all, most prescription drugs are derived from nature. A lot of herbal remedies exist on your shelf because it’s known to be effective but not worth the testing and time for any big pharma company to market under FDA regs.