Many Supplements Contain Toxins That Are Not Claimed In The Description

Many Supplements Contain Toxins That Are Not Claimed In The Description.
A Congressional questioning of dietary herbal supplements has found pursue amounts of lead, mercury and other sombre metals in nearly all products tested, plus myriad illegal trim claims made by supplement manufacturers, The New York Times reported Wednesday, 27 May. The levels of threatening metal contaminants did not exceed established limits, but investigators also discovered troubling and c unacceptable levels of pesticide residue in 16 of 40 supplements, the newspaper said. One ginkgo biloba produce had labeling claiming it could favour Alzheimer's disease (no effective treatment yet exists), while a product containing ginseng asserted that it can nip in the bud both diabetes and cancer, the report said.

Steve Mister, president of the Council for Responsible Nutrition, a barter group that represents the dietary supplement industry, said it was not surprising that herbal supplements contained clue amounts of heavy metals, because they are routinely found in soil and plants. "I dont judge this should be of concern to consumers," he told the Times. The report findings were to be presented to the Senate on Wednesday, two weeks before colloquy begins on a major food safety bill that will likely state more controls on food manufacturers, the Times said.

The newspaper said it was given the report in advance of the Senate hearing. How unsympathetic the bill will be on supplement makers has been the subject of much lobbying, but the Times distinguished that some Congressional staff members doubt manufacturers will find it too burdensome.

At least nine misleading salubrity claims were noted in the report, which was prepared by the Government Accountability Office (GAO). These claims included assurances that the products could remedy diseases, such as diabetes, Alzheimer's disease and cancer, investigators said. In one instance, a salesgirl claimed that a garlic supplement could replace blood pressurize drugs, the Times reported.

Products that purport to treat or relieve disease must go through strict reviews because they are considered drugs by the US Food and Drug Administration. The failure of supplements has improved in fresh years, said Sen Herb Kohl (D-Wisconsin), who will preside over Wednesday's hearing. However, the FDA needs the expert and tools to ensure that dietary supplements are as safe and real as is widely perceived by the Americans who take them, he told the Times.

One witness scheduled to testify, Dr Tod Cooperman, president of ConsumerLab.com, said supplements with too dab of the indicated ingredients and those contaminated with distressing metals are the major problems. In testing more than 2000 dietary supplements from some 300 manufacturers, his lab has found that one in four has distinction problems, the Times said.

According to the newspaper's account, the proposed scoff safety bill could require that supplement manufacturers register annually with the FDA and authority the agency to recall potentially dangerous supplements. It's estimated that half of grown Americans take vitamin supplements regularly, and about a quarter take herbal supplements at least occasionally clinic. Annual sales are about $25 billion a year, the Times said.