Without Regulation Supplements Are Always A Risk

Here in the United States a legislative loophole makes it possible that health food products ranging from protein powders, to energy bars, fat burners and a wide range of bodybuilding supplements are allowed to be produced without any real oversee with regards to its marketing claims or its content. Most would be surprised to learn that some supplement companies got started in someone’s basement, and that there is no such thing as pharmaceutical grade whey protein/creatine or any such product as such companies don’t make the type of products you would find in at a GNC or Vitamin Shoppe. The American Food and Drug Administration (FDA) classifies dietary supplements as foods and are thus exempt from the stringent manufacturing practices required for the pharmaceutical industry. Quality control is thus left to the discretion of the individual manufacturers, which is why so many products are often found to be harmful or containing harmful ingredients after being on the shelves for several years. In Europe all such supplements are banned due to the potential health risk posed by many of the unregulated vitamins, herbs and supplements that we here in the United States use on a daily basis and with good reason.

There are no such safeguards in place to protect the general public here in the United States, as a supplement can be made with no safety assurances, without having to answer to any quality control standards, and the product need not have any scientifically proven benefit. The argument is not really about whether these products are effective or not, or even whether they should be available to the public at large- more so the question is truly why they are exempted from safety testing and standardized quality controls. In the end it is a matter of safety.   Every search on this subject will result in pro-supplement propaganda, as the supplement industry rakes in over 13 billion dollars a year, and a lot of money is funneled towards keeping you, the consumer believing that these products are not only healthy, and scientifically validated in their effectiveness, but are also an essential part of a healthy lifestyle, and nothing could be further from the truth. In the end, the numerous recalls on supplements found to be harmful as well as the lack of long term research on the safety of many mainstream supplements are more than enough reason not to use them. Besides, I have seen hundreds of people achieve their health and fitness goals, many reaching the highest achievements possible in terms of performance and the human physique, and they did due to their consistency and hard work, not from taking a pill or a powder. 

Kevin Richardson is the creator of Naturally Intense High Intensity Training 10 Minute Workouts™ and one of the most sought after personal trainers in New York City. Get a copy of his free weight loss ebook here.

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