Editorial

Dietary Supplements: Concern and Opportunity

If you watch the news, you’ve probably noticed the increase in negative media about dietary supplements and integrative health care. If you don’t watch the news, here are some of the recent highlights:

In early February, the New York State attorney general (NYAG) went after four retailers (Walgreens, Walmart, Target, and GNC). The NYAG stated that DNA bar code (DNAB) testing revealed that these retailers failed to show the correct herbs in their products. The NYAG has since refused to release its data or methods, and follow-up testing performed by GNC as well as outside labs using FDA-approved methods (primarily HPTLC) revealed that the products contained the stated ingredients. (Without getting into too much science, the products tested were extracts, which you wouldn’t expect to contain whole plant parts anymore, so it’s not surprising to not find DNA). GNC has been allowed to return its products to store shelves and also settled with the NYAG, including an agreement to perform DNA testing on ingredients moving forward.

Meanwhile, the NYAG convinced 13 other state attorneys general to sign a letter to Congress asking it to investigate. Two senators reached out to the FDA for comment. The FDA’s response included the following statement, “Currently, if the FDA were to use DNA methods on botanical extracts, we would use them in combination with established chemical or other acceptable methods historically used to verify the identity of these products. At this time, the FDA does not use DNA sequencing by itself to analyze an herbal extract for phytochemicals.” That reads to me like a politically correct way of saying, “We wouldn’t use DNAB.” At this time, it doesn’t appear that Congress plans to take any action on the letter, but it has triggered a media firestorm and brought concerns about supplement quality to the limelight.

In addition to the NYAG actions, we’ve seen many other stories in the media this spring, including an attack on Dr. Oz, an enormous discussion and legislative push to eliminate parental choice with regard to vaccination (and accompanying criticism of doctors who allow parents to make that choice), and studies showing ineffective clinical impact of dietary supplements, often based upon a single study taken out of context of an entirety of research. Just yesterday, CBS.com ran a sensational story with the headline “Dietary Supplements Linked to Increased Cancer Risk.” Further research with CBS revealed that this report was not even based upon a published study, but rather arose from discussion at a recent cancer meeting.

I don’t believe that this barrage of media will stop.

We need to join together and take action to counter this incomplete, often misleading, and sometimes outright inaccurate barrage. I know that most of us are very busy and have our heads down in our clinical practices, but your practice (and your career) could be at risk if this trend continues. There are some large, ongoing public myths around integrative medicine and supplements, and it’s critical to speak and ensure that the truth is told – and that the real facts get equal treatment in the media! Your patients, your communities, and your local legislators and regulators need to understand that dietary supplements are regulated. There are laws and regulations that clearly define how supplements must be manufactured, and the FDA has oversight to enforce this law. Furthermore, it’s important to talk with your preferred supplement brands and let them know how critical clean, effective products are to our practices, and ultimately to our reputation as integrative practitioners as a whole. Encourage them to speak out and explain what they do to ensure a quality, properly labeled product.

It’s essential that we speak as a loud and unified voice to teach consumers and regulators alike the value of integrative practitioners in the health-care system. And we need to do it now in order to ensure that our patients continue to have a choice when it comes to their health care.

Jaclyn Chasse, ND

Dr. Jaclyn Chasse is a practicing naturopathic physician in New Hampshire and medical director for Emerson Ecologics, where she oversees the Emerson Quality Program (EQP) and adherence to FDA and FTC regulations.