Supplements It's All About Perspective

By Wendy J. Hilliard, DC, Regional Wellness Manager

Knowles Apothecary Wellness

. http://www.knowleswellness.com/

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Supplements It's All About Perspective

There was an article in the September 2010 issue of Consumer Reports entitled The 12 Most Dangerous Supplements. As a nutritional supplement manager and buyer, I found the article interesting. Not because it was informative, but because it was a misrepresentation of the nutritional supplement industry as a whole.

The article explores a few select stories of patients whose health was compromised after the use of such products. One case describes a woman whose skin turned blue while taking colloidal silver to cure her Lyme's disease, and another case describes a man suffering acute hepatitis after taking Hydroxycut to lose five pounds. The author continued to discuss dangerous supplements in the categories of weight loss, sexual enhancement, and bodybuilding regarding their overblown sales pitches and harmful side effects.

I find both negative and positive messages in this article. The negative message in this article is the portrayal of supplements as dangerous, unnecessary, deceptive, and scientifically irrelevant. As with pharmaceuticals, there are things out there that are dangerous. Though, the supplements the author chose to discuss were mostly infomercial-type products or products that were taken incorrectly (the amount of colloidal silver one has to ingest to turn blue is extremely excessive and clinically inappropriate).

This brings us to the positive message in the article. People need to be aware of the appropriate uses and effective dosages of the supplements they are taking. The supplements I am referring to are products such as vitamins, minerals, fish oils, probiotics, and immune supports (not the weight loss, sexual enhancement, and bodybuilding pills).

The author of the article does give credit to some of the good supplements however, their claim that supplements are not backed by research is false. There are many high quality supplement lines on the shelf that are third party tested, and some lines that go through a research process just as grueling as some of the top pharmaceutical drugs on the market.

Considering supplements are available over-the-counter, the most important thing nutritional supplement professionals need to do is educate their customers. The supplement industry is an amazing arena of natural health filled with excellent resources. A person should know what they are taking, why they are taking it, and how to take it correctly. Supplements need to be purchased from a source where questions can be asked, accurate information is given, and education is provided.