Buyer Beware!

Currently the US FDA does not require manufacturers test their products for purity and potency, so it really is a "buyer beware" situation. If you're not an educated consumer, you are at an extremely high risk for toxic metals exposure and for wasting your money by buying nutrients that your body cannot absorb. This section aims to educate you on how to choose the highest quality dietary supplements so you can enjoy all the health benefits and protect you and your family.

Repeatedly peole ask us what makes a good dietary supplement. Unfortunately, there’s a lot of confusion out there. Too often, people simply pick the cheapest one-a-day product off the shelf. However, people would be better off, and possibly healthier, not buying any supplement based on price or the one-tablet-per-day formulas. There are two issues here. First, numerous studies have detected dangerous levels of toxic metals in dietary supplements. And second, these dietary supplements contain vital nutrients such as magnesium, copper and zinc, in forms that the body cannot absorb.

Toxic metals contamination is a big problem in the dietary supplement industry. Numerous studies have shown that dietary supplements containing raw materials from China and India contain dangerously high levels of lead, arsenic and other contaminants. A 2006 survey of dietary supplements produced in South Asia and sold in 20 stores in the Boston area revealed that 20% of the dietary supplements contained heavy metals. Of those with heavy metals, 13 contained lead as high as 37 mg/g. No safe level of lead consumption has been established by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Another 2002 case report described arsenic toxicity in a 39-year-old woman taking the dietary supplement Chitosan, derived from chitin, a polysaccharide found in shellfish. Chitosan is believed to help people lose weight by blocking the absorption and storage of fat. The woman ended up in an emergency room complaining of fatigue, headache and weakness for the past six months. She had been taking six capsules daily of the “fat blocker” pills for a year. A 24-hour urine collection revealed 186 mcg/L arsenic, which is more than three times higher than the upper limit of normal. Analysis of the pills revealed an incredibly high arsenic content. Shellfish is a known reservoir of arsenic, and no other sources could be identified. (NBI’s weight-loss dietary supplement, Slimatol, contains no chitosan, hormones or stimulants such as caffeine.) An analysis of 22 case reports, case series and epidemiological research concluded that heavy metal (particularly lead) poisoning through traditional Chinese medicine use has been reported with regularity.

Form matters. Nutrients are packaged in different forms in dietary supplements. The form in which a nutrient is packaged determines how much of it you can absorb. To understand if a dietary supplement contains the highest absorbable nutrients, simply grab a dietary supplement bottle, such your multivitamin and mineral supplement, and look for magnesium, zinc and copper.

If any of these say "oxide" next to them (e.g., magnesium oxide), you are wasting your money because the oxide form of a nutrient is the least absorbable form. For example, people can only absorb about 2% of the magnesium when it comes from magnesium oxide. That means if a manufacturer lists, let's say, 100 mg magnesium (as magnesium oxide) on their label, you're only actually getting into your body about 2 mg magnesium. You are literally pooping out the rest since it's not absorbed and passes right through you. Magnesium is so poorly absorbed that it's used clinically as a laxative at higher dosages.

The most absorbable form of minerals is when it comes as amino acid chelates. When a mineral is complexed with an amino acid as an amino acid chelate, the absorption can be increased up to about 75%. Therefore, you'll want to purchase a dietary supplement that has its minerals (e.g., magnesium, zinc, copper) in this form to ensure you're actually getting your money's worth. Other highly absorbable forms of minerals are picolinate (e.g., chromium picolinate), citrate (e.g., potassium citrate) and malate (e.g., calcium malate). If you're not purchasing quality, you might as well just save your money, because the nutrients are not effectively being absorbed anyway and you're just creating expensive poop.

Additionally, the highest quality multivitamin and mineral supplements have a serving size of 4 to 6 capsules daily. If it's less than that, you're pretty much guaranteed that the oxide forms of minerals will be present. The reason why the better nutraceuticals require more capsules per day is that the amino acid chelate forms take up more space than the oxide form, which manufacturers can crush down into a one-a-day tablet.

Unfortunately, not knowing what makes up a high-quality dietary supplement can literally put your life at risk. This is exactly what happened to Dr. Pieczenik. Several years ago before getting involved with functional biochemistry, he simply bought supplements based on the cheapest price. He was taking what he thought were high-potency vitamins and minerals he bought at different dietary supplement stores. Yet while he thought he was taking adequate amounts of B-vitamins and minerals, he wasn't. Dr. Pieczenik ended up developing mature-onset asthma because of specific nutritional deficiencies that were identified on his MetaCT 400 test. He was low in B-vitamins, copper and chromium and had other dangerous health conditions he didn't even know about. He learned, as I hope all of you do, that knowing what to look for in a quality dietary supplement can literally save your life. He was so concerned about the poor quality of the supplements on the market that he founded NBI with Dr. Neustadt to ensure that consumers have access to the highest quality, safest nutrients available anywhere. So get your money's worth and insist on quality. Your health is worth it.

What you can do. Prior to purchasing a dietary supplement, read the label. If it's a multivitamin and mineral formula, don't purchase it if it contains any minerals in their oxide forms. Only purchase formulas that contain magnesium, copper and zinc completely as amino acid chelates. Second, insist that all ingredients in the formula have been tested for purity and shown to be free from contaminants (e.g., lead and fungal spores). The best way to do this is to verify that the formula you are buying is tested for purity and potency by calling the manufacturer or asking the retailer for documentation. The manufacturer of all formulas that are tested should have certificates of analysis on file and be willing to provide those to you. Otherwise, you are putting yourself and your family at risk of dangerous heavy metal accumulation, which can decrease IQ and cause depression, irritability, gastrointestinal upset, rashes, blindness, extreme fatigue, insomnia, memory loss, tremors, hair loss, ulcers and recurrent infections.

When you purchase NBI nutraceuticals, we guarantee all raw materials are tested and quarantined throughout the manufacturing process to avoid contamination. All finished batches are then third-party tested and shown to be free of contaminants such as lead and fungal spores. We have on file certificates of analysis for each of our products. Our goal is to keep you safe and healthy. We guarantee our quality.

References
Ibrahim D, Froberg B, Wolf A, Rusyniak DE. Heavy metal poisoning: clinical presentations and pathophysiology. Clin Lab Med. Mar 2006;26(1):67-97, viii.
Bachanek T, Staroslawska E, Wolanska E, Jarmolinska K. Heavy metal poisoning in glass worker characterised by severe dental changes. Ann Agric Environ Med. 2000;7(1):51-53.
Caussy D. Case studies of the impact of understanding bioavailability: arsenic. Ecotoxicol Environ Saf. Sep 2003;56(1):164-173.
Ernst E, Thompson Coon J. Heavy metals in traditional Chinese medicines: a systematic review. Clin Pharmacol Ther. 2001;70(6):552-560.
Crinnion WJ. Environmental medicine, part three: long-term effects of chronic low-dose mercury exposure. Altern Med Rev. Jun 2000;5(3):209-223.
Saper RB, Kales SN, Paquin J, et al. Heavy Metal Content of Ayurvedic Herbal Medicine Products. JAMA. 2004;292(23):2868-2873.
Shrestha M, Greenberg MI. Lead poisoning derived from Ayurvedic medication.(Abstract). (Abstract). 2002;40(5):678(671).
Caraccio TR, McGuigan M, Mofenson HC. Chronic arsenic (As) toxicity from Chitosan[R] supplement.(Abstract). (Abstract). 2002;40(5):644(641).