|
Why Nutritional Supplements are useful |
Nutritional Supplements have weathered the storm of a many debate. Do these things actually work or does your delicate bio-chemistry within your body reject and simply rid them through your excretion channels? Some question the possibility that supplements are simply a money making area where quality means very little and mass production of supplements and money means more. Is the reason that some supplement companies and particular brands have been media targeted because of their squashed integrity through producing sub-standard supplements? The question lies only with the confused consumer!
In her book “Dietary Supplements, Creating Expensive Urine? Or A key Addition to Modern medicine?” Dr. Monica Lewis stated on page 19:
“We are also aware of the poor nutritional content of much of our food. The UN 1992 Earth Summit reported on the way intensive farming has depleted our soil and the fruit and vegetables. For example, carrots contain 75% less magnesium and tomatos 90% less copper than 30 years ago and there are many other frightening statistics. Total minerals in the soil have plummeted: the mineral content of the soil in the past 50 years has fallen 76% in Europe and 80% in the USA.”
Reference: Reduced quality of food and soil compared with 50 years ago. UN Health Summit 1992; Senate Document 264. 74th U.S. Congress, 1936. And Nutrition and health 2003, 17:85-115
Supplement manufacturers have an option to decide the grade at which their supplements are manufactured to. Most, according to the ‘Comparative Guide to Nutritional Supplements, authored by Bio-chemist Lyle MacWilliam, choose to manufacture their supplements to a lower quality than others within the marketplace, thus proving that many companies prefer to make money and make claims that their concoctions whose labels carry claims about relieving pain and energizing the body are somewhat false. Impressive marketing and professional athlete endorsements also cheat the public into believing that their supplement far excels over the other. What are the public left to do but unknowingly consume a substandard nutritional supplement, receive little or no results, thus sending powerful messages to the interested that the entire supplement industry is worthless at assisting to prevent degenerative disease.
It doesn’t help matters when major players in the industry, Pan Pharmaceuticals, run an entire production of nutritional supplements only to find the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) need to recall nationwide, best part of New Zealand’s nutritional supplements because some were made to the wrong ratios and members of the public were getting hallucinations(1) In another preparation, Vital Health Products made a batch of supplements with 1/10th the amount of folic acid in the capsule that stated in the bottle, which was 400 micrograms (2) Having the news media swarm on this fact that pan-pharmaceutical were producing products that needed to be recalled completely discredited the supplement industry in Australasia, or has it?
It’s been highlighted that certain claims by manufactures over the years has discredited the industry. Claims can fall within 3 categories; health claims, nutrient content claims and structure/function claims. The responsibility of these claims falls on the manufacture and the Therapeutic Goods Administration, or the American equivalent, the FDA.
However cowboys in the market place find or often produce their own fact and research claims that prove that their research warrants the production of a new supplement, for example Ephedrine. Ephedrine has been widely used in the arena of bodybuilding to increase energy and to assist with losing excess body fat. This supplement was once widely voiced as one of the greatest supplements available for fat loss, even some manufactures claiming that ‘clinical studies’ have proven that by taking their ephedrine based products that you will permanently lose unwanted fat and keep it off with no side effects(3-a) but since has been banned in the US and Australasian markets due to its questionable safety(3-b) Supplement companies haven’t just been give a hard time down in New Zealand and Australia but in the United States as well. Dr Christine Wood, a top US pediatrician was explained the importance of investigating supplement companies before choosing what’s right for you and your health, Dr Wood was recently in Auckland and explained that in the US nine different folic acid preparations we lab tested and the results were arguable that nutritional supplements we’re indeed expensive urine as three from the nine folic acid preparations had 75% or more of folic acids in each capsule, but six out the nine had less than 75% and two out of the nine had less than 25% of folic acid, she continued on with some food standard preparations had contaminants such as heavy metals in fish oils and lead in calcium and mercury and arsenic in some Chinese supplements. Again, strong confusing opinions which have mislead the public into believing supplementation is not all what it seems.
Is continuing bad press the reason that the growth in the industry of nutritional supplements is slowly declining? It’s true according to some of the financial statements of the biggest global nutritional retailer in North America, GNC (4). Does this imply that adding supplements to the diet is a thing of the past, because of vast public uncertainty and trust of supplements or is the market simply resting for a spurt towards the retiring baby boomers? Seventy eight million baby boomers are heading towards retirement in 2010, most are concerned about their financial situation as well as their health. The Health and Wellness industry is forecasted to be the next trillion dollar business (5) come 2010. This industry will sit in the limelight among millions of people, who are open to improving their health through the use of supplementation; as too many reports claim that we are unable to receive all our nutrients from food alone and supplementation is necessary in today’s environment.
Competition among retailers and independent supplement distributors has embarked on a higher level of marketing and manufacturing to compete with market share. Direct selling companies like Neways, Mannatech and Usana Health Sciences are fighting to gain trust with the public and lift the level of nutritional manufacturing so the public can further gain confidence in the nutritional supplement industry. Companies like Usana Health Sciences choose to adhere to the British Pharmacopoeia (BP) specifications. BP is one of the highest specifications that anything can be made to that passes your mouth and the positive growth of this company suggests that indeed the industry is again, alive and kicking.
Having such companies providing factual evidence and science based research that nutritional supplementation indeed can assist the prevention of degenerative disease with science based products is spurring consumers on that they can indeed trust some manufactures. Especially those that are going out and beyond the regular boundaries of quality and more than exceeding the expectations for the Good Manufacturing Practices in the production of supplementation, consumers can rest assured that not all nutritional supplement companies are the same.
The public has to complete their due diligence with regards to supplementing with vitamins. The factual information available in scores, both for and against with supplements proves nothing more than you get what you pay for. Purchasing a months supply of vitamins that costs less than a six pack of eggs from your local supermarket is calling for disaster when you rely solely on these supplements improving your health. You would only expect that these lower grade supplements are lining the supplement retailer’s pockets while providing the consumer with a substandard product.
Purchasing supplements from a company that has stringent measures in place to manufacture supplements to your local and international health administration’s highest expectations will, as far as my research suggests will heighten your knowledge of what to expect and supply you and your family with a supplement that does what it is supposed to do and that is supplement your body with vitamins, minerals and trace elements for a healthier prolonged and disease free life.
(1) New Zealand Femme Fitness, November 2003
(2) http://www.tga.gov.au/docs/html/mediarel/mrvital.htm
(3a) http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2003/07/ephedra.htm
(3b) http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~lrd/fpephed6.html
(4) Press Release GNC.com 3rd April 2005
(5) Paul Zane Pilzer, Economist ‘The Next Trillion’
|
|
We use and recommend USANA Health Sciences
|
