A few days ago I was scanning down a ‘Readers Comments’ thread on a popular health website when one reader’s response caught my eye.

This person made 3 comments in his post, all of which I have seen quite regularly on health sites around the web and ALL 3 represent common misconceptions with regard to nutritional supplements!

These particular misconceptions are proof of the popular saying “If you throw enough mud for long enough some of it will stick!”

And the Internet only serves to exacerbate this problem!

Because I take issue with these comments on several levels I have decided to address them in my blog post for today.

”What are they” you ask?

 

Here’s what the reader said:

1. “Almost all the studies we read about these days are flawed or intentionally skewed….

2. Most supplements on the market are just a waste of money, they contain synthetic or low quality ingredients….

3. ….and what’s actually much worse are the excipients that they are made with - magnesium stearate, stearic acid, vegetable cellulose, etc. are all damaging to the human body, specifically as immunosuppressants”

 

Hmmmmmmm!

Here are my responses:-

 

1) Almost All Studies Are Flawed:

It’s waaaaaay too much of an all-encompassing generalization to say “almost all studies …. are flawed or intentionally skewed”.

While some studies, such as the recent Cochrane Report on supplements and early death, are definitely skewed in favour of a pre-existing bias, the majority of studies are conducted in a manner in which much useful information can be gained.

Yes, there will always be flaws in a study; new information will appear that casts things in a different light, the study may not be long enough, the study may not necessarily be looking at the correct values or some of the participants may not be “suitable” for the study, among many other reasons.

But this is no reason to throw the baby out with the bath water!

Even in a “flawed” study there can still be a lot of useful information gathered!

I have stressed this before - it is important to DIG A LITTLE DEEPER and look CLOSELY at the:-

 

• The reason behind the study - what are they REALLY looking for?

• The parameters used to verify the hypothesis (EVERY study should have a clearly defined hypothesis based on previous research being investigating, rather than just seeing what effect an ingredient has)

• Statistical methods used to analyze the results (remember there are 3 types of UNTRUTH: lies, damned lies and STATISTICS!)

• And even the conclusions that the researchers come to.

 

Everything needs to be looked at closely and in detail. This is part of the reason why peer-review is important (though it also to be taken to a degree with a grain of salt).

 

2) Most Supplements Are A Waste Of Money

Yes - I do AGREE that MOST supplements on the market today are a WASTE OF MONEY!

They are contract manufactured, with the cheapest and sometimes useless ingredients of low quality.

They are formulated by people who have no understanding of nutrition, nutritional science or health!

But Not ALL supplements are like that!

There is an elite group at the top of the market which are formulated using genuine nutritional science, are manufactured by the company promoting and selling the product, using the best quality materials available including many ingredients that are not in the “run-of-the-mill” products.

These supplements are VERY GOOD VALUE and are the only ones you should use to support your health and longevity!

 

3) Excipients Are All Damaging To The Body

Again, this person gets very ‘all-encompassing’ with the “excipients….are all damaging to the human body” statement.

This is RUBBISH!

Virtually all excipients, but especially magnesium stearate, stearic acid, vegetable cellulose ARE DERIVED FROM PLANTS!

Is this person saying that we SHOULDN’T EAT PLANTS?

Because all these types of excipients are ordinarily present in plants that are a part of the ordinary diet, and the quantities eaten as part of the diet FARRRRR outweigh the amounts in nutritional health supplements.

In the case of stearic acid this is a vital component of the diet that is used in a large number of functions within the body. It can even be used to produce unsaturated fats.

The state-of-the art vitamin supplement, Total Balance,I take uses Magnesium Stearate, Carboxy Methyl Celluose (CMC), Microcrystalline Celluose (MCC), Calcium Phosphate, Dextrose and Silicon Dioxide as excipients, and ONLY these.

You can view Total Balance here.

The first 3 are derived from plants, calcium phosphate is a component in hydroxyapatite that makes up 70% of bone, dextrose is a form of glucose, one of the most important sugars in the body, and silicon dioxide is known to pass through the body unchanged.

Many other (less professional and responsible) companies may use a much larger range of excipients 10-20 - even 62!), some of which may have harmful effects, but Xtend-Life which manufactures Total Balance choses only these ones because they can either be used in the body or pass through.

The Chairman of the company once told me that limiting their excipient range often creates problems for them and their tablets resulting in additional expense.

But they accept that as a consequence of producing a safe, high quality, healthy supplement.

 

Does Your Supplement Manufacturer Follow Suit?

 

 

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Good Health Always!

 

 

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Tags: health, longevity, nutrition, nutritional, nutritional health supplements, nutritional supplements, quality, Supplements, vitamin supplement

This entry was posted on Monday, May 12th, 2008 at 6:25 am and is filed under General Health. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.