What's Really in Herbal Supplements?

Monday Feb. 3 New York State attorney general office ordered four large chains to stop selling herbal supplements based on false claims.

Target, Walgreens, Walmart and GNC are accused of providing products where the main ingredients promoted are not even in the product along with including potentially dangerous ingredients as fillers.

While customers are technically being conned out money, this is not only a case of false advertising but also a serious health concern. Some of the products tested simply did not have the stated ingredients, but for others fillers like rice, wild carrots and beans were used instead. The dangerous part of the ordeal is how some companies used fillers such as powdered legumes, an ingredient that would be unsafe for someone with nut or soybean allergy to consume.

Herbal supplements are not reviewed or approved by the FDA, which explains the lack of quality products. Instead an “honor code” is enforced on companies who only care about their bottom line rather than consumers’ health.

“If this data is accurate, then it is an unbelievably devastating indictment of the industry,” said Dr. Pieter Cohen, an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School and an expert on supplement safety in a post on nytimes.com.

In order to fix the problem Walgreens is pulling all of the products from around the country and Walmart will talk to their suppliers. Target refused to comment. GNC, however, stands behind the quality of their products.

As for a final solution, there is none yet and there might not be for a while.

#national #health #supplements