Seeking and Finding Wholeness

WEDNESDAY, May 26 (HealthDay News) — A Congressional investigation of dietary herbal supplements has found trace amounts of lead, mercury and other heavy metals in nearly all products tested, plus myriad illegal health claims made by supplement manufacturers, The New York Times reported Wednesday.

The levels of heavy metal contaminants did not exceed established limits, but investigators also discovered troubling and possibly unacceptable levels of pesticide residue in 16 of 40 supplements, the newspaper said.

Products that purport to treat or relieve disease must go through strict reviews because they are considered drugs by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

One witness scheduled to testify, Dr. Tod Cooperman, president of ConsumerLab.com, said supplements with too little of the indicated ingredients and those contaminated with heavy metals are the major problems. In testing more than 2,000 dietary supplements from some 300 manufacturers, his lab has found that one in four has quality problems.

Commentary:

I was unable to find any information naming the supplements or supplement companies that tested positive for contamination (so I can avoid them).  I am perplexed why the research findings were not shared. I am more concerned about contamination than the so called misleading claims.We live in a world full of claims, one must do their own research to verify such claims.

I believe that one cannot say all supplement companies sell contaminated products.

Source: http://health.usnews.com/health-news/managing-your-healthcare/policy/articles/2010/05/26/many-supplements-said-to-contain-toxins-make-false-health-claims.html