4 ms·

No that is not my attitude. My attitude is that the only people who are experiencing issues are shopping way outside of normal channels. Nothing you buy at GN

No that is not my attitude. My attitude is that the only people who are experiencing issues are shopping way outside of normal channels. Nothing you buy at GNC will be tainted with steroids. The study takes 150 random products and finds issues with 20% of them, I guarantee those 20% are not sold at GNC, VitaminShoppe etc. This is just really not a big problem for normal every day people.

yayana 8y ago
Every day people probably buy more vitamins by volume at supermarkets and drug stores. But I see no reason to believe any distributor is safer across all products sold. http://time.com/3741142/gnc-vitamin-shoppe-supplements/ http://time.com/3741142/gnc-vitamin-shoppe-supplements/
- wdewind 8y ago
  Look at the names of the "supplements" they found issues with: https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/sda/sdNavigation.cfm?sd=tainted_supplements_cder&displayAll=false&page=1 https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/sda/sdNavigation.cfm?... Literally the only surprising one on the list is Slim Fast, and it's so surprising I'm wondering if they are using extremely old stock or something. The rest of the "supplements" are dick pills with names like "Sexy Monkey." It's just not even the same market as the weekend warrior crossfit bro who takes whey protein and maybe gasp creatine.
  - scott_s 8y ago
    I buy whey protein at the grocery store, and I'm comfortable doing so because it makes no promises other than being something I can use to get some easy calories and protein. But places like GNC have lots more than just protein and creatine under "Muscle builders", "Performance Formulas", "Cleansing & Detox" and "Appetite Control". I consider those to be the same market as a bunch of the stuff on this list.
  - yayana 8y ago
    Testing for tainting with pharmaceuticals is no doubt going to find it mostly in weight loss and sex pills. Heavy metals you'll find in the herbs. Proteins would probably be more contaminated with animal/food related issues like in canning. The general problem is that whatever you look at you are likely to find a type of contamination that isn't being checked for with the same level of oversight as the food industry or the pharmaceutical industry.
  - masonic 8y ago
    Slim Fast is not on the list. It's crap, but it's not on the list.
    - wdewind 8y ago
      https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/sda/sdNavigation.cfm?filter=slim+fast&sortColumn=&sd=tainted_supplements_cder&page=1&displayAll=false https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/sda/sdNavigation.cfm?... It is on the list, and now that I look closer, yes the stock they are using is from 2009 when Slim Fast openly advertised that they used sibutramine. They have since stopped, so this list is somewhat suspect.
      - masonic 8y ago
        Sorry, I was referring to the well-known USA SlimFast retail product from SlimFast, owned by Kainos Capital (formerly Unilever). The "Slim Fast" that is on this FDA list is a knock-off from "Universal ABC Beauty Supply International, Inc."
        wdewind 8y ago
        Ah, I owe you an apology then. I was super confused when I saw it on the list, and found a bunch of stuff related to Slim Fast and sibutramine but I guess I didn't read it close enough. Thanks for the clarification.
        masonic 8y ago
        No problem. I missed that it was a multiple page list in the first place and missed the "Slim Fast" name altogether.
scott_s 8y ago
You are correct that most of the supplements in this study are not sold at retail, as explained in the article: > Since FDA sampling has focused on dietary supplements found online or through import screenings, this data analysis does not indicate the prevalence of these adulterated supplements at retail locations. But I would not have confidence in what is sold at retail. A 2015 operation by NY state found problems with supplements sold by GNC, Target, Walgreens and Walmart: https://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/02/03/new-york-attorney-general-targets-supplements-at-major-retailers/ https://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/02/03/new-york-attorney-... Granted, I don't think they found any actual drugs in the supplements, but many of the supplements did not contain what they claimed to contain, and some of what they did contain are potential allergens.
driverdan 8y ago
> Nothing you buy at GNC will be tainted with steroids. Didn't GNC sell Superdrol and other designer steroids and pro-hormones?

yayana 8y ago

Every day people probably buy more vitamins by volume at supermarkets and drug stores. But I see no reason to believe any distributor is safer across all products sold. http://time.com/3741142/gnc-vitamin-shoppe-supplements/ http://time.com/3741142/gnc-vitamin-shoppe-supplements/

wdewind 8y ago
Look at the names of the "supplements" they found issues with: https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/sda/sdNavigation.cfm?sd=tainted_supplements_cder&displayAll=false&page=1 https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/sda/sdNavigation.cfm?... Literally the only surprising one on the list is Slim Fast, and it's so surprising I'm wondering if they are using extremely old stock or something. The rest of the "supplements" are dick pills with names like "Sexy Monkey." It's just not even the same market as the weekend warrior crossfit bro who takes whey protein and maybe gasp creatine.
- scott_s 8y ago
  I buy whey protein at the grocery store, and I'm comfortable doing so because it makes no promises other than being something I can use to get some easy calories and protein. But places like GNC have lots more than just protein and creatine under "Muscle builders", "Performance Formulas", "Cleansing & Detox" and "Appetite Control". I consider those to be the same market as a bunch of the stuff on this list.
- yayana 8y ago
  Testing for tainting with pharmaceuticals is no doubt going to find it mostly in weight loss and sex pills. Heavy metals you'll find in the herbs. Proteins would probably be more contaminated with animal/food related issues like in canning. The general problem is that whatever you look at you are likely to find a type of contamination that isn't being checked for with the same level of oversight as the food industry or the pharmaceutical industry.
- masonic 8y ago
  Slim Fast is not on the list. It's crap, but it's not on the list.
  - wdewind 8y ago
    https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/sda/sdNavigation.cfm?filter=slim+fast&sortColumn=&sd=tainted_supplements_cder&page=1&displayAll=false https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/sda/sdNavigation.cfm?... It is on the list, and now that I look closer, yes the stock they are using is from 2009 when Slim Fast openly advertised that they used sibutramine. They have since stopped, so this list is somewhat suspect.
    - masonic 8y ago
      Sorry, I was referring to the well-known USA SlimFast retail product from SlimFast, owned by Kainos Capital (formerly Unilever). The "Slim Fast" that is on this FDA list is a knock-off from "Universal ABC Beauty Supply International, Inc."
      - wdewind 8y ago
        Ah, I owe you an apology then. I was super confused when I saw it on the list, and found a bunch of stuff related to Slim Fast and sibutramine but I guess I didn't read it close enough. Thanks for the clarification.
        masonic 8y ago
        No problem. I missed that it was a multiple page list in the first place and missed the "Slim Fast" name altogether.

scott_s 8y ago

You are correct that most of the supplements in this study are not sold at retail, as explained in the article: > Since FDA sampling has focused on dietary supplements found online or through import screenings, this data analysis does not indicate the prevalence of these adulterated supplements at retail locations. But I would not have confidence in what is sold at retail. A 2015 operation by NY state found problems with supplements sold by GNC, Target, Walgreens and Walmart: https://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/02/03/new-york-attorney-general-targets-supplements-at-major-retailers/ https://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/02/03/new-york-attorney-... Granted, I don't think they found any actual drugs in the supplements, but many of the supplements did not contain what they claimed to contain, and some of what they did contain are potential allergens.

driverdan 8y ago

> Nothing you buy at GNC will be tainted with steroids. Didn't GNC sell Superdrol and other designer steroids and pro-hormones?