Does Dr. Oz need a reality check on Consumer Labs? What’s the real story behind Consumer Lab’s supplement testing? As a subscriber to the Alliance for Natural Health (ANH), their recent newsletter prompted this post. The ANH is an organization “dedicated to promoting sustainable health and freedom of choice in healthcare through good science and good law:” They advocate an integrative “approach incorporating functional foods, dietary supplements, and lifestyle changes” to improve health versus drugs, invasive surgeries and increased health care costs. You can see why I respect their opinion! 

In an April 23, 2013 report, the Alliance challenges a recent Dr. Oz episode that cites a Consumer Lab testing result and implies the safety of supplements are questionable; that Oz hypes their contamination and heavy metal content although only one supplement failed the lead test. (Oz did not mention it was a pet product.) He also remarked that the FDA does not “monitor supplements as they do drugs”. The Alliance rebuttal states, “That is simply not true. Both have Adverse Event Reporting systems. Both have to follow cGMPs—whether the product is pure, lives up to the information on its label, etc.—which is what CL is essentially testing for.” 

While we appreciate that a television show that is specifically on and about taking responsibility for living a healthier lifestyle, we have to agree with the Alliance on this one, Dr. Oz.

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