NOT ALL SUPPLEMENTS CONTAIN WHAT'S ON THE LABEL ... AND EVEN IF THEY DO, THEY MAY NOT BE ABSORBED BY YOUR BODY!

"Does it work? Often, the answer is no, but it's worth doing some research to find those few products that really do offer some benefit."
"Some supplements have shown benefit, some have done definite harm, and there's a whole lot that don't do a lot of good."
"How do I know if I'm buying a reputable brand? You don't. Numerous studies show supplements often don't contain the ingredients they promise, and some are adulterated with lead or other contaminants."
- Wall Street Journal: New Rules From FDA, March 11, 2003

AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY: "NUTRITIONAL SUPPLEMENT DOSES NOT ALWAYS ACCURATE"
Value of Supplements Still Unknown

Men who take nutritional supplements to help prevent prostate disease need to be aware that some supplements may contain much less or much more of the ingredient than stated on the label, according to a report in The Journal of Urology (Vol. 168: 150-154).

"The take-home message here for consumers of these supplements is buyer beware," said Neil E. Fleshner, MD, head of urology at the University Health Network at the University of Toronto in Ontario.

Fleshner and colleagues bought at stores several different kinds of vitamins and other supplements popular among men interested in preventing prostate disease, including prostate cancer.

The researchers' independent testing showed the seven brands of vitamin E they bought had anywhere from a little more than half the dose stated on the bottle, to above 50% more than the labeled dose.

The selenium they tested ranged from one-fifth less than the labeled dose, to almost a quarter more.

Lycopene supplements ranged from about two-thirds of the labeled dose, to almost one and a half times more than the dose on the label.

One brand of saw palmetto had less than 3% of the dose stated on the label, and another had 40% more than the label said. Most vitamin D was within 15% of the doses stated on the bottle. In addition, pill doses varied between lot numbers of the same brand for some supplements.

- American Cancer Society, July 30, 2002

PILL FILLERS
(HealthScoutNews) -- About half of the vitamin pills sold in the United States contain so many useless fillers that the beneficial compounds pass through the digestive tract unchanged and exit the body through the kidneys, says author David Bodanis. Vitamins are very tiny molecules, says Bodanis, "so the portions don't really have to be as big as what's handed out now. Yet who would believe in the power of tiny pills?" he asks.

So "they're bulked up" with fillers that include sand, chalk and talc, bound by steamed extracts from pigs' feet and other animal bones, Bodanis says in his book The Secret Family.

And, he adds, "About half of the most popular vitamin pills stay in such large granules that they can't be digested at all."

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DO THEY EVEN DISSOLVE?
(HealthScoutNews: "Not All Multivitamins Pack the Same Punch," July 21, 2002)
Another key concern: making certain the nutrients you do take get into your bloodstream, a goal that's often defeated when supplements carry the equivalent of a bullet-proof vest in the form of a hard shell coating.

"If we X-ray someone's stomach, we can often see dark shadows indicating undissolved vitamin pills that were consumed many hours before," says Dr. James Dillard, an assistant professor of medicine and medical advisor at the Rosenthal Center of Alternative and Complementary Medicine at Columbia University.

To help ensure that vitamins do dissolve quickly and completely, look for products that carry the U.S. Pharmacopeia seal of approval, usually noted as "U.S.P. Approved" on the label. That means the product was tested by a government agency and found to dissolve in a minimum amount of time.

Because seeking U.S.P. approval is a voluntary action, not all companies do it -- or comply with the agency's recommendations. It's also true that some companies that don't seek U.S.P. approval do make vitamins with a high dissolution rate.

How's a consumer to know? All you need is vinegar and water to find out.

According to Dillard, simply mix equal parts of water and vinegar in a glass and drop in your vitamin pill. Within 40 minutes, it should be well on its way to being dissolved. If it's not, he says, it's probably going to pass through your body undigested.

[Pharmanex Statement, from the label of LifePak: "The United States Pharmacopeia (USP) XXIV disintegration test methods and guidelines for vitamin capsules and tablets are widely recognized standards in the industry to ensure that the nutrients in capsules and tablets are made available for digestion and intestinal absorption in a timely manner. LifePak conforms to the USP XXIV requirements for disintegration and dissolution for oil- and water-soluble vitamins and for mineral capsules."]

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