14 replies to this topic

[Omnivium]

They got me. For years, the dietary supplement industry has been tricking me into buying and consuming poison. The poison is not in the nutrients, but in the pills themselves. Fillers, coatings, glazes, lubricants, coloring, preservatives and sweeteners in pills are all most likely toxic. The manufacturers put these ingredients in pills to make it cheaper and easier to produce them, at the expense of your health. They do this with oral prescriptions as well.

Here is a list of some common toxic ingredients added to pills:

• Magnesium Stearate/Stearic Acid
• Sodium Benzoate/Potassium Sorbate
• Corn Starch
• Titanium Dioxide
• Lactose
• Hydrogenated Oils
• Cellulose

The most common of these is magnesium stearate/stearic acid, which is in almost every supplement. It is a lubricant made from superheated vegetable oils or animals fats. Its only purpose is to lubricate the machines that make the pills. But it also attacks your T cells(white blood cells) and, therefore, suppresses your immune system. http://www.naturesbi...tearic_acid.php
http://www.kisswebpa.../preservatives/

Here are some links on dangerous additives in general:
http://chetday.com/vitaminhazards.html
http://www.naturalnews.com/012427.html
http://www.gutsense....upplements.html

My thought:
I always wondered why pills that were so different gave me the same symptoms, like worse acne and insomnia. I realized it must be the pills themselves, not the "active ingredient" in the pills. And it turns out most additives in pills are poisonous. Think about it: what makes a pill stick together and keep its shape? Whatever it is, it's definitely not natural or good for you. One of the pills that gave me insomnia was doxycycline. For years, I thought it was just because it kills good bacteria that we need. But then I looked up the ingredients: http://www.rxlist.com/doryx-drug.htm

Inert ingredients in the capsule formulation are: lactose; microcrystalline cellulose; povidone; starch wheat; magnesium stearate; cellulosic polymer coating. The capsule shell and/or band contains FD and C blue No.1; FD and C yellow No. 6; D and C yellow No.10; gelatin, silicon dioxide; sodium lauryl sulfate; titanium dioxide.

I think the prescription industry doesn't really care what they put in pills, as long as the pills contain the active ingredient. The dietary supplement industry does the same thing, but to a lesser extent.

What about gelatin?

I really couldn't find anything that said gelatin capsules are dangerous. I found these sources that say they are not dangerous:
http://www.prnewswir...elease?id=53061
http://en.wikipedia....Safety_concerns

It does come from animals though, if you care about that kind of thing.


What about supplements in liquid or powder form?

Well, let's take a look at the "other" ingredients in cod liver oil:

Other ingredients: Natural lemon flavor, proprietary antioxidant blend (consisting of rosemary extract, ascorbyl palmitate and natural tocopherols).

As for powder, I searched a vitamin site for vitamic c in powder form, and one of the results didn't even have a list of ingredients because it was 100% pure vitamin c. A second one didn't have a list of ingredients either, and it said: "Contains absolutely no preservatives, flavors, honey, sugars or any additives."

Those both look pretty good. They are at least way better than capsule or tablet form. So if you want to supplement, use liquid or powder form supplements, preferably ones with no additives. Liquid and powder supplements don't need fillers or coatings, but they can still have preservatives or sweeteners or other additives, so watch out for those.


Remember - It is always best to consume foods and supplements that contain NO added ingredients. When that is not possible, consume things with the least amount of additives as you can.

[overfl00d]

Thanks for this information. I never even thought about it. Apparently in one of the links you posted, they say "Nature's Way" is a trustworthy brand, and fortunately that's the one I bought. But, it does have "Vegetable Stearic Acid" and "vegetable magnesium stearate." I wonder if adding the word vegetable makes it healthy or not, LoL.

Edited by overfl00d, 24 February 2012 - 02:42 AM.

[Omnivium]

I wouldn't consider an entire brand either trustworthy or not trustworthy, but you can tell from the ingredients if a particular supplement is good or bad for you. And no, adding the word vegetable doesn't make things healthy. Example: vegetable oil.

[Omnivium]

You will not always be able to find a specific supplement with no added ingredients, and some don't even come in liquid or powder form.

It is rare, but you might be able to find a supplement in capsule form where the only added ingredient is gelatin. I realized this when I found a milk thistle supplement I have and I noticed the only ingredients in it are milk thistle and gelatin. Supplements like that should be harmless, but again, they are very rare.

Here is a list of supplements I found in liquid or powder form with no added ingredients. This is not a complete list of every supplement with no added ingredients. I won't post a link, but I'll just say that I found all of these on the same vitamin website:


Liquid

• Vitamin D3(It has added fat for absorption, but that's it)
• Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Macadamia Nut Oil
• Walnut Oil
• Organic Sesame Seed Oil
• Organic Hemp Seed Oil
• Organic Avocado Oil
• Other Oils

Powder

• Organic Milled Flaxseed
• Vitamin C
• Psyllium Husk
• MSM
• Brewer's Yeast
• Pea Protein
• Organic Brown Rice Protein
• Soy Protein
• Magnesium Citrate
• Magnesium Oxide
• Inositol
• Organic Cinnamon
• Organic Turmeric
• Organic Ground Cayenne Pepper
• Other Herbs and Spices
• Calcium Citrate
• Calcium Lactate
• Calcium Ascorbate
• Calcium Carbonate
• Potassium Gluconate

These might have added ingredients, depending on which brand you get. It is possible to find all of the above supplements with no added ingredients online. Like I said before, I found them all on the same website.

Some added ingredients might be acceptable. If you really need a nutrient, you might decide to take one with added ingredients. Just know that pills have toxins, and it's up to you to decide if you want to take them. And you don't have to go throw out all of your supplements in pill form. Just try to get ones with no added ingredients the next time you buy them.

[BitterSweet098]

Here is a list of supplements I found in liquid or powder form with no added ingredients. This is not a complete list of every supplement with no added ingredients. I won't post a link, but I'll just say that I found all of these on the same vitamin website:

XX

Edited by BitterSweet098, 05 February 2013 - 09:33 PM.

[Omnivium]

Could headaches be a symptom of these added ingredients? I presume so, bc I'm not usually prone to headaches. But, I do have a lot of auto-immune disorders that are acting up lately and makes me sensitive to f'n everything. As soon as I started supps, I started getting a dull headache. If I don't take one, I don't get a headache. Could you possibly PM me with a link to this vitamin site? Also, have you personally ever ordered from this site?

Yes, headaches can be a symptom of the added ingredients or of the nutrient itself. I started getting headaches after taking 100mg of zinc every day, but I never knew if it was from the added ingredients in the zinc or if it was the actual zinc. I'm sure you could find some "evidence" for the actual nutrient and the added ingredients causing headaches, so you might never know which ingredient in the pill gives you the headaches. The best thing you can do is stop taking something if your body is telling you to. Which supplement gives you a headache? And how much do you take?

It's nice to know that I'm not the only one who is sensitive to everything. I read about people megadosing supplements all the time and I just know my body would freak out with acne and insomnia if I did that.

Yea I'll send you a link. And yea, I order from the site all the time. It's actually the only one I use now. Personally, I think it is the best one because of its selection and prices, and they sell many different brands.

^That's why I didn't post a link - I sound like an advertisement.

[BitterSweet098]

XX

Edited by BitterSweet098, 05 February 2013 - 09:34 PM.

[alternativista]

You should buy flax seed whole and grind it yourself in small amounts to reduce rancidity.

[Omnivium]

I was taking Healthy Origins Probiotic that was "supposed" to be a good one according to the person at the store. I was taking 1-2 capsules/day. It does have the Magnesium Stearate in it. The other one I was taking was just plain old Vitamin C(4 pills/day all at once), which has the Corn Starch, Magnesium Stearate and Stearic Acid listed on the ingredients. I started getting headaches, so I quit both (no headaches). Then, I tried just the Vit C alone, and got a headache. Then, I tried the Probiotic alone and also got a headache. Then, quit again and no headache. This is when I knew I was onto something..also bc in general I'm not prone to headaches.

The common ingredient in both supps was the Magnesium Stearate, but my guess is any of them could bother me as I am always sensitive to things in general. However, more lately I am even more sensitive to everything bc I had to see my immunologist lately who told me my auto-immune disorders are acting up from every little thing. Doesn't it kind of suck being so sensitive to shit lol. Oh btw, you don't sound like an advertisement. I think you are just being informative and helping others who also may be overly sensitive and need an alternative. I think the link should be posted(though I do not truly know the "rules" for this)

Edit: I almost forgot Vit D(same ingredients as the Vit C). At the beg of winter, I started supplementing per my doctor. I was taking one at night before bed. They were giving me stomach aches. So I only took them for about a week, then quit. I remember thinking that I must not be deficient in Vitamin D at the time, and started thinking supps were not needed of any kind as long as I was eating healthy, ect. Back then, my auto-immune disorders were NOT acting up either. So hmm.. I think I have always been sensitive to these ingredients. Which would explain why I have always been reluctant to take supps. I remember starting to advocate that supps were not healthy. Now I am thinking I should retract this statement, and that it could very well be the OTHER ingredients in the supps. Either way I am still hesitant to take supps with or without the other ingredients.

It sucks that magnesium stearate is in most supplements. I don't know if you read it, but in one of the links on this thread it says that magnesium stearate suppresses your immune system by attacking your white blood cells. If vitamin c and probiotics both give you headaches, I would guess that the magnesium stearate or other added ingredients are the cause. A funny thing about vitamin c is I can take as many as I want without any side effects. I'm sensitive to most supplements, but a few times I took aroung 12g of vitamin c a day without any good or bad effects.

I think it is good to be hesitant about supplements. It's definitely best to get your nutrients from food, the way nature intended.

[CoolGuy68]

Omnivium, you make some great points here! I'd like to add a few more "toxins" to the list:

Stearic Acid
Dicalcium Phosphate
Lactose Monohydrate

[broscience]

Wow, didnt expect this. I always just found taking pills more practical, easier and cheaper than buying food which contains the vitamin.

Edited by broscience, 30 May 2012 - 04:33 AM.

[Rawhide]

I call bullshit

[AutonomousOne1980]

great topic!

although we can immediatly eliminate 5 ingredients off the fear monger list that are likely safe-

lactose=milk sugar=super safe
cellulose=plant fibers
hydrogenated fats=relatively safe, but not healthy as people consume these in much much larger amount everyday from processed foods like peanut butter and fast foods so the small amounts in vitamins are nothing to fret too much about.

corn starch=safe because well its simply corn sugars.
stearic acid=safe, it is a saturated fatty acid very high in chocolate but also in animal fats

gelatin from gelatin caps- very very safe, gelatin is the same as jello the popular dessert and is derived from animal sources from boiling cartilage, so gelatin = animal cartilage that is broken down by heat, exactly the same element in any everyday meal you would cook when you boil animal meat like chicken legs, pork or beef or even fish etc, this stuff is has been consumed since the time we started cooking animals.

now the remaining 3 are important but better research is needed to come to definite conclusions-
titanium dioxide= questionable, possibly dangerous
sodium benzoate = questionable
potassium benzoate= questionable
magnesium stearate= questionable, likely safe


i looked at the artcles and the references they provided, some sites would not even let me copy and paste the references they provided, deterring me from checking there reasoning, while others i could check easily, were mis-qouted articles or non releventto the subject matter, so better research on these substances is needed before anything can be determined.

Edited by AutonomousOne1980, 02 June 2012 - 11:42 AM.

[Omnivium]

I think that allergens like lactose and corn starch could cause breakouts if you have a sensitivity to them. They are not dangerous, but some people might not want them in their pills.

Yeah I noticed one of the sites didn't let me copy anything, which is kind of shady. I googled one of the studies (Molecular basis for the immunosuppressive action of stearic acid on T cells) and google finished the phrase for me as I was typing. I wonder if that was because you searched for it too? Here is the article: http://www.ncbi.nlm....y00130-0101.pdf It should be much more credible. In the introduction it explains how stearic acid inhibits T cell function but not B cell function.

[GouldbergVariations]

Most of these " toxic ingredients" come in such miniscule levels that they are easily neutralized by any type of antioxidant supplementation. You get more toxic doses from foods, drinks, and solar radiation then a few micrograms of a substance that makes up a capsule/pill.

It's simply impossible to get your needed nutrients from just eating nutrient dense foods, especially with all the pollution and oxidative stress in modern society. Take for example Vitamin C. Millions of years ago a mutation caused the loss a specific enzyme that converted glucose to Vitamin C in the liver. This affected humans, guinea pigs , apes and some other mammals, therefore we need an exogenous supply of Vitamin C for collagen production. Vitamin C is directly destroyed in the process of converting pro collagen to collagen ( the principle structural protein in the bodies of animals). 99% of all animals species that use collagen physiologically produce it in either their livers or kidneys. The average level produced translated to a 70kg animal is around 10 grams of ascorbic acid daily, and this is under normal situations. In times of sickness and disease these levels increase greatly, due to oxidative stress ,and increased consumption of vitamin C. The RDA of 65 mg , is laughable, infact so are most VITAMIN RDA's. The RDA is the level that is needed to keep us from dying, not put us in optimal health.

Research to back up my intakes and thoughts

Safety

Vitamin E
http://www.annals.or...t/142/1/37.long
http://www.crnusa.or...etanalysis.html

Vitamins in general
http://orthomolecula...ns/v07n16.shtml

Vitamin C

http://orthomolecula...ns/v07n14.shtml

http://lpi.oregonsta...dneystones.html

http://www.doctoryou...f.com/levy.html

http://www.tomlevymd...w/chapter4.html

Vitamin A
http://www.ncbi.nlm.......bulesky 1999

Alpha Lipoic Acid

http://www.ncbi.nlm....pubmed/17272797
http://www.chiro.org....ioxidant.shtml


Vitamin D

http://www.ncbi.nlm....pubmed/10232622

http://www.ncbi.nlm....pubmed/18844846






Vitamin C clinical efficacy and dosage

http://www.seanet.co....v16-n1-p52.htm
http://www.seanet.co....guide_1988.htm
http://www.orthomed.com/titrate.htm

http://www.doctoryou...nner_table.html

http://www.vitamincf...ion.org/RDA.htm

http://www.orthomed.com/klenner.htm

More clinical studies

http://www.vitamincf....wforum.php?f=9

Books to checkout
How to live longer and feel better - Linus Pauling
The Healing Factor - Irwin Stone
Vitamin C- toxins infectious disease - Thomas LEvy
Primal Panacea- Thomas levy
Vitamin C: The Real Story, the Remarkable and Controversial Healing Factor - Hickey and Saul
Ascorbate: The Science of Vitamin C Hickey and Roberts
The entire PDF of Irwin Stone's Book