Probiotics: The Path to Better Digestive Health through Quality Clinical Trials
DuPont Nutrition & Health
Breaking News on Supplements & Nutrition - North AmericaEU edition
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Spotlight
  AREDS2 data publishedLutein + zeaxanthin may reduce risk of progression to advanced AMD, compared to original AREDS formulaAdding lutein, zeaxanthin and/or omega-3 fatty acids to the AREDS eye health formula may not offer any... |
 AREDS2Lutein/zeaxanthin benefits for people with low dietary intakes is an ‘important message’ for the general population: OmniActive COOThe significant benefits of adding lutein and zeaxanthin to the AREDS formula for people with low dietary... |
 Website content an extension of labeling: FDA warning letter shows companies need to ‘think about their real estate space’The FDA has issued a warning letter for a company website that links to articles with disease... |
 Association to hold seminar on 'The Non-GMO Future'UNPA: ‘We sense that the GMO issue is substantially more significant than dietary supplement companies think’Dietary supplement manufacturers need to consider the implications of possible GMO labeling initiatives, with the issue more... |
 CSPI to Bayer: Fix your One A Day claims or we’ll start a lawsuitThe Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) is threatening litigation against Bayer for alleged “deceptive practices... |
 Trade associations urge FDA to issue revised draft guidance on NDI ingredient identityThe five associations representing the dietary supplement industry have asked the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to... |
 Vitamin Shoppe: 'Mytrition range doing well and we’ll expand it later this year'Vitamin Shoppe’s ‘unique’ multipacks for men and women branded as Mytrition are doing ‘very well’ and current... |
Balance Vs. One-Sided Hype
What is lacking in this release by Consumer Reports is balance. To attain the right perspective about the dangers of supplements, a balanced account needs to be presented, rather than an one-sided, hyperbolic rant such as this one.
Just like about anything else, risks are a relative construct. To understand how risky, or dangerous, something is, it has to be placed in the proper relation to other similar risks.
Supplements are consumed by a significant segment of people in the U.S. This is analogously to the situation with the use of pharmaceutical medications and over-the-counter drugs.
Which practice, taking drugs or supplements, is more dangerous?
According to the research data, exceptionally few people die from consuming nutritional supplements every year, COMPARED TO over 100,000 people who die each and every year from the use of pharmaceutical drugs. (Aspirin alone kills more people every year than supplements).
Where should the priority be for (adequate) regulation? What “medical/health care product” should you be truly worried about?
Facts versus hype...
I found that most reports on the so-called “dangers of supplements” amount to little more than scaremongering. It's frequently done out of a political-ideological incentive. Done to mislead rather than to educate.
Posted by Rolf
03 August 2012 | 07h05