Consider Lovaza, a brand-name prescription drug used for hypertriglyceridemia (high triglycerides). Lovaza is the only FDA-approved Omega-3 prescription drug. Developed by Reliant Pharmaceuticals and sold by GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), Lovaza is essentially a fish oil supplement held up to FDA quality…
Tag: Supplements
Supplements: a Curative or Preventive Measure?
Many consumers will take vitamin, mineral, or any of the myriad other available supplements to either battle or prevent disease. According to recent surveys, more than half of Americans consider themselves regular supplement users, ballooning the burgeoning industry’s profits to…
FDA Finally Steps In Against Misleading Fish Oil Label Claims
Food and supplement labels can be tricky, confusing, and misleading for consumers. They are everywhere on products we buy at the grocery stores with terms such as “fat free,” “free range,” “excellent source of,” and “high in.” Most people do…
Can Probiotics Lead To Weight Loss?
We’ve all heard that probiotics, the so called “good” bacteria, benefit our well-being beyond just our digestive health. Probiotics keep the proliferation of harmful bacteria (pathogens) in check, aid in nutrient absorption, and support healthy immunity. A recent study links…
The Health Effects of Multivitamin Supplements
Introduction: the Concern Multivitamins have long been considered an inexpensive nutritional insurance policy. However, with no tangible or immediate way of assessing effect and no go-ahead from the FDA, whose testing determines safety and efficacy, consumers rely on the age…
Fish Oil and Joint Health
Joints: The Basics The body contains over 350 joints, the areas at which two bones meet. Most joints are moveable, which means that they allow for a variety of intricate, precise movements by manipulating the position of the unbendable bones…
Weight Loss Aid Causes Hepatitis Outbreak
OxyElite Pro, a popular dietary supplement claimed to help burn fat, led to an outbreak of severe inflammatory liver disease in nearly 100 people across 16 states as of February of this year. The liver plays central roles in digestion,…
Green Coffee Extract as a Weight-Loss Aid: the Facts
The weight loss industry has seen its fair share of short-cut laden fads, promising results after minimal effort. These marketing tactics often work—raspberry ketone product sales, for example, grew by triple digits in 2013, a year after they first received…
The Effects of Glucosamine on Longevity
Glucosamine-based dietary supplements are popular for the supposed health-promoting and pain-relieving effects on joints, although several long-term clinical studies have debunked this popular opinion down to medical myth, showing that placebo is just as effective as glucosamine supplementation in alleviating…
What is BHT and Why is it in Centrum?
Butylated Hydroxytoluene (BHT) is a synthetic preservative used to prevent the oxidation and subsequent spoilage of oils and fats. Typically added to fat-containing foods in an effort to increase their shelf-life, it is also commonly used in the supplement, cosmetic,…