What's in your vitamins?

In December I joined Shaklee and became a health and wellness educator, this has been a big change for me since I never realized how bad some things are for you and I have always just gone with the flow of what others have told me.  Until I found Shaklee I knew vitamins were good (at least I thought all of them were) and I’d spend a lot of time in the vitamin isle looking for the best, cheapest vitamin for me.  I also thought that if they were being sold in the store or on TV that they would work, were proven safe, and that SOMEONE was regulating them and approving them before they were sold to consumers.  Oh how my eyes have been open.

Before going any further I should say this we NEED to supplement.  We don't get all the nutrition we need from our diet.  Not only that but we don't eat as healthy as we should.  How often do you eat fast food?  There are many benefits to supplements and I will be sharing them in future post but for now please view this video: Why Supplement?

A friend of mine recently told me how she was watching the news and saw a story about how some supplement companies were putting out false reports, lying about ingredients and were poising their consumers.  I was floored.  I had been talking to her about some Shaklee supplements and had been showing her who all uses them and the research behind them, she proceeded to tell me that while she (like me) had thought that buying anything from a store (especially one such as GNC) meant that they were safe and now that she saw this story on the news she would no longer get any vitamins from any other source than Shaklee because of their outstanding reputation! 

After she told me this I decided to do a little digging of my own and to share what I’ve found with everyone how I’ve had my eyes opened in these last couple weeks.

*The FDA does not regulate or approve any dietary supplement before it goes on the shelves at stores, or becomes an infomercial. 

                Why don’t they?  Simply put because they are not a drug or food. 

                What do they do?  Watch for labels that claim to be something other than they are, and will recall products that after being sold, people have gotten sick from using them. 

                For more information about how the FDA handles recalls and vitamins check out theses links:

http://www.webmd.com/fda/vitamins-and-supplements/default.htm

http://www.webmd.com/fda/fda-101-product-recalls

http://www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/default.htm

http://www.consumerlab.com/recalls.asp

http://www.naturalmedicinejournal.com

*You can’t believe what’s in infomercials, especially ones about any supplement (weightless, sexual enhancement, and body building)

                According to this video from NBC on Dateline the companies that produce infomercials usually hire actresses to give fake testimonies, and you can even find a doctor who has no morals and will accept money to say that the product really works.  

*NBC did another segment about mislabeled and fake test behind some vitamins.

 This story really scared me about what are on our shelves and how greedy these companies are that they are willing to lie and risk our health for their profit.  I think all companies should be thinking about the effect their product will have on their costumers and be concerned for them.  I don’t see why someone would want to produce a product and conceal any info about it; I believe that people have the right to know exactly what are in our supplements.  Not only should we know what’s in our supplements we should be better educated about what we should be taking and how much.  We should have access to reports, studies, and testimonies from REAL people who have taken the products and use them.

While doing my research for this blog I found it hard to find more info about what vitamins have been recalled and why, and how often recalls happen.  The lady who introduced me to Shaklee (the only vitamins I use now) told me how she spent 6months researching the company before she joined, she also told me how while doing her research she called GNC where she was getting her supplements before and asked them how often they get recalls and she said that they are always pulling products off the shelves!  

I also found this forum that said that there was a recall on a vitamin I think I was prescribed while pregnant…thanks companies for putting me and my daughter at risk since you didn’t do enough testing before sending products out for consumers.  Not only was that a concern but I’ve also come across some scary and surprising facts about lead in vitamins in particular prenatal and children’s.  Think about this we know that lead is a poisonous metal and are warned about the risk of lead based paints and recalls on toys because of lead content, but here we are taking it into our bodies and even giving it to our kids without knowing.  The FDA has decided that the amounts of lead is “safe/tolerable levels,” but let’s think about this.  The amount of damage done by lead poising depends on how much lead the body has taken in and how long someone’s been exposed to it, if we’re taking in safe/tolerable levels every day for a couple years, that amounts to a lot of lead in our bodies.

For more information about lead in vitamins check out these links:

thedailygreen.com 

vitamins-containing-lead 

What is Lead and How is it Harmful? 

So what are some things WE can do to make sure we’re taking the best supplements to make sure we’re getting all the nutrition we need every day?? 

 

**Research the company that you’re getting your vitamins from

**Do not use any products that promise to show results in as little as 24-72hours

**Avoid sexual enhancement supplements, and others that say they are equal to pharmaceutical drugs

**Read the labels  

**Talk to someone who has personally used the vitamins/supplement that you’re looking at
**Start demanding that the FDA gets involved and monitors everything that we ingest! We have a right to know what we put in our mouths is safe!  Yes even food sometimes slips by them but companies should not be allowed to lie to us!
**Spread the word about recalls
**Share what you learn about certain vitamin companies to your friends so that they also can be aware.
**Does the company have any patents?  
**Can you get proof of their studies?

                Personally I only use Shaklee because I’ve done my research on them, was introduced to Shaklee by living green expert Lisa Alexander, I’ve meet with and heard from one of the scientist who works for Shaklee, and in May I will be meeting with the CEO of the company, Roger Barnett.  The products from Shaklee are the only ones I will use for my family and loved ones.  I know that the company spends $250 million dollars each year on research and development, they test every raw ingredient as soon as they come in and continue quality test throughout production, and they care more about the people who are taking the supplement than the profit they make.  Why do I say that?  A couple years back there was a fungal break out on ginseng and Shaklee refused to use any ginseng for their raw ingredients and wrote letters to all the consumers telling them that they would not have ginseng products until they found a clean source and have gone onto back order.  That is the type of company I would trust.  They also have a 100% money back satisfaction guarantee.  Look into your vitamin company and see where they stand on such issues.

                Also talk to people who use the products and have them tell you how they feel and what type of a difference the vitamin has made.  I have a lot of testimonies about Shaklee from myself, my friends, my family, and other people I’ve met through the company and talked to.  I was weary about Shaklee until I talked to two people personally and heard what a difference they could feel, and then I started using Vitalizer, Nutriferon, and the Get Clean system and fell in love with them.  My husband loves the energy he has on Vitalizer, I love that I can get over a cold quick, and feel great even with a common cold thanks to Nutriferon, and I love how safe and how wonderful Get Clean works, it cleans my floors, windows, bathroom, daughter, and she's even drank it and it didn't hurt her.  I have a lot of testimonies about the products and know even more people with their own experiences.

And proof Shaklee has: 

Ongoing proof of our product performance is demonstrated by: 

• Over 100 scientific publications, 90-plus in peer-reviewed journals
• The Landmark Study, the only study of its kind, which showed that people who took Shaklee supplements over a period of 20 years had markedly better health than both single-multivitamin and nonsupplement users
• Shaklee products powering athletes to win 125 medals
• Shaklee products fueling world explorers, 7 of Time-Life's "Greatest Adventures of All Time," and NASA Shuttle astronauts with a special rehydration product (called Astro-Ade)

I just went to a couple meetings and seminars and should have more info up in the next day or two to share with you, please stay tuned in.