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MSNBC.com A vitamin a day may do more harm than good ConsumerLab.com report finds unexpected nutrient levels, contamination By Jacqueline Stenson Contributing editor MSNBC Updated: 10:26 a.m. CT Jan 19, 2007
If you're banking on a daily vitamin to make up for any deficiencies in your diet, you may be getting a whole lot more -- or less -- than you bargained for.
Of 21 brands of multivitamins on the market in the United States and Canada selected by ConsumerLab.com and tested by independent laboratories, just 10 met the stated claims on their labels or satisfied other quality standards.
Most worrisome, according to ConsumerLab.com president Dr. Tod Cooperman, is that one product, The Vitamin Shoppe Multivitamins Especially for Women, was contaminated with lead.
"I was definitely shocked by the amount of lead in [this] woman's product," he said. "We've never seen that much lead in a multivitamin before."
Other products contained more or less of a particular vitamin than listed on the label. And some did not dissolve in the correct amount of time, meaning they could potentially pass through the body without being fully absorbed.
"Half the products were fine, half were not," said Cooperman.
ConsumerLab.com is a Westchester, N.Y.-based company that independently evaluates hundreds of health and nutrition products and periodically publishes reviews. In the new report, released to MSNBC.com, the company purchased a selection of the popular multivitamins on the market as well as some smaller brands and sent them, without labels, to two independent laboratories to be tested.
On a positive note, several of the most popular multivitamins on the market did pass muster, said David Schardt, a senior nutritionist at the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a nonprofit consumer advocacy group in Washington, D.C.
These included Centrum Silver, Member's Mark Complete Multi (distributed by Sam's Club), One A Day Women's and Flintstones Complete.
"I think this confirms the advice often given: You're safer choosing a well-known brand sold by some company or store that you have confidence in," Schardt said. "There are no guarantees but that's your best bet."
Random vitamin testing isn't foolproof. For instance, because ConsumerLab.com tested several bottles from a particular lot number of each vitamin, it's not a given that products produced at a different time would have the exact same contents. But detectable problems are a red flag that there could be problems with a company's production process.
In the report, tests showed that The Vitamin Shoppe women's product contained 15.3 micrograms of lead per daily serving of two tablets.
This amount of lead is more than 10 times the amount permitted without a warning in California, the only state that regulates lead in supplements, Cooperman said. On average, most American adults are exposed to about 3 micrograms of lead through food, wine and other sources, he said, and while 15.3 micrograms of lead per day may not be immediately toxic, the mineral is stored in the body and could build up to dangerous levels with time.
"I would be concerned about a woman taking a multivitamin that contains 15.3 micrograms of lead per daily serving," said Judy Simon, a dietitian at the University of Washington Medical Center in Seattle. Among other effects, she said, lead can contribute to high blood pressure.
The same product also contained just 54 percent of the 200 milligrams of calcium stated on the label.
The analysis also showed that Hero Nutritionals Yummi Bears, a multivitamin for children, had 216 percent of the labeled amount of vitamin A in the retinol form, delivering 5,400 International Units (IU) in a daily serving. That's substantially more than the upper tolerable level set by the Institute of Medicine of 2,000 IU for kids ages 1 to 3 and 3,000 IU for those 4 to 8.
Because too much vitamin A can cause bone weakening and liver abnormalities, the Yummi Bears "could be potentially doing more harm than good," Cooperman said. "Vitamin A is one of those vitamins where you really don't want to get too much."
Schardt said the lead and vitamin A findings are worrisome because vitamins are generally taken every day, potentially building up to toxic levels and leading to problems down the line. In particular, he noted, women with high levels of lead in their bodies who become pregnant could pass on problems to a fetus.
David Morrison, vice president of scientific and regulatory affairs at The Vitamin Shoppe, said his company's products are all tested more than once, including screening for lead, and he questioned the new results. "It would be very surprising to me if this were actually true," he said.
Hero Nutritionals did not respond to calls seeking comment.
Steve Mister, president and CEO of the Council for Responsible Nutrition, a trade group in Washington, D.C., that represents supplement manufacturers, said that if the findings on lead and vitamin A are, in fact, accurate, "that is not acceptable for the industry."
But he also said that top manufacturers consistently produce quality products and that with 150 million Americans taking vitamins or other dietary supplements annually, few problems surface.
"If we had a serious issue of safety, we'd be hearing concerns from consumers in large numbers and we're not," he said.
The ConsumerLab.com report also found that some vitamins didn't break apart within the 30-minute standard set by the United States Pharmacopeia. Nature's Plus Especially Yours for women required more than an hour to disintegrate, while AARP Maturity Formula took 50 minutes.
These products "could potentially go through your body without releasing all the nutrients," Cooperman said.
Mark Kitchens, an AARP spokesperson, said the Maturity Formula undergoes routine testing, and that during testing in November "among the attributes tested was dissolution and it met FDA requirements." Still, "as precautionary measures to protect our members" AARP is pulling the product from the market and offering refunds to anyone who has purchased it, he said.
In other findings, Eniva VIBE, a multivitamin liquid sold in packets, had only 54 percent of the claimed vitamin A.
ConsumerLab.com also tested a vitamin marketed for dogs called Pet-Tabs Complete Daily Vitamin-Mineral Supplement for Dogs and found the product was contaminated with 1.4 micrograms of lead per tablet.
Whether most people -- or dogs, for that matter -- really need to take a multivitamin is a subject of debate.
Experts agree that prenatal vitamins are important for women who are pregnant or may become pregnant, and that people with very poor diets can benefit from nutrients in a pill.
Schardt says multivitamins offer everyone "an inexpensive insurance policy." But Cooperman and many dietitians note that it's better to get your nutrition from a well-balanced diet.
"In many cases, you don't need a multivitamin," Cooperman said. � 2007 MSNBC Interactive� 2007 MSNBC Interactive
-------------------- Suzanne Shaps STAND UP FOR LYME Texas (www.standupforlyme.org) (Please email all correspondence related to protecting Texas LLMDs to [email protected] with copy to [email protected]) Posts: 977 | From Austin, TX, USA | Registered: May 2004
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luvs2ride
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 8090
posted
Well, that's scary! I remember previous studies that found Shaklee vitamins to be exactly what they claimed and they were the only vitamin that disolved in the water test.
I always believed in getting my nutrients from my food and I did not take supplements before getting sick. Even though I ate well, it did not stop me from getting sick.
Problem for me was respiratory illnesses since childhood that always required an abx. My goal was to go one year without an abx. I never met that goal.
I feel so much abx for so long was detrimental to my body and hence I am trying to recover with very little abx treatment.
Just can't win!
Luvs
-------------------- When the Power of Love overcomes the Love of Power, there will be Peace. Posts: 3038 | From america | Registered: Oct 2005
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posted
consider the source. I never ever take anything I hear from mass media as the truth. Is it a coincidence that synthetic vitamins passed while a whole food vitamin did not? who knows...
I do find the ramping up of anti-vitamin/herb stories very interesting. hmmmm what are they up too? as an aside this story is a great example of how to easily oversite the vitamin industry. Test them and publish the results. Bad pub beats the heck outa any type of regulation. If only we had credible sources. sad that Posts: 731 | From Humble,TX | Registered: Feb 2005
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posted
The source is not the "mass media". It is ConsumerLab.com. The information is just being reported in the "mass media".
ConsumerLab.com make their money by selling the results of their testing to newsletter subscribers. These would be people interested in purchasing supplements. Best I can tell, their interest is helping their subscribers buy supplements that are what they say they are. (I am a former subsriber to their service.)
Keep in mind: No supplements, no sales. No interest in supplements, no sales. No supplements left on the market, no sales.
So just where is their conflict of interest that would cause them to misrepresent their findings, as you seem to be accusing them of doing? I don't see it. Did I miss something?
-------------------- Suzanne Shaps STAND UP FOR LYME Texas (www.standupforlyme.org) (Please email all correspondence related to protecting Texas LLMDs to [email protected] with copy to [email protected]) Posts: 977 | From Austin, TX, USA | Registered: May 2004
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Aniek
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 5374
posted
I was told by somebody in the industry that well-known brands are more likely to have the same amount inside as on the label. It's just that the big brands (GNC, anything by Walmart, etc) know they are more likely to get randomly tested because they are so popular.
I also bought one supplement once and discovered one capsule was only half full. I stopped using that brand.
-------------------- "When there is pain, there are no words." - Toni Morrison Posts: 4711 | From Washington, DC | Registered: Mar 2004
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kelmo
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 8797
posted
I have had several friends who have joined different multilevel marketing nutritional companies within the last six months. All of them have talked to me about their product giving them "more energy" and removing their arthritis pain.
I don't doubt that taking supplements helps in those areas. One I tried this week, to compare with what I already take, was VIBE. Other than it tasting pretty nasty, I didn't notice any more energy.
That probably means I wasn't deficient enough to see a difference.
I find it interesting that their content doesn't match the label.
Thanks for this!! It was timely. Would like to see the full report.
quote:Originally posted by tickedntx: as you seem to be accusing them of doing? I don't see it. Did I miss something?
I'll say again I dont know and it's sad that I need to have such a skeptical mindset. Medicine has been more about money than health for quite a while.
Are there people out there capable of doing something like fixing lab results? Given the fact that far more heinous acts have occured against products which improve health (thus cutting BigPharma profits) I'd have to say it's a possibility.
If you think I'm paranoid I'd be more than happy to get into some of these heinous acts.
Posts: 731 | From Humble,TX | Registered: Feb 2005
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Truthfinder
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 8512
posted
I tend to agree, Brent. Sad to say, but I don't trust "study results" much any more.
But I WOULD like to know how all the supplements they tested panned out.
I'll bet it would be just as interesting to see how pharmaceutical drugs tested, too. I'll bet there would be some interesting findings there, as well.
Tracy
-------------------- Tracy .... Prayers for the Lyme Community - every day at 6 p.m. Pacific Time and 9 p.m. Eastern Time � just take a few moments to say a prayer wherever you are�. Posts: 2966 | From Colorado | Registered: Dec 2005
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Just to give the other side IMO DSHEA does need more power to check for potency and purity of products. This by no means endorses the draconian CODEX laws which would eliminate theraputic vitamins and minerals.
Posts: 731 | From Humble,TX | Registered: Feb 2005
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quote:Originally posted by cave76: I hope you don't live near the ocean when a tsunami is announced as pending!
hee hee, multi-conglometrate profits are not at stake on that one so I'll be less suspicious. If they were it's a no brainer that the owners of these media conglomerates (down to five or six) will and do put their interest before those of the public.
On the 6 corporations interesting graph on the link below. Time Warner, Disney, Murdoch's News Corporation, Bertelsmann of Germany, and Viacom now control most of the media industry in the U.S.
Truthfinder
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 8512
posted
Brent - yep to both your posts above.
Tracy
-------------------- Tracy .... Prayers for the Lyme Community - every day at 6 p.m. Pacific Time and 9 p.m. Eastern Time � just take a few moments to say a prayer wherever you are�. Posts: 2966 | From Colorado | Registered: Dec 2005
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