The New England Journal of Medicine posted an alert on October 7, 2009 that 140 products on the market have been identified as having contamination with potentially toxic substances. Many are from outside the United States. NEJM calls for more regulation. Yes and no. Even with such contamination, vitamins and minerals are far safer than drugs. Hardly anyone dies of supplement ingestion and thousands die of drugs each year. If supplements were required to undergo the same testing as drugs, they would rapidly disappear, because their cost would be prohibitive. And they are far too valuable and much safer for that consequence. This was affirmed by the DSHEA act of Congress several years ago. However, the NEJM has a point. Some testing for toxicity should be required, and the best companies already do this on their own. It would be a disaster for Big Pharma and the AMA to successfully outlaw supplements so that all we would have to use are drugs. For now, the answer should be to get your supplements from a holistic physician or from a source recommended by one—they will know which ones are reliable and which ones are not.
See healthcarereform.nejm.org
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