You know I’m a child of the 50s and 60s.  My soapbox is always ready for my pitches.

But, surprisingly, I noticed that I haven’t ranted about the waste of time vitamin supplements are for a very long time.  Mostly because I have convinced most of my friends and clients that they don’t need to waste their money on these tablets.  (Please note:  If you are pregnant, a quality vitamin B12 supplement is not a waste of time.  And, if you live in the northern climes during winter (or like me, been stuck in the house for nearly 9 months), choosing vitamin D supplements are reasonable.)

But what about dietary supplements?  You know the ones that tell you they’ll boost your fitness, help you lose weight, make you great in bed?   You must know about them because we are spending about $ 150 billion bucks a year on these concoctions- be they pills, powders, or liquids.  (Supposedly 3 out of 4 of us- and for kids, 1 of 3- are indulging in this ludicrous practice.)

And, what is a  dietary supplement?  Of course, it includes vitamins, minerals, amino acids, metabolites, botanicals (herbs), enzyme, glandulars…the list goes on.

Wait!  How dare I call this ludicrous?

Well, for starters, you do know that there are no requirements that dietary supplements be proven safe before they are sold.

(Now would be a very good time to own up to something that I’ve been creating- on a very on and off basis- for almost a decade.  My issue is that I don’t know if it is a dietary supplement or a medical food.  If it’s a medical food, then I have to hope that the poorer folks [who actually do need this product] can get it covered by their insurance.  If it’s a dietary supplement, I don’t know how to get those who need it- desperately- to add it to their diets.  OK.  My mea culpa is complete.)

I know the supplements can only include “approved” dietary ingredients.  But- those labels don’t indicate how much (or how little) of the ingredients are found within- and many supplements don’t disclose all their ingredients- which include unapproved substances.  (This is why some products have been recalled- the ingredients don’t match the labels, missing the “active” ingredient, or worse yet contain pesticides, heavy metals, or microbial contaminants.  (The silent ingredients are most often found in the weight loss, body-building, sleep aids, and sexual enhancement concoctions.  And, no approved drugs can be marketed as a dietary supplement.  [Notice my dilemna above.])

Oh, sure, you’ll tell me that the United States Pharmacopeia (USP) has set standards.  And, I’ll respond that only 1 in 20 of these concoctions ever get USP approval.

(Don’t get me started on the NSF International standard.  The National Sanitation Foundation (I wrote about them last year) started out certifying water and waste water systems.   I don’t put them in the same constellation as the USP by a long shot.)

The real issue is that the consequences of using adulterated (hmm- if there are no standards, how does one term these to be adulterated?) or mislabeled (missing ingredients) can be quite serious.

So, if you are going to waste your money on these products- at least make sure your choice has passed inspection by the USP or a valid third party.

(Tomorrow, I will discuss a new scholarly article that should get you off these money-wasters for good!)

Share this: