When ConsumerLab, an independent testing lab, recently analyzed 42 leading multivitamins, 16 (38%) failed quality tests. The problems included sub-potency, exceeding FDA nutrient limits, and tablet disintegration—all of which can affect the efficacy or safety of these products.

For CNCA Health, pointing out quality problems in the supplement industry is a double-edged sword. We want you to be aware of the potential for problems so that you can protect yourself. It’s also why we conduct up to 200 quality tests or more to ensure purity, potency and authenticity.

On the other hand, we’re concerned that such news may discourage you from including dietary supplements in your personal health and wellness strategy.  That’s why this report on multivitamin quality is so disturbing.

Next to fish oil, multivitamins are the most popular dietary supplement in America—and for good reason. National surveys reveal that most Americans are not getting enough of key nutrients from diet alone, so taking a multivitamin may help fill any dietary gaps.

But when you look at what ConsumerLab found you’ll be justifiably concerned that you are not getting what you paid for—or worse, that you may be getting something you didn’t want.

What They Found:

• Thirteen products did not provide the amount of nutrients listed on the label. For example, one multivitamin only contained 15% of the vitamin A it claimed to provide while another only delivered 37.5% of the folic acid promised.
• Several products, including some for children, exceeded tolerable limits for niacin, vitamin A, magnesium and zinc. Too much niacin can cause skin flushing and tingling while excess zinc can cause immune deficiency and anemia.
• One product contained 248% of the claimed amount of Vitamin A (as retinol). Manufacturers are allowed to include a little more to allow for full potency through the life of the product, but in this case, too much vitamin A can be toxic.
• Two products did not pass the disintegration test by taking 40 minutes to break apart rather than within the 10-minute limit. This may reduce your body’s ability to absorb the ingredients, and limit their effectiveness.
• Among the three pet products tested, one product was contaminated with lead.

What Went Wrong

Virtually all of the problems would have been discovered before the products hit store shelves if the supplement makers had conducted thorough quality testing throughout the manufacturing process, including:

• Testing raw ingredients for authenticity--to prevent fake or fraudulent ingredients
• Testing raw ingredients for purity--to find contaminants like lead, chemical solvents used in processing, or herbicides, and fungicides for that may affect plant-based ingredients
• Testing raw ingredients for potency—to know how much of the active ingredient is present to make sure label potency claims are met.
• Testing during production and post production--to ensure that product quality remains intact and that the finished products exceed government and voluntary standards.

Unfortunately only a fraction of manufacturers’ go to these lengths—but CNCA Health is one of the few that does. We perform over 225 tests on our products—that’s almost four times more than many other brands.  

We encourage you to learn how CNCA Health goes the extra mile to ensure that our products deliver the highest standards for purity, potency and authenticity.

It’s one of the many reasons why CNCA Health supplements are doctor recommended and hospital approved.

Sources:

ConsumerLab (subscription required)

It’s probably no surprise that 84% of retail pharmacists surveyed said they receive questions about which supplements they would recommend for various health concerns. After all, they wear a white coat and are usually within a few yards of a dizzying array of supplement options.

Given that they are experts in human physiology, medication metabolism and drug interaction, they just might be the best person (aside from your doctor) to ask for a recommendation. While you’re at it, be sure to tell them what, if any medications you’re taking as some supplements can affect how drugs work.

Pharmacists’ Top Picks

According to the same survey, here are the top recommended supplements for common health concerns:

Energy – Pharmacists are twice as likely to recommend protein-based products rather than caffeine for energy. To maintain energy about three in four pharmacists (72%) recommend taking an iron supplement. About 30% recommend ginseng.

Metabolism – To derive energy from food, nine out of ten pharmacists recommend a B-complex vitamin which can help the body utilize nutrients.

Heart Health – Nine in ten recommend fish oil for cardiovascular health. About two thirds surveyed are apt to recommend flaxseed oil and about half (47%) may also suggest a garlic supplement. Vitamin D was also highly regarded by 77% of pharmacists for heart health.

Mental Alertness -- About 42% recommend Ginkgo biloba for mental alertness Immune Health – For a healthy immune system, 79% of the pharmacists say they recommend vitamin D.

Nutritional Gaps – Nine in 10 recommend multivitamins and vitamin D to fill nutritional gaps.

Quality Matters

While an overwhelming majority of pharmacists (93%) agree that taking vitamins and supplements is important for maintaining overall good health, they are equally adamant about choosing supplement brands based on quality.

In fact, product quality topped the list of important factors to consider when purchasing supplements. Specifically, they rated product purity (77%) and product potency (65%) as being paramount.

We wholeheartedly agree with the pharmacists on this point—choosing a high quality supplement ensures that you are getting a safe and effective product that will help you maintain optimal health.

CNCA goes to extreme measures to insure our products meet the highest standards for purity, potency and authenticity—We call that quality you can trust!

Source:

PR Newswire

Weight loss is a vital topic in the U.S. After all, statistics show that about two-thirds of adults in the U.S. are overweight or obese, and one-third of all adults were obese in 2007-08. Naturally, many of us who need to shed some pounds for our health want to know how we can do so, smartly and safely.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reveals the primary culprit for weight gain: Consuming too many calories and not getting enough physical activity. The likely solution appears to be to eat less and exercise more. But is caloric intake really such a big factor in weight loss? Perhaps the national phenomenon of the "Twinkie diet" best proves the point.

You probably heard the CNN story about Dr. Mark Haub, a Kansas State University nutrition professor who sought to demonstrate to his class that counting calories in and of itself was an effective weight-loss method. To drive his point home, Dr. Haub shocked his class, and the nation, by losing 27 pounds in only two months and even lowering his cholesterol while consuming little more than junk food, including powdered donuts, Doritos, snack cakes, Oreos, and, yes, Twinkies.

Consuming all this garbage, how did Dr. Haub lose weight? Well, he made sure that he consumed less than 1,800 calories a day. At his pre-Twinkie diet weight, he would normally consume 2,600 calories, the article reports. Afterward, he emphasized that he was merely conducting a class exercise, and being a nutrition professor, did not recommend his Twinkie diet to others (thank goodness).

Another key bit of information? The snack cakes and junk food only made up two-thirds of the professor's total caloric intake. Dr. Haub also consumed a protein shake and a multivitamin every day, incorporated veggies into his diet and maintained the same level of moderate physical activity as he did before limiting his calories.

What the public can really take away from the nutrition professor's unusual diet is not that eating Twinkies is the key to losing weight. Rather, portion control is vital, and establishing a set amount of calories, under the direction of your physician or nutritionist, could be a key to weight loss that many fad diets overlook. Even while eating whole grains, lean meats, fruits and veggies, and getting plenty of fiber, you may still be consuming too many calories over all.

Food for thought? I certainly think so.

Image source: Image by Larry D. Moore, used under a Creative Commons ShareAlike License

This guest post is contributed by Kitty Holman, who writes on the topics of nursing schools. She welcomes your comments at kitty.holman20@gmail.com.