The vitamin and supplement industry is big business in Australia. An estimated 75 percent of the population uses some form of complementary medicine, including vitamins, minerals, herbs, aromatherapy, and homeopathic products.
But some vitamin supplements and protein powders at best don’t work and, at worst, can cause harm.
Recently, ABC’s Four Corners program aired a PBS Frontline investigation exploring the complex issues surrounding supplements in North America. It’s an eye-opening report that details a web of lobbying and legislation designed to protect the industry, but which ultimately leaves consumers at risk.
The issue of harm is covered upfront with a group of patients in Hawaii who suffered liver failure following the ingestion of a dietary supplement. Many required transplants.
At the other extreme is the revelation that 60 percent of supplements analysed for the active ingredients didn’t contain what was stated on the label.
In a random sample of 44 popular herbal supplements purchased from North American stores and analysed for their DNA fingerprints, one-third showed outright substitution, meaning there was no trace of the plant advertised on the bottle.
Others contained undisclosed fillers such as soybean, wheat, and rice. Gingko biloba supplements, promoted as memory enhancers, were mixed with fillers and black walnut, a potentially deadly hazard for people with nut allergies.
