Supplement Hype

Within the dietary supplement industry, the biggest players—those that manufacture the synthetic vitamins and raw materials used to make HSAIDS—are the pharmaceutical companies themselves. The natural foods companies that make real food dietary supplements are generally small and not as welcomed into the natural foods market yet. However, the image that “natural” dietary supplements are prevalent, and the marketing of supplements as “real food” is widespread. But most of these claims are untrue when you read the fine print or know how products are actually made.

Because of the wholesome image of “natural foods,” some supplements may contain food concentrates such as blueberry, broccoli, or spinach. However, these plant materials are not only added in minuscule amounts, they also are often made from foods cooked at very high temperatures. The reason for their inclusion, as market researchers tell us, is that it looks good on the label; an ad can even say the product contains real food, or some other claim about being made from fruits and vegetables. But a careful look at the label shows that the vitamins in these products are usually synthetic, were added separately, and are not from those “real” foods. Discerning and uncovering these hidden tricks is often not easy for the average consumer.

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Another gimmick commonly used in the supplement industry is the use of yeast that’s been fed synthetic vitamins. The technique is simple: feed a nutrient to living yeast, then dry the yeast and add it to a dietary supplement as a source of nutrients. In the case of minerals it may be a useful technique, and claims of “natural” can be made honestly since all minerals—from calcium and magnesium to manganese and zinc—exist on earth in a natural form (most carried to this planet from the sun during the earth’s creation). But feeding a synthetic vitamin made by a drug company to yeast, adding the yeast to a supplement and then calling it “natural” and “real-food” is grossly misleading and deceptive.