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Real ‘Real-Food’ Dietary Supplements

While many are familiar with the term “designer drugs,” the
same marketing hype exists in the dietary supplement industry. This
is true in part because 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
very small and not yet as welcomed into the natural foods market.
However, the image that dietary supplements are “natural” is preva-
lent, as is the marketing of supplements as “real food.” But most of
these claims are untrue when you read the fine print or know how
products are made.
Because of the image of “natural foods,” some supplements may
contain food concentrates such as blueberry, broccoli, spinach, etc.
However, these plant materials are not only added in minuscule
amounts, they also are made from foods cooked at very high temper-
atures. The reason for their inclusion, as market researchers tell us, is
that it looks good on the label; advertising can even include “contains
real food,” or some other claim about being made from fruits and veg-
etables. But a careful look at the label shows that the vitamins in these
products, for example, are synthetic, being added separately and not
from the foods. Discerning and uncovering these hidden tricks is
often not easy, and many consumers are taken advantage of for a long
time before learning the truth about certain products.
Another technique — I call it a trick — commonly used in the
supplement industry is the use of yeast that’s been fed synthetic vita-
mins. 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 honestly made since all minerals — from calcium