It's What's on the Inside that Counts Part 2

Who owns your supplements? Should you be concerned? Who owns the different supplement brands does effect the purity, quality, and effectiveness of the ingredients advertised on the labels.

Did you know that many supplement brands have been sold to multinational conglomerates whose first concern is sales and marketing, and not your health? Recently large pharmaceutical corporations have been racing to buy up supplement companies. “Why”, you ask? Aren’t they in the sick business? They make their money off of sick consumers. So why invest in health and wellness when they don’t want you well? It’s all about money! Creating a new drug takes decades and costs billions to develop. On the other hand, supplements cost a fraction of that overhead to make and has fewer regulations, resulting in less time to produce. This means more profit margins and they are cashing in. Should we trust a supplement brand owned by “Big Pharma” who aims to reduce operating costs, sacrificing quality for quantity? Raw materials will no longer be vetted as carefully as they once were. Corporations also start using “proprietary blends” that decreases the supplement’s effectiveness. Active ingredients have been reduced to be more cost effective. When nutrients are missing active ingredients, supplements can no longer provide energy, contribute to body structure, or regulate chemical processes in the body. These nutrients are necessary for disease prevention. Cheap synthetic ingredients are used to produce many of these supplements making them even more profitable. Money is always the main motivation in business but also control. By purchasing these supplement brands, corporations may be able to limit how the health and wellness market infringes on the drug monopolies. Pharmaceuticals are in this business to make money on illnesses, especially long-term illnesses. Good health is not something the pharmaceutical industry can profit from in the long term. Remember the pharmaceutical industry does not want you well. Just watch a pharmaceutical commercial and at the end listen to all the side effects it causes. So when you band aid one problem you get a whole new set of problems. Something to think about…

The widespread demand in recent years for nutritional supplements have not gone unnoticed. Not only are many pharmaceutical companies buying supplement brands, but multinational conglomerates like, Nestle’, are jumping on the money train. The supplement industry is a $28 billion dollar market. Vitamin deficiency in America effects almost 90% of the population. A few of the reasons for this are poor farming practices contributing to depleted minerals in the soil and processed boxed food. Along with Nestle’ are Clorox, Proctor & Gamble, Unilever, Kraft, Heinz, and Amazon who have been involved in recent mergers and acquisitions. The very well-known conglomerates that produce the over-processed foods have also taken over well-known supplement brands. So if they sell us over-processed foods that are not the best for our health, how can they be trusted with our supplements?

The majority of supplements on the shelves are owned by large corporations that traditionally do not deal in supplements. If the quality is poor, the nutrients are not in the right bioavailable form, such as synthetic vitamin E and ascorbic acid from China, buyers beware! Plus a lot of the supplements contain additives and fillers. Synthetics and artificial ingredients should not be acceptable to consumers! Mega corporations do not have natural heath principles as the core foundation of their business. Because the supplement industry is worth billions, big players will want to cash in without the concern for true wellness and bioavailable nutrients. Quality often drops when supplements become part of global-spanning corporations. When an organic brand is sold to a new parent company the commitment to organic ingredients is reduced to keep the overhead cost down because the bottom line is all about the money and not your health.

Did you know when a supplement is marketed as “natural” it only has to include 10% actual natural plant-derived ingredients? The other 90% could be synthetic cheaper alternatives. Past research has shown when quality has been sacrificed to cut costs, mold, heavy metals, pesticides, and other environmental toxins have been found because supplements have not been vetted properly. This is why 3rd party testing is so important. Knowing what kind of company owns and controls another helps the consumer make better informed brand choices. It is important that a brand is non toxic and comes from clean sources. There is more than ingredients that determine safety. It’s important to know what a company’s priorities are and who has the final say in outsourcing for the ingredients in the supplements you buy.

Below is a list of the current mergers and acquisitions of popular supplement brands. You will be shocked at some of these. I know I was.

Supplement Brands Owned by Clorox:

Rainbow Light
Neocell
Renew Life
Natural Vitality (popular for CALM drink)
Champion Performance
Stop Aging Now
True Health

Vitamin/ Nutrition/ Supplement Brands Bought Out by Nestle:

Unda
Garden of Life
Pure Encapsulations
Klean Athlete
Genestra
Body Fortress
Pharmax
AOV
Douglas Labs
Minami
Orthica
Wobenzym
Dr. Organic
Sundown Naturals
Solgar
Osteo Bi-Flex
Sisu
Met-Rx
Persona
Vital Proteins
Nature’s Bounty
Spring Valley
Ester-C
Puritan’s Pride
Pure Protein

Vitamin/ Nutrition/ Supplement Brands Bought Out by Bayer:

Care / of
Move Free
One A Day
MegaRed
Digestive Advantage
Schiff Nutrition
Airborne
Neuriva

Vitamin/ Nutrition/ Supplement Brands Bought Out by HGGC:

Natural Balance
All One
Nature’s Life
Zand
Thompson
Natural Sport
KAL
Dynamic Health
Solaray
Zhou
Life Time
Natural Care

Vitamin/ Nutrition/ Supplement Brands Bought Out by DSM:

Culturelle
Up4
Ovega -3
AZO
Estroven
Brainstrong
Life’s DHA

Vitamin/ Nutrition/ Supplement Brands Bought Out by P&G:

Bion 3
Metamucil
Sangobion
Sean Seas
New Chapter
Align
Neurobion
Femibion

Vitamin/ Nutrition/ Supplement Brands Bought Out by Unilever:

OLLY
ONNIT
Smarty Pants

Vitamin/ Nutrition/ Supplement Brands Bought Out by New Mountain Capital:

Jarrow Formulas
Natrol

Vitamin/ Nutrition/ Supplement Brands Bought Out by Alticor:

Nutrilite (all amway brand)
Metagenics

Vitamin/ Nutrition/ Supplement Brands Bought Out by WM Partners LP:

Great Lakes Gelatin
Vega
Ultima Health

Vitamin/ Nutrition/ Supplement Brands Bought Out by Schwabe:

Sanat
Enzymatic Therapy
Nature’s Way
Integrative Therapeutics

Vitamin/ Nutrition/ Supplement Brands Bought Out by Otsuka Pharmaceuticals:

Uqora
Nature Made
MegaFood
Equelle
Innate

Vitamin/ Nutrition/ Supplement Brands Bought Out by Johnson & Johnson:

Zarbees Naturals

Vitamin/ Nutrition/ Supplement Brands Bought Out by Bansk Group:

Naturelo

Vitamin/ Nutrition/ Supplement Brands Bought Out by Butterfly Equity:

Orgain

Vitamin/ Nutrition/ Supplement Brands Bought Out by Pfizer:

Multi- tabs
Caltrate
Centrum
Bifiform
Emergen-C

Vitamin/ Nutrition/ Supplement Brands Bought Out by Swander Pace Capital:

Swanson Health

Vitamin/ Nutrition/ Supplement Brands Bought Out by Apollo Global Management:

Sprouts Farmers Market (this includes not only their whole store, but their personal supplements brand as well)

Vitamin/ Nutrition/ Supplement Brands Bought Out by Bridges Consumer Healthcare:

Florajen

Vitamin/ Nutrition/ Supplement Brands Bought Out by Harbin Pharmaceutical Group:

GNC (this includes not only their whole store, but their personal supplements brand as well)

Vitamin/ Nutrition/ Supplement Brands Bought Out by Amazon:

365 by Whole Foods (this includes not only their whole store, but their personal supplements brand as well)

Vitamin/ Nutrition/ Supplement Brands Bought Out by Kraft Heinz:

Primal Blueprint

Vitamin/ Nutrition/ Supplement Brands Bought Out by Probi:

Nutraceutix
Vital Nutrients

Vitamin/ Nutrition/ Supplement Brands Bought Out by Kikkoman:

Country Life Supplements

Vitamin/ Nutrition/ Supplement Brands Bought Out by TSG Consumer Partners:

Nuun

Vitamin/ Nutrition/ Supplement Brands Bought Out by Medly Pharmacy:

Pharmaca

Vitamin/ Nutrition/ Supplement Brands Bought Out by Church & Dwight Co. Inc:

Lil Critters
PB8
Vitafusion

So Who Can you Trust?

It is better to purchase from privately owned companies who may be more inclined to higher quality standards. Mission-driven brands also adhere to a more ethical standard. It is important to look for 3rd party testing on the product label. It guarantees consumers that what is stated on the label is actually in the product and no potentially harmful ingredients or contaminants are present.

Here are a few things to also consider before purchasing a supplement

Who owns the supplement?
Does it use safe, pure, clean ingredients?
Are all ingredients and amounts per serving clearly listed?
Does it use the optimal forms of ingredients?
Does it provide clinically effective dosages?
Do the values of this brand align with your own?
Has the brand received any industry awards?
Look for the NSF International seal which verifies 3rd party testing.
The USP seal guarantees the ingredients listed on the label
Go to consumerlabs.com to see if a product has been reviewed.
Pay attention to “other ingredients” on the label. Look for additives and fillers that could compromise bioavailable nutrients.
GMP seal which stands for Good Housekeeping Practices is a good indicator that the product has been manufactured responsibly.
Check the expiration dates because some supplements, like omega 3’s can go rancid.
Be careful with ordering products online like Amazon. A supplement’s official web site might be a safer bet because of counterfeit products, unsafe storage, and contamination.

While researching for this post, I discovered several web sites warning consumers about buying supplements on Amazon. Well, this was news to me! I had several supplements on Amazon’s autoship that I removed immediately. I’m sure I’m behind the 8 ball on this one. My next post will be discussing this issue and how to protect yourself against these criminals.

Until next time…

Below is a list of resources that provide information on safe supplements and reports on fraudulent activity to be aware of:

Theconversation.com