According to a recent AP report, 25% of the 52 nutritional supplements tested by Informed Choice were contaminated by steroids and 11% contained stimulants.
”The presence of steroids and stimulants in supplement products is still very much an issue,” the conclusion of the report read. “It is clear that not all supplement manufacturers follow good manufacturing practices and the necessary controls are not always implemented to ensure the safety of athletes and the general public who use the supplement products.”
Is it surprising? Not really when there has been study after study where supplements don’t contain what they advertise.
In April 2007, MSNBC reported that Arthritis supplements tested by Consumer Labs were found not to contain the amount of Chrondoitin listed on the package. Some actually contained NO Chrondoitin even though the package claimed that it was of the highest quality.
“Of the 20 joint supplements marketed to people and their pets that were selected by ConsumerLab.com and tested by independent laboratories, 40 percent failed to contain what their labels promised.”
In another recent test, a well known store brand of vitamins were found to contain lead while others were found not to contain the vitamins listed on the bottle. According to the article posted at MSNBC
“Most worrisome, according to ConsumerLab.com president Dr. Tod Cooperman, is that one product, The Vitamin Shoppe Multivitamins Especially for Women, was contaminated with lead.
I was definitely shocked by the amount of lead in [this] woman’s product,” he said. “We’ve never seen that much lead in a multivitamin before.”
Other products contained more or less of a particular vitamin than listed on the label. And some did not dissolve in the correct amount of time, meaning they could potentially pass through the body without being fully absorbed. “
So what’s a person to do? There are several recommendations:
- ¨ Purchase supplements from a company that does clinical testing on it’s products. There are a few out there who do.
- ¨ Purchase from a well known company
- ¨ Stay away from supplements that promise the moon or unknown companies.
- ¨ Make sure that the products are 100% guaranteed.
Amidst all this bad news there is good news and I will be posting more about that in the next few days.
Stay Healthy!
Filed under: Health Alert, Supplementing | Tagged: supplement contamination, steroids, stimulants
