POSTED ON 9 DECEMBER 2010 BY BRODRICK KENT

Today the supplement industry is booming as consumer interest grows in preventative health care. As readers search for their 'nutritional seat belt of choice', they are faced with some serious hurdles not only in sifting through the sheer volume of information available, but also in pursuing authentic information and averting hollow promises. So how does one validate all the claims? Stronger regulation is now required to control snake oil science and bogus claims made by supplement companies and professionals who prey on consumer ignorance.

The promiscuous use of supplements is a concern. Many practitioners are becoming ‘holistic pharmacists’ conducting big business by recommending heavy fortification regimes using large dose isolated nutrients, a pill for every ill. However, this drug like approach is questionable and many respected professionals don't agree with this practice........

"Over the past decade the health industry has moved away from the mega-dose approach as we have learned that smaller amounts of synergistic nutrients (whole-foods) have a far greater and more expansive effect on the body than taking large amounts of singular nutrients. In all my years of practicing herbology and nutrition I have found that a heavy supplement regime aside from being expensive, can over work an organ, which can then over work or over stimulate another one. A heavy supplementation regimen (mega-dosing) can overtax the liver, and as its energy decreases, digestion gets worse too. This is a major stress on an already sick body, as it takes a lot of energy to metabolise massive amounts of supplements." Dr. Humbart Santilo ND

"Product advertising is littered with scientific sounding jargon. Glossy images of confusing biochemical pathways don't mean a lot to most people, yet seemingly confers a level of scientific scrutiny. Advertisements can be very deceptive." Supplement marketing may refer to a 'mechanism' regarding the role of a substance in a metabolic pathway, but not the 'action', where a particular brand named formula has been proven to enhance such a process. 

"In the case of dietary supplements, many nutrition products are cocktails comprised of a number of ingredients. If a study was conducted on just one ingredient, then it is difficult to confirm that a mixed commercial product would yield the same results. Cross-ingredients interactions might potentiate the effect and pose safety issues, as was the case with combined herbal preparations of ma huang (ephedra) and guarana (caffeine)." William Sukala, Clinical Exercise Physiologist

Using advertising alone, borrowed or secondary research, will soon be a thing of the past as governing bodies will soon start to enforce existing laws to protect consumer interests. Industry regulators will require companies to invest in original clinical trials conducted on the final formulation to substantiate product claims in an attempt clean up the nutrition and supplement industry which is fast following suit to the dark-side of drug and pharmaceutical science.

"Science is not a perfect solution (nothing is), but it's far better than listening to someone tell you what they think is right or wrong without giving you anyway to validate their claims" Dr. T. Colin Campbell PhD

Jay Udani CEO of Medicus Research discuss new regulation. VIDEO-LINK

Brodrick Kent 9/12/10