Risking health?

Improving health and wellness…….Purchasing supplements? What to get and are they the right product for the right symptom? Are they what they say they are? Are they safe? Are they certified by a reputable medical organization? Are they over hyped and under performing?

Know the facts before purchasing supplementation OTC or online.  I cannot stress enough the importance of this – many items on line are counterfeit and OTC often full of fillers and even sawdust.  When purchasing blindly you are wasting your money you must educate yourself before making these purchases.  You can do more harm than good when trying to save a few bucks you really do get what you pay for!

From the Attorney General:

The New York State attorney general’s office accused four major retailers on Monday, February 3, 2015 of selling fraudulent and potentially dangerous herbal supplements and demanded that they remove the products from their shelves.

The authorities said they had conducted tests on top-selling store brands of herbal supplements at four national retailers — GNC, Target, Walgreens and Walmart — and found that four out of five of the products did not contain any of the herbs on their labels. The tests showed that pills labeled medicinal herbs often contained little more than cheap fillers like powdered rice, asparagus and houseplants, and in some cases substances that could be dangerous to those with allergies.

The investigation came as a welcome surprise to health experts who have long complained about the quality and safety of dietary supplements, which are exempt from the strict regulatory oversight applied to prescription drugs.

The Food and Drug Administration has targeted individual supplements found to contain dangerous ingredients. But the announcement Monday was the first time that a law enforcement agency had threatened the biggest retail and drugstore chains with legal action for selling what it said were deliberately misleading herbal products.

Among the attorney general’s findings was a popular store brand of ginseng pills at Walgreens, promoted for “physical endurance and vitality,” that contained only powdered garlic and rice. At Walmart, the authorities found that its ginkgo biloba, a Chinese plant promoted as a memory enhancer, contained little more than powdered radish, houseplants and wheat — despite a claim on the label that the product was wheat- and gluten-free.

Three out of six herbal products at Target — ginkgo biloba, St. John’s wort and valerian root, a sleep aid — tested negative for the herbs on their labels. But they did contain powdered rice, beans, peas and wild carrots. And at GNC, the agency said, it found pills with unlisted ingredients used as fillers, like powdered legumes, the class of plants that includes peanuts and soybeans, a hazard for people with allergies.

The attorney general sent the four retailers letters to cease-and-desist.

From a former special agent investigator for U.S. FDA:

As a former special agent and forensic investigator for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), my heart breaks for hardworking moms and dads trying to do right by their family by buying inexpensive supplements.

Little do they know that these “bargain” vitamins and capsules are worthless at best and at worst may affect their health and their children’s health, and possibly their lives.

The fact is, it costs money to make quality dietary supplements such as vitamins, protein powders, fish oil capsules, energy bars, herbal blends, or sports nutrition products.

But if you have no morals and know how truly under-regulated the supplement industry is in America, you can make huge amounts of money selling dangerous counterfeit and expired supplement products.

How? You undercut the price of legitimate supplement companies. Cheaper wins. And the consumer loses.

Why should you believe me?

For many years, not too long ago, I worked in the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as a Special Agent.

I’ve been behind the curtain of the supplement industry – way behind – so what I say is not based on some far-fetched conspiracy theory. I was there and witnessed it firsthand

Now, as a public health advocate and creator of the Primal Power Method, here’s what I want you to know about the vitamins, capsules and pills that can make or break your health.

There are three main ways that supplements end up on the market at unbelievably cheap prices:

1. They are counterfeit and probably dangerous.
2. They are useless expired products that have been repackaged as new.
3. They are stolen products released on the black market without any quality control.

To read more refer to blog:  SUPPLEMENTS ON AMAZON OR EBAY! A MUST-READ BY FORMER FDA SPECIAL AGENT GARY COLLINS MS Posted August 21, 2013

Here is what you want to look for, it is always best to purchase from an Alternative Health Professional in your local area that has taken the time to research the company’s quality assurance and stands behind the product.

Alternative Health professionals use companies that have proven standards for quality assurance including controlled manufacturing in an FDA inspected US facility. 

These companies exceed standards for quality assurance by using:

• Third party testing on every batch including raw material and finished product
• Dioxin, PCB’s – verifies absence of harmful levels of these toxic industrial pollutants in all fish oil products
• Rancidity testing
• Herbicide/Pesticide and Fungicide testing- verifies absence of harmful levels of 310 compounds in all botanicals
• Aflatoxins testing-verifies absence of harmful fungi toxin levels in all herbal products
• Chemical Solvent Residue testing-verifies absence of harmful 51 chemicals used in the production of raw material
• Heavy Metal Testing-verifies absence of harmful lead, mercury, cadmium, and arsenic levels in all botanicals, as well as other potentially contaminated materials
• Stability Testing-tested at mid and end points of expiration dates
• Microbiology Testing- verify absence of harmful bacteria, yeast & mold
• Potency Testing-Assay using scientifically valid test methods
• Authenticity Testing
• GMO- verify absence of GMO markers in all susceptible ingredients

You and your family will remain safe and maximize effectiveness with true quality products.  The key to producing consistent benefit lies in the product quality.  Supplements need to be authentic, potent and pure in order to be effective.

I encourage you to take the time and educate yourself regarding this topic and clean out your cabinet if you have products from online or OTC they could be doing you more harm than good!

Forum Health Clarkston
248-625-5143

References:

SUPPLEMENTS ON AMAZON OR EBAY! A MUST-READ BY FORMER FDA SPECIAL AGENT GARY COLLINS

Posted August 21, 2013 by Gary Collins, MS

New York Attorney General Targets Supplements at Major Retailers By: ANAHAD O’CONNOR

FEBRUARY 3, 2015 12:00 AM