4 Common Dangers Lurking in Your ‘Health’ Supplements

Anthony Gucciardi
Natural Society

In a world where health consciousness is increasingly more popular each day, major corporations have entered the health supplements marketplace under new ‘health’ brands in an attempt to soak up some of the profits. In doing this, these corporations that truly do not have any concern for the actual quality of their products tend to cut costs by using dangerous fillers and additives that pose a serious risk to your health. A risk that is particularly concerning when considering that these supplements are supposed to enhance your health.

Enabling cheaper production at a quicker pace and utilizing cheap materials (such as GMO-containing corn to extract vitamin C), these 4 common fillers are your worst nightmare and mega corporation’s dream come true:

1. Nanoparticle Titanium Dioxide

Would you like some highly toxic nanoparticle titanium dioxide with that ‘health’ pill? Also used in cosmetics, peer-reviewed research available on PubMed reveals that titanium dioxide has been linked to a number of conditions including DNA damage. Through sourcing GreenMedInfo on the subject, a database which indexes available research on toxic substances and beneficial ones alike, we find that 7 pieces of peer-reviewed research has linked titanium dioxide to DNA damaging effects.

We also can highlight numerous cases in which titanium dioxide was associated with organ damage in mice.

At the end of the day, it is clear that titanium dioxide is usually present only in low quality supplements where the manufacturer truly does not have much concern for the health consequences of its usage. If you find titanium dioxide in your supplement, toss it. It likely contains ingredients that are even far worse.

2. Hidden Hydrogenated Oils

You have probably heard of hydrogenated oils when it comes to food products, and you may even avoid them when doing your routine grocery shopping. What you may not yet be aware of is the fact that these troubling oils also happen to lurk within many health food stores and pharmacies alike in the supplements aisle — and perhaps even your pantry. Traditionally found in processed junk foods, hydrogenated oils have begun appearing in supplements thanks to the same processed food manufacturers wanting in on the supplement market.

Always be sure to check your label for hydrogenated oils before purchasing.

3. Artificial Coloring

You’ve heard about the host of artificial coloring ingredients and how in the past many have been banned due to overwhelming health concerns (with warning labels even considered for modern labeling), but did you know that artificial colors still exist within the supplement industry on a concerning level? A simple purpose, artificial colors are utilized to make vitamins more appealing to consumers — mainly children. A disturbing fact when examining the links between childhood consumption of these artificial colors and disease.

4. Damaging Synthetic Vitamins

I’ve spoken about synthetic vitamins in the past and how they cloud the entire supplement industry with fuzzy science as oftentimes researchers study synthetic forms of vitamins and report on negative effects without even specifying which form of the vitamin they studied. As it turns out, there is a very large difference. For example, vitamin E can be beneficial to the body in one form yet highly damaging in another. It comes down to production, and we know that the synthetic version of vitamin E is a petrochemically derived analogue of natural vitamin E.

As a result, this synthetic version has been found to actually disrupt the entire endocrine system – something that natural vitamin E has not been found to do. The same thing can be found time and time again with substances like vitamin A and others. Even vitamin D2 and D3 (D3 being the natural form) have large variations.

So how do you avoid synthetic chemicals in your ‘health’ supplements? First of all, immediately turn away from any lower quality supplements. Any product containing the previous dangerous ingredients will almost always contain synthetics, and especially the run-of-the-mill pharmacy brand supplement chain. Look for an organic-based vitamin that specifically states it does not contain synthetic versions of vitamins. You can even email, call, or ask a rep to find out.

These days it can be a serious challenge to select the right supplements, but looking for these 4 dangers within the supplement aisle or online supplement selection can make a difference. Eliminating products containing these items eliminates a large percentage of products that could be damaging your body more than helping.