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Big Herba Out of Control: Why Vitamins, Minerals and Herbal Remedies Can Be Dangerous

Gonna duck for cover since I know this is an unpopular subject.

Article here

IMHO there are some dangerous side-effects of unregulated industries. They want to make as much profit as possible whether they're peddling herbs or drugs. We don't know what is in our supplements or where they come from. China tends to be really lax about manufacturing standards (huge understatement). There's no transparency whatsoever. The only site I know that tests them charges a ridiculous price to access the data (Consumerlabs).

I am definitely cutting back on using supplements and will probably cut them out entirely, except for D3.

Quote:

The same year, Harvard researchers found that between 2004 and 2012, there were 237 “Class I recalls” of dietary supplements. That means for each product, there was a “reasonable probability that the use of or exposure to a product will cause serious adverse health consequences or death.” Dietary supplements —which include vitamins, minerals, botanicals, and herbal remedies — accounted for half of such recalls during those years.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nancy LC

We don't know what is in our supplements or where they come from.

I can say that only one supplement has made a clear difference for me and that is Saw Palmetto Seed. It's a middle aged man problem and that's as far as I'm going to go. Point is, I know for a fact that my local Vitamine Shoppe brand does NOT have the the main ingredient but the GNC brand does.

Quote:

China tends to be really lax about manufacturing standards (huge understatement).

Ya and pirates tend to be lax about property rights, sobriety and chastity.

On the other hand, I would be in a mental hospital today without access to supplements. (Not that I have an underlying mental health condition... because I would be so frustrated by lack of medical help for my issue, so utterly worn out by trying to cope with my inability to function, that I would sooner or later pitch a fit in public and be diagnosed with a nervous breakdown.)

I tend to work with reputable companies, like the NOW brand, and pay close attention to reviews on sites such as iHerb. Certain supplements, like pregnenolone, and herbs, like white willow bark and devil's claw, have done such wonders for my very serious condition.

I think this just points to the general rotten state of the products we are offered today, thanks to the outsourcing to China craze. My husband and I gladly pay extra to avoid them whenever we can. I urge others to do the same.