How healthy are health supplements?

Don’t look for specific answers here, because I really don’t know how healthy the so-called health supplements are. I do know one thing about them. They are manufactured by an industry that is non-regulated.

We just got back from a specialty store where we bought a can of non-meat prime steaks by Worthington. You know, they are the ones that have more cholesterol than meat but they probably won’t give you E.coli or trichinosis.

When we got home, there was a multi-page flyer in our bag that advertised a couple of dozen products. After reading the claims, a person should be the picture of health after taking these products. Maybe the lady at the store should stop taking these products -- her face was as white as Casper the ghost.

Anyway, after reading about these products, I’m a little confused. Are they saying I should take all of the pills, capsules and potions in the flyer? If I did, the cost would be $293.42 and I’d probably end up in the ER.

Don’t do them all at once? Good idea, but do I really need liquid Goji and Açaí?

Or what about Lactobacillus Acidophilus tablets?

Maybe I should at least pick up some carob bars or lärabars to munch on while at the computer. Well, maybe some day. Right now, I’ll stick with my old favorites from when I was a kid.

Oh, drat … I’m all out of Twinkies …

Comments

[Felyne]

Haha good post. 'Healthy' is relative. And a very sharp marketing tool. Remember it's just their sales catalogue. Just because the product is available (or marked 'Healthy'), doesn't mean you need to buy it. Having said that, I'm now having two protein shakes per day - it took a lot for me to get past the psychological factor of me taking 'a health supplement', but the benefits are definately noticable and I now have 30% protein in my diet (which previously was maybe 10). It totally depends on your own requirements as to whether you need any of those things. If you have a balanced healthy diet then no you shouldn't, but that is a very hard thing to achieve these days with all the articial/harmful ingredients in food now. The old meat and 3 vege just isn't a meal stable anymore (even you are buying artifical meat - can't blame you with everything they feed into the animals these days). For me, that meat product would be a big no-no as my cholestrol is naturally high, yet for you it's probably fine. Likewise Lactobacillus Acidophilus tablets are really good for people with digestion troubles - balances out the good bacteria in your system, so for someone with IBS they would be beneficial, but if your bacteria levels are fine then you don't need them. You can also achieve the sameish result with Acidophilus yoghurt. ... and that is providing the ingredients are actually what they say they are. But then I looked at the ingredients in an 'All Natural' and 'healthy' Dannon yoghurt in the supermarket and the 2nd highest ingredient was High Fructose Corn Syrup. Who is regulating that? Being aware of what your eating is the most important key, because they will label 'healthy' on anything now - because it's relative. That yoghurt is 'Healthy' compared to a snickers bar. Marketing something as 'a healthy alternative' will do amazing things to your sales figures.