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The 12 Most Dangerous Supplements
Posted on Aug 30th 2010 1:00PM by Jonny BowdenFiled Under: Jonny's Take, Nutrition & Supplements
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No one I know who is an expert in a particular field takes Consumer Reports' recommendations in his field seriously. For example, car aficionados scoff at the publication's car ratings, and stereo afficiandos find the publication's recommendations for home stereo equipment laughable. When Consumer Reports talks about vitamins and nutrition, I roll my eyes, but I do turn to it for information on things I know nothing about, like buying a good washing machine.
The current cover on "dangerous" supplements may sell magazines. The issue even contains some reasonable information, but it may also send the message that supplements are dangerous. The text of the article certainly supports Consumer Reports' general belief that supplements are pretty much a waste of time.
So I was surprised to find that there was nothing on the list of supplements to avoid that I really disagree with. The tone and message of the overall article, however, is a different kettle of fish.
First the supplements themselves. The twelve supplements that Consumer Reports warns against are:
Aconite
Bitter orange (this is the ingredient a lot of manufacturers use instead of ephedra)
Chaparral
Colloidal silver
Coltsfoot
Comfrey
Country mallow
Germanium
Greater celandine
Kava
Lobella
Yohimbe
Contrary to the impression left by the cover, there's not a single vitamin or mineral in the bunch (unless you consider colloidal silver a mineral). And contrary to my own expectations, I can't find anything on this list to disagree with (with the possible exception of yohimbe). Of course, a master herbalist who really knows his stuff and is treating a specific patient with a specific herb on this list for a specific purpose is a different story, but by and large, I think the editors are right: These are all products you don't need to be taking.
I was also pleasantly surprised by the accompanying list, "Eleven Supplements to Consider," which I also found no fault with. These include:
These "professional" brands (like Designs for Health, Crayhon Research, Vital Nutrients, Pure Encapsulations and even the consumer brand Barlean's Organic Oils) are made by much smaller companies with enormous quality control, in much smaller batches, with much more expensive ingredients (magnesium citrate or magnesium glycinate as opposed to magnesium oxide, just to mention one example), and contain doses of nutrients that tend to be clinically meaningful.
I meet the owners and scientific advisors to these companies regularly at conventions and conferences. I talk with them, I hear their passion, I look at their assays (lab tests for impurities and heavy metals) and I can -- and do -- recommend them with confidence.
Jonny Bowden, author, nutritionist and weight loss coach, cuts through all the misconceptions about diet and fitness to help you transform your body, your health and your life. Visit his website to learn more.
Contrary to the impression left by the cover, there's not a single vitamin or mineral in the bunch (unless you consider colloidal silver a mineral). And contrary to my own expectations, I can't find anything on this list to disagree with (with the possible exception of yohimbe). Of course, a master herbalist who really knows his stuff and is treating a specific patient with a specific herb on this list for a specific purpose is a different story, but by and large, I think the editors are right: These are all products you don't need to be taking.
I was also pleasantly surprised by the accompanying list, "Eleven Supplements to Consider," which I also found no fault with. These include:
Glucosamine sulfate
Lactase (an enzyme that helps digest milk)
Lactobacillus (probiotics)
Psyllium (fiber)
Pygeum
SAMe
The same issue of Consumer Reports contains an article on multivitamins ("most that we tested were fine"), which contains a bit more troubling information in the form of some not-so-subtle propaganda (as in, "you can get all the nutrition you need from food").
For one thing, CR emphasizes concerns that some of the vitamins tested contained either more or less of an ingredient than was listed on the label. The publication highlighted one case in which a guy got really sick from such a product (it contained two hundred times the amount of selenium on the label!), making it seem that the whole mislabeling issue is a much more common occurrence than it really is.
It also reiterated the tired old party line about not exceeding the "recommended daily value" for nutrients, although not a single nutritionist I know thinks the "recommended doses" are worth the government paper they're printed on. (One exception: Even Consumer Reports agrees that the ridiculous recommendation of 400 IUs daily for vitamin D isn't enough.)
It's worth pointing out that the brands tested are all big-box store brands (Centrum, One-a-Day, Costco, Wal-Mart, Flintstones and the like). One reason I continue to support the companies and formulations you find on my website -- and why I encourage you to purchase "Doctor's Brands" that are generally available only through health professions -- is that these brands are almost never among those found to be wanting in tests like the ones done by Consumer Reports or even the very responsible Consumer Labs.
For one thing, CR emphasizes concerns that some of the vitamins tested contained either more or less of an ingredient than was listed on the label. The publication highlighted one case in which a guy got really sick from such a product (it contained two hundred times the amount of selenium on the label!), making it seem that the whole mislabeling issue is a much more common occurrence than it really is.
It also reiterated the tired old party line about not exceeding the "recommended daily value" for nutrients, although not a single nutritionist I know thinks the "recommended doses" are worth the government paper they're printed on. (One exception: Even Consumer Reports agrees that the ridiculous recommendation of 400 IUs daily for vitamin D isn't enough.)
It's worth pointing out that the brands tested are all big-box store brands (Centrum, One-a-Day, Costco, Wal-Mart, Flintstones and the like). One reason I continue to support the companies and formulations you find on my website -- and why I encourage you to purchase "Doctor's Brands" that are generally available only through health professions -- is that these brands are almost never among those found to be wanting in tests like the ones done by Consumer Reports or even the very responsible Consumer Labs.
These "professional" brands (like Designs for Health, Crayhon Research, Vital Nutrients, Pure Encapsulations and even the consumer brand Barlean's Organic Oils) are made by much smaller companies with enormous quality control, in much smaller batches, with much more expensive ingredients (magnesium citrate or magnesium glycinate as opposed to magnesium oxide, just to mention one example), and contain doses of nutrients that tend to be clinically meaningful.
I meet the owners and scientific advisors to these companies regularly at conventions and conferences. I talk with them, I hear their passion, I look at their assays (lab tests for impurities and heavy metals) and I can -- and do -- recommend them with confidence.
Jonny Bowden, author, nutritionist and weight loss coach, cuts through all the misconceptions about diet and fitness to help you transform your body, your health and your life. Visit his website to learn more.
