With all due respect, there may be some benefits, but they never rise to the level of what is promised.
Quackery can be dangerous when people are ingesting products from China with no real quality control. I braved Costco today and the amount of supplements is astounding as are the legally ambiguous promises.
It’s your body (and money) so do what you will, but I would be highly skeptical of most of these products and suggest others do the same. Products that promise huge weight loss have been around forever and absent exercise and diet I am still not aware of any that does what it promises.
I think some products can be effective, but I would bet 90% of this stuff makes expensive urine. God designed our bodies and we seem to function quite well on a balanced diet and healthy lifestyle.
Just saying. Human nature makes us want to believe this stuff and some unknown extract from China is unlikely to change your life. FRegards and Merry Christmas!
God designed vitamins and minerals and the human mind, too, so that supplements could be created.
Obamacare believes in a balanced diet and healthy lifestyle, too - that's why under Obamacare, anyone who's not healthy and balanced doesn't receive any healthcare. After all, 100% of healthcare costs go to sick people!
BTW, you know what patents are, don't you? And yet you don't think they have anything to do with this subject?
Totally agree and anyone who eats that stuff is out of their mind. I was one of the unfortunate ones who bought toothpaste from China that was sweetened with anti- freeze, it didn’t do me any damage thank God but it took a long time for me to get that taste out of my mouth. Today I won’t buy anything even remotely associated with China when it comes to eating something, you could be eating cyanide for all they care.
the glucosamine chondroitin supplement absoluted does work.
it was tried in horses and it worked, then they tried it in people and the people loved it then they did a double blind study against placebo and confirmed with xray evidence this stuff absolutely helps with arthritis and greatly reduces calcification of the joints in the xray study.
It’s your body (and money) so do what you will, but I would be highly skeptical of most of these products and suggest others do the same. Products that promise huge weight loss have been around forever and absent exercise and diet I am still not aware of any that does what it promises.
I think some products can be effective, but I would bet 90% of this stuff makes expensive urine.
Yes. Your body at the cellular level can only absorb and therefore use only so much in vitamins ingested, whether from dietary sources, i.e. from the foods we eat and or from vitamin pills. Your body can’t conveniently store the excess somewhere for later use so the excess is excreted via the urine; yes, quite literally it is pissing your money away. But in the case of some, like vitamin A, the excess is not easily excreted and builds up in the liver and can in high doses lead to liver disease and failure and in extreme cases death, and also numerous studies have shown that large doses of vitamin A can lead to osteoporosis.
I have to laugh when I hear people talking about the “evils of “Big Pharma””, who then go on to talk about the wonders of taking various vitamins and “natural” dietary supplements because many of these brands are actually manufactured by, guess who…..big pharmaceutical companies.
Many Vitamins, Supplements Made by Big Pharmaceutical Companies
And as for both the big manufacturers of vitamins and supplements and the smaller companies, the mom and pop shops; since the supplement industry is largely unregulated, you just don’t know where the ingredients are sourced from, how pure they are and or whether or not the active ingredients on the label are in the amounts or percentages advertized or what other ingredients are perhaps not listed on the labels. Not to mention the often dubious or sometimes ludicrous health benefit claims.
If your doctor prescribes you an FDA approved and regulated pharmaceutical drug, when you get that Rx filled at the pharmacy counter, you are given all sorts of information, a pamphlet that I guess a lot of people don’t bother reading, about all the possible side effects no matter how minor, and warnings about overdose and drug interactions, even what foods not to eat while taking it or whether you should take it with or without foods or what foods, whether to take in the AM or PM, etc. And if you experience a side effect, you can report this and it goes into the database of drug side effects mandated and maintained by the FDA. And this is how pharmaceutical drugs are monitored even after being approved; the rather exhaustive pre-approval process that includes numerous laboratory studies, numerous animal studies and finally clinical human trials. And yes some drugs do get recalled after approval but it is this very FDA regulation and oversight that catches drugs that are found to have too many dangerous side effects – although in some cases, I think these are overreactions and an overabundance of caution – some effective drugs have been pulled when only a relatively small number of people suffered any side effects. And FWIW, the FDA along with pharmaceutical companies track any and all side effects even if said side effect was nothing more than, “I took XYZ drug and felt dizzy the next morning” even if that “side effect” could not be directly correlated to the drug itself.
On the other hand if you take an unregulated dietary supplement and suffer a rash, flushing, frequent urination, diarreha or constipation, heart palpitations, high blood pressure or experience an interaction with another supplement or a prescription drug or liver damage or even a heart attack, etc., you are pretty much SOL.
If I buy a box of Twinkes that does not purport any health benefits at least I’m going to get a lot more truth in that packaging ingredient labeling than what I get should I buy an herbal supplement that does.
I’m not a big fan of Dr. Oz but IMO this gives a pretty good overview and rather surprisingly to me, some sound advice if you take supplements, what to consider and be aware of:
The Hidden Dangers of Dietary Supplements
And
The skinny on FDA regulation of dietary supplements
Most so called “herbal” and “natural” supplements are totally worthless; some can even be dangerous and interact negatively with some prescription medications and even other herbal supplements. But people see the label that says “herbal” or “all natural” and mistakenly think – “it’s not a chemical - it’s “natural” so it must be good for me!” “And if it’s good for me, more of it must even be better!” LOL!
And contrary to claims often repeated claims that it is the so called “big pharma industry”, i.e. big business and crony capitalism that wants to keep you in the dark about the true benefits of supplements and put it to “the small guys”, and force regulation on the supplement industry to put them out of business in favor of the their friend in big pharma; it is actually quite the opposite.
OK, the source for this, “Citizens for Ethics.org” also says a lot of things I don’t agree with, they do make some good points about how lobbying money corrupts the process.
”Far and away the largest recipient of campaign contributions from the supplement industry in the 2010 election cycle was Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) who took in $45,780, 59% more than the lawmaker in second place, freshman Rep. Justin Amash (R-MI). Sen. Hatch wasn’t up for reelection. Further, the supplement industry paid the lobbying firm of Walker, Martin and Hatch – in which Sen. Hatch’s son, Scott Hatch, is a partner -- $125,600 in 2010 alone. Scott Hatch cannot lobby his father directly, but records indicate Jack Martin, a former aide to Sen. Hatch, lobbied for supplement industry clients.”
”Lobbying spending by the industry has increased 86% since the 109th Congress. Further, the political action committees (PACs) linked to the supplement industry have increased donations to federal candidates. In addition to Sen. Hatch and Rep. Amash, CREW found major recipients of supplement industry cash during the 2010 election cycle included Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA), Rep. Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) and Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT), all of whom either sit on committees considering legislation affecting the industry or have an industry presence in their home states. The supplement industry is the third-largest industry in Utah, with revenues estimated at up to $4 billion a year.,
And
Dietary Supplements: Latest Government Uproar No Match for Industry Lobbying Money
The simple truth is that if you eat a healthy, well balanced and varied diet; a diet that includes proteins from sources like lean meats and fish and beans and legumes and whole grains and dairy products and a fairly wide variety of readily available fresh fruits and vegetables, healthy oils like olive oil and yes, real butter in moderation, or unless you suffer from certain diseases like celiac or you are a pregnant woman for whom it is recommended to take a folic acid supplement (and even then - most pregnant women can get more than enough folic acid by eating right, before and during pregnancy) you are getting more than enough essential vitamins for good health from the food you eat and simply don’t need to take any vitamins or herbal supplements.
Even if you occasionally indulge in pure junk foods, unless you consume nothing but (and FWIW, even most junk foods still provide a surprising amount of vitamins and essential nutrients and minerals), you are still likely to be getting more than enough essential vitamins and minerals than your body needs on any given day.
Even if and when they are harmless, OTC vitamins and other herbal or dietary supplements are a complete waste of money that is much better spent at your grocery store or local farmer’s market on healthy fresh whole foods.