I'm not a fan of the supplement game out there in a near total sense for a lot of reasons. For me, the only supplements that I think are actually worth it is whey protein and maybe creatine although even for creatine I kind of doubt the claims that it actually does anything. The word "supplement" actually means something that is in your life to make up for the absence of something that you feel should be part of it and if you can acquire whatever this supplement is providing naturally with food, that is always the better choice. I take when protein because my protein needs are higher than I can afford with real food and there isn't any other way for me to get it unless I want to spend my entire day eating eggs. Creatine I use because it makes me feel good at the gym and I will admit that a majority of the feeling I get could be entirely psychosomatic.
There is one type of supplement that I have absolutely zero faith in and that is the herbal supplement industry.
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You've probably seen them advertised. They always feature some strangely colored pills with some plants in the picture as well because the presence of the plant makes them seem more legit. I find the above one to be more amusing because it appears as though the plants they have included are made of plastic and for the most part, that may as well be what most of the capsules are made of.
I don't know if the claims that the manufacturers of herbal supplements have any truth to them or not and no one likely will ever know. The supplement industry can make almost any claim that they want to and not be penalized for it since the industry is for the most part, completely unregulated. They are required to put little asterisks next to claims that they make indicating that whatever they are claiming has not been independently evaluated and this means that the results are based solely upon their own research. This research is definitely rigged if it was done at all.
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If you are ever in the supplement section of a GNC or something similar, you will probably notice that there is always some sort of new herb or oil capsule from some animal that claims to be the next big thing but you have managed to live your entire life without ever hearing about it. This is because in order to continue to make the billions that the supplement industry takes in every year, they have to constantly evolve. They would be very limited in their profit capability if they were still only making multi-vitamins.
I know there are going to be some naturalists out there that want the world to use herbs and spices and what not in lieu of modern medicine and I, as well, would like to avoid the pharmaceutical industry as much as possible because I believe it is more of a racket than supplements are - the difference is that they have the backing of governments as well.
However, the reason why anyone should be apprehensive about herbal supplements is the fact that they are not kept in check at all. In the pharma industry there are at least clinical trials and some level of testing that has to be done before it can be offered to people, most of the time by prescription. With supplements there is almost no requirement for testing at all or depending on what country you live in, there is never any testing required other than making sure it isn't poison.
Something that makes this herbal supplement industry even worse is the fact that even the big 4 - GNC, Walgreens, Wal-Mart, and Target - have been busted selling large quantities of herbal supplements that not only didn't do what it claimed on the bottle, but the capsules didn't even contain any of the advertised herb.
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This happened 7 years ago in a major sting in New York, but it has also happened in many other places. In the independent tests that the Attorney General ordered, it was discovered that almost all of the top-selling herbal supplements didn't contain the herb advertised on the label but instead contained cheap ingredients like garlic, rice, and various other plants - some of which could even negatively affect people with allergies.
If you are an herbal supplement defender and think I am making this up, you can see the official press release along with the test results here.
Unfortunately, the end result of this trial was that the retailers agreed to test all of their products to ensure that they actually contain the herbs advertised and will submit a "safety report" (whatever that means) to authorities once every two years. I have a difficult time believing that this is anything more than a saving face offering and that nothing will actually change. After all, why wouldn't they have been doing the testing to begin with? Are they just throwing products on the shelf without even checking to see what is in the bottles?
Since most companies out there exist purely to make a profit, I would be willing to bet that GNC and everyone else is going to do whatever they can to keep their costs low and this includes cutting corners on the more expensive ingredients that are meant to be in these bottles. Plus, if you look at the fact that there is almost no scientific evidence to back up the claims that are being made by these products, does it even matter if they DO contain them?
As mush as possible, I think that people need to pursue a healthy diet that includes whole foods and stop looking for a cure in a capsule. The regulatory bodies that exist out there don't even make it a secret that they don't really know what effect even common vitamins like vitamin C even has on the body... why would they bother with something as obscure as fish oil and ginkgo biloba?
I made a lot of bad decisions in my life so hopefully you don't have to. I am now in the best shape of my life during a time of my life that it is meant to be the most difficult. With simple, gradual, and lasting changes to your lifestyle, I believe that anyone else can be as well