Tainted Supplements: Buyer Beware

There was a big problem with the papers that were published in JAMA and the resultant media headlines: the authors and commentator lumped the tainted products into a single category of dietary supplements and categorized these questionable manufacturers and their tainted products with all manufacturers of dietary supplements. That was simply wrong, and people in health news know better. There will always be unscrupulous companies out to make a quick buck and laughing all the way to the bank.

Some of the tainted products are still on the market today. Most are available only online, and their websites contain no information about the company who makes them or how they were made. They might simply be the same product sold under different names; there’s no way to tell.

The everyone-in-the-pool approach used by the authors reflects an underlying belief that the FDA should give approval to every dietary supplement. There are healthcare professionals who don’t like supplements of any kind. With this kind of news, they make the leap that all supplements are equal, and thus all require more restrictive oversight to stem the tide of tainted supplements. That’s just foolish. Quality manufacturers that want to continue to be in business follow the rules set out by the FDA for dietary supplements. Fly-by-night companies won’t, no matter what the laws say.

Buyer Beware

The articles do raise an important concern: how do you know whether the products you’re buying are made by a reputable manufacturer or not? After all, you’re going to be putting them in your body. Do your homework, just as you might do with any other consumable product. Check out the company online to the extent you can. The more information you can find, the better. If there’s not much info, consider that a red flag.

But how do you know what to look for? I’ll cover that in next week’s Memos, so make sure you don’t miss them.

What are you prepared to do today?

Dr. Chet

 

References:
1. JAMA Network Open. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2018.3337.
2. JAMA Network Open. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2018.3329.
3. FDA Database: http://bit.ly/2Pyq0B3