Supplements in Crisis

A report on PBS and Frontline January 19, 2016 talks about adverse effects of supplements, especially diet and weight loss products often used and abused by young people (ref) and also dosage shortages of omega fish oils and possible rancidity. ref  Here is the Frontline article> ref  Copied below to prevent loss of article reference since NY Times now charging to see.

As readers of this website, you already would have known about these issues with the safety precautions to effectively negate. And you would have learned the proper Vitamin D dosage protocols to safeguard your health.

Vitamin supplements can be effectively and safely used only when the proper education is gained.

The fact that some vitamin manufactures cut corners on quality is nothing new. Overall, about 15% of particular nutrients in supplement form will exhibit some degree of dosage or form problem.

There are honest companies attempting to follow ethical standards as much as feasible given the current state of vitamin science, raw material standards, and worldwide pollution. Constant testing is mandated.

These attributes are not always reflected on labels. That is why this website exists. But it is just a beginning source limited by what science has tested and measured. Still far too many gaps in knowledge.

Marketing rhetoric, biased pseudo Professionals, and flat out faulty vitamin concepts still prevail and stand in the way of your Good Health.

OTHER CURRENT EXAMPLES

1.  CHIPOTLE restaurant is suffering numerous bacterial contamination situations, largely due to their admirable methods attempting to offer more natural foods using local smaller suppliers and not over cooking foods. But perhaps, one major aspect is the sanitation of workers. Generally, diversity of people from many cultures beings out different standards of cleanliness. Also, people form different parts of the World exhibit different bacteria stains in their bodies. While these might adjust to neutralize over time, these differences can introduce new bacteria into the situation requiring constant monitoring. We have already seen unique diseases start to surface from the influx of undocumented young people from Central America.

2.  Another current issue showing up is linked to the possible contamination of Garden of Life's Raw Meal powders. So far, 11 people are sick with salmonella, 10 of whom consumed GOL's Raw Meal the week before. Two states, Utah and Oregon, have tested the GOL products the sick people consumed and found salmonella bacteria. Time will tell if more find this same result and unfortunately, if more people will get sick. This website put GOL at the bottom of quality issues some time ago. They are more of a marketing company than a product quality company.

GOL started out promoting many SBO's standing for soil bacteria organisms. Today, only one SBO is still in their products. What happened to change this scenario if these organisms were so beneficial? And why is the remaining bacteria, Bacillus Subtilis, which is widely used for valuable industrial uses, found associated with infections in many parts of the body? This does not mean cause and effect, just an association that is problematic by itself. SBO's are not native to the human intestinal tract. While they may have some beneficial actions, these actions can be obtained from the bacteria named lactobacilus which are native to the human intestinal tract. SBO bacteria are known as spore-formers. Some spore-formers are quite famous and dangerous, like anthrax. While the SBO in GOL products are not part of this dangerous aspect and have valuable uses in raising farm animals, they exhibit some usual traits that warrant further study. In the spore form, they can enter the body from the intestinal tract. Once in the body, they can turn back into the active state. Not much is known yet about any possible results. Best not to consume. SBO are sometimes consumed with raw foods, but quickly pass through the intestinal tract.

NOTE: one Renew Life infant probiotic, Ultimate Flora Kid's Probiotic 1 billion, contains the SBO, Bacillus coagulens. Best to stay away until complete research validates safety. This strain is used because it is very stable in the spore form, but hardly a justifiable reason to add to formula or consume. Yes, the FDA has put it on the GRAS list, generally recognized as safe, but can the FDA be trusted since they also found GMO's safe, and artificial sweeteners, and hormones in meat, etc?

FRONTLINE on Fish Oil Safety

Below is COPY (July 2022) of Frontline article that is now in archive file and may soon be deleted. This is decription of what video contained about fish oil safety.  

"‘Supplements and Safety’ Explores What’s in Your Supplements

BY ANAHAD O'CONNOR

 JANUARY 19, 2016 12:16 PM January 19, 2016 12:16 pm

Is Fish Oil Helpful or Harmful?

The correspondent Gillian Findlay investigates the scientific claims about fish oil, a popular supplement, in an exclusive video by the PBS series “Frontline” in collaboration with The New York Times.

By FRONTLINE on  Publish Date January 19, 2016. Photo by PBS Frontline.

Americans spend an estimated $1.3 billion on fish oil products every year, making them one of the most commonly consumed dietary supplements in the country. 

But do you know what’s in your fish oil?

A new documentary, “Supplements and Safety,” pulls back the curtain on some of America’s most popular supplements, and it suggests that many people who buy them may not be getting what they are paying for. The program, airing on the PBS investigative series “Frontline” on Tuesday night, is a collaboration between “Frontline,” The New York Times and The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. 

The program examines the widespread use of potent vitamins, herbs, fish oil and fat-burning supplements. Millions of Americans use these products safely every year. But researchers have found that in many cases they can cause unexpected side effects. And because dietary supplements are largely unregulated by the federal government, adulteration and contamination are common, experts say.

The Frontline documentary investigates large outbreaks of disease tied to tainted vitamins and fat-burning supplements, including one case in which a workout supplement was linked to more than 70 cases of liver damage. The company whose products were at the center of that outbreak, USPlabs, is among 117 companies and individuals that the Justice Department filed criminal and civil enforcement actions against last year.

The “Frontline” program follows doctors, patients, industry experts and regulators to uncover the root of these outbreaks. It looks at whether the widespread use of vitamin D and other popular vitamins that are commonly sold and taken in high doses can do more harm than good. One that it focuses on is fish oil, the third most popular supplement in America, which is used by at least one in 10 adults. 

Despite their popularity, some studies have found that roughly three-quarters of fish oil supplements on the market do not contain the amount of omega-3 fatty acids advertised on their labels. Some have also found that fish oil supplements are prone to becoming rancid. 

Fish oil supplements are widely marketed as beneficial to cardiovascular health. But the film points out that such claims are debatable at best. A majority of clinical trials have found no evidence that they protect against heart disease, according to a study published in JAMA Internal Medicine in 2014.

“I think for cardiovascular disease, one has to say that there is no compelling evidence that taking fish oils protects against a first heart attack or a second heart attack,” Andrew Grey, the author of the JAMA study and an associate professor of medicine at the University of Auckland, says in the “Frontline” report. “So people who are advised to do that or are doing it are wasting their time and their money.”

Proponents of fish oil supplements argue that omega-3 fatty acids are essential for heart function and promote overall health. Experts say there is no doubt about that. But there is no clinical evidence that taking high doses in supplement form is beneficial for most people.

To learn more about the debate over fish oil, vitamins and herbal supplements, watch “Supplements and Safety” at 10 p.m. Eastern on PBS stations on Tuesday, Jan. 19" (End of Frontline article)