Dateline's Report and the Real News on Supplement Safety

As many of you have heard by now, a Dateline NBC segment recently aired questioning the safety of nutritional supplements.

Dateline’s report focused on lawsuits filed against the makers of Total Body Formula, a liquid supplement that contained dangerously high levels of chromium and selenium due to an ingredient mix up by the manufacturer. This careless—and dangerous—error caused people using the supplement to lose their hair, toenails, and fingernails.

The Dateline report raised questions about the quality and safety standards in the dietary supplement industry. This is something that concerns me as well. You may remember the blog I recently wrote about CoQ10 and how some supplements short you on active ingredients.

In fact, this is the very reason I started formulating my own nutritional supplements through Healthy Directions, the company that has also published my Heart, Health & Nutrition newsletter for the past 16 years. It was the only way I could ensure that my patients—and my readers, like you—are taking supplements that are pure, potent, and safe!

Every formula I put my name on is triple-tested:

• First, the raw materials are rigorously screened to make sure they’re pure and potent. If they’re not, they’re shipped right back to the supplier!
• Next, 100% of my finished formulas are batch tested to make sure they meet the label claims and the purity specifications.
• Finally, we use independent laboratories to verify the label claims for potency and safety.

These are standards you should insist on from any nutritional supplement you buy. If you’re not 100% sure of the purity, potency, and safety of any formula I would pass it up—no matter how good of a deal it appears to be.

With my supplements, you’re not getting batches of formulas off the conveyor belt made by some big manufacturing giant. You’re getting the same formulas that my wife Jan and I take—the same ones that I give to my grown children, family, and friends. In other words, you’re getting nutritional supplements that were created and backed by me, personally.

Now it’s your turn: What’s been your experience with nutritional supplements?

You May Also Be Interested In:

• Your Doctor Says "No" To Supplements: Now What?
• 8 Health-Boosting Secrets from My Life