Four things occurred in the last week which gave me cause to think about vitamins and supplements sold over the counter.
First, my office manager told me that the vitamin shelves at Walmart were bare. My first response was “Great, At least people are finally taking their vitamins!”
I didn’t think much more about it until one of my patients, called to let me know he is Covid positive. He said he had been following all my recommendations and didn’t feel too bad.
“That sounds good” I told him “but now we need to increase your zinc, how much are you taking?” He thought was taking ‘zinc’ from Walmart. But despite his best efforts (bear in mind that he is a nurse) he said he could not see from the label how much zinc was in the product. “But it is citrus flavored” he said, which gave me even more cause for concern. He eventually sent someone to get zinc from my office. My comments regarding the research I did on zinc from Walmart are discussed below.
It was also very distressing to hear from him that the geriatric nursing home that he works in Baltimore got its first case of Covid two weeks ago. But now 60 residents there have Covid-19 and 15 staff members are out sick with positive corona virus tests.
As I was researching the zinc issue I came across a disturbing article about the findings of the New York Attorney General in 2015.
In the New York State attorney general’s office report, they accused GNC, Walgreens, Target, and Walmart of selling “fraudulent and potentially dangerous” supplements.
Here are a few more disturbing details from that same report:
· GNC supplements contained ingredients that were not listed on their labels. Some of which are dangerous allergens for certain people, such as peanuts and soybean.
· A ginseng supplement from Walgreens turned out to be only rice and garlic.
· Six supplements from Target tested negative for the main ingredient they claimed, they actually contained beans, rice, peas, and carrots.
· At Walmart, the authorities found that it's 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.”
“The authorities… 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".
According to a Consumer Reports article - in two years alone – manufacturers selling into the US market “…voluntarily recalled more than 80 bodybuilding supplements that contained synthetic steroids or steroid-like substances, 50 sexual-enhancement products that contained erectile-dysfunction drugs, and 40 weight-loss supplements containing appetite suppressant which has been discontinued in many countries.” (Reference:https://www.consumerreports.org/cro/2012/05/dangerous- supplements/index.htm)
So it appears some of the supplements you are buying are anything but the real thing.
Meanwhile…. Back to zinc.
Understand there are different kinds of zinc so they can not be directly compared. Be that as it may:
More easily absorbed forms include zinc picolinate, zinc citrate, zinc acetate, and zinc glycinate. Zinc gluconate consistently contains the lowest amount of cadmium levels (many zinc products are contaminated with cadmium which can be harmful if you take high levels).
Clearly investigative journalism is not my forte but my interest was piqued so I looked up some zinc products at Walmart, on line.
The first thing that caught my eye was the Walmart ‘disclaimer’
“Legal Disclaimer
Product packaging and material may contain more and/or different information from the website, including the product description, country of origin, nutrition, ingredient, allergen and other information. Always read labels, warnings, and directions and other information provided with the product before using or consuming a product. For additional information about a product, please contact the manufacturer.
Then as far as ingredients are concerned.
About This Item:
We aim to show you accurate product information. Manufacturers, suppliers and others provide what you see here, and we have not verified it. See our disclaimer (The one I copied above). Interesting…
So then I looked at a specific product: Wellness Zinc Lozenges and here is what the label says:
Wellness Zinc Lozenges by Source Naturals Inc. 60 Lozenges Wellness Zinc Product .The Wellness Family of products are designed to support the body's defense system when under physical stress. Our zinc lozenges are specially formulated to contain the most active forms of zinc. Zinc is a trace element that plays a significant role in the human body. It is involved in normal cell growth and repair and helps support the body's natural defenses. Natural peach and raspberry flavors leave no zinc aftertaste. Source Naturals wellness Zinc lozenges 23 mg
· Source Naturals wellness family of products are designed to support the body’s defense system when under physical stress.
· Source Naturals peach raspberry wellness zinc lozenges are specially formulated to contain the most active forms of zinc.
· Zinc is a trace element that plays a significant role in the human body.
· Zinc is involved in normal cell growth and repair and helps support the body’s natural defenses.
Sounds great! But then under ingredients it says (I kid you not!)
Ingredients: Fructose, natural peach flavor, stearic acid, natural raspberry flavor, and magnesium stearate.
I’m sorry, did we forget the zinc part that showed everywhere else on your label? The one that sounded really good for the body!
Another product which claimed to have 50 mg of zinc said:
“Zinc Lozenges are becoming a huge focus for its support of the immune system. Our Lozenges contain almost TWICE the amount of Zinc than the leading national brand”
bologna! Anyway I hope you get my point.
It is often hard to find out where the original source material came from (often China) but do not assume because a supplement has a USA address on it that it was made in the USA. Hello Kirkland, anybody home?
The FDA requires all products to have an USA address or phone number listed so people have a contact for questions or complaints.
My advice:
Choose supplements that are “Made in the USA” exclusively and are manufactured in GMP certified facilities. These have a set of regulations enforced by the US Food & Drug Administration that provide for systems that assure proper design, monitoring and control of manufacturing processes and facilities.”
Quality control is a huge part of those systems. To meet the regulations, every raw material is tested for quality and purity before it is ever used, and every finished product is randomly tested to be sure that each pill, capsule, or other form of the product contains exactly what the label says it contains.
If you decide to opt for a retail store, I recommend small, independent apothecaries that have an excellent reputation with knowledgeable staff. Once you find a good one, it can be a huge relief to be able to trust them.
When it comes to what you’re putting in your body, we know now more than ever before that it is worth being vigilant. This is an important step in taking control of your health.
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