The state of New York has asked four major retailers – GNC, Wal-Mart, Target, and Walgreens – to stop selling a number of herbal supplements. In four out of five cases, tests on the products showed that the pills contained nothing more than fillers such as asparagus, rice, wheat or houseplants.
CLICK HERE to see the story on, “The Two Way,” on National Public Radio.
DR. RAMEY NOTES: I think that it is going to be up to the legal profession to rein in the fraud that is associated with the herbal and supplement industry. Questions of whether such products are effective or not aside, they can’t work if the product doesn’t contain the ingredients the label says it contains. I fully support eating asparagus, but I especially like it when it’s what I’m intending to eat.
The supplement industry is loosely regulated – if at all – and is in need of reform. Every single study done on equine supplements (not many, admittedly) has shown problems with the products. You should at least get what you pay for.
