Most worrisome, is that one product, The Vitamin Shoppe Multivitamins Especially for Women, was contaminated with lead.
"I was definitely shocked by the amount of lead in this product," ConsumerLab.com's Dr. Tod Cooperman stated. "We've never seen that much lead in a multivitamin before."
Other products contained more or less of a particular vitamin than listed on the label. Some did not dissolve in the correct amount of time, meaning they could pass through the body without being absorbed.
ConsumerLab.com independently evaluates hundreds of health & nutrition products and periodically publishes reviews. In the news report, released to MSNBC.com, the company purchased a selection of the popular multivitamins on the market as well as some smaller brands and sent them, without labels, to two independent laboratories to be tested.
"I think this confirms the advice often given: you are safer choosing a well-known brand of vitamins sold by some company that you have confidence in."
In the reports, tests show that the Vitamin Shoppe women's product contained 15.3 micrograms of lead per daily serving of two tablets. This same product also contained just 54% of the 200 milligrams of Calcium listed on the label.
This amount of lead is more than 10 times the amount permitted without a warning in California. This mineral is stored in the body and could build up over time.
"I would be concerned about a woman taking a multivitamin that contains 15.3 micrograms of lead per daily serving," stated Judy Simon, a dietician at the University of Washington Medical Center in Seattle. "Among other health effects, lead can contribute to high blood pressure."
ConsumerLab.com also found that Hero Nutritional Yummi Bears, a multivitamin for children, had an extra 216% of the labeled amount of vitamin A, delivering 5,400 International Units in a daily serving. That's substantially more than the tolerable level of 2,000 IU for kids ages 1-3 and 3,000 for kids 4-8.
"Because too much vitamin A can cause bone weakening and liver abnormalities, the Yummi Bears could be doing more harm than good. Vitamin A is one of those vitamins you don't want to get too much of," Dr.Cooperman noted.
The lead and Vitamin A findings are worrisome because vitamins are generally taken every day, potentially building up to toxic levels and leading to problems down the line. In particular, women with high levels of lead in their bodies who get pregnant could pass on problems to their baby.
In other findings, Eniva VIBE, a liquid multivitamin sold in packets, had only 54% of the claimed Vitamin A.
The ConsumerLab.com report also found that some vitamins did not break apart within the 30-minute standard set by the United States Pharmacopia. Nature's Plus Especially Yours for Women required more than an hour to disintegrate, while AARP Maturity Formula took 50 minutes. These products could go through your body without releasing the nutrients.
Editor's Note: Shaklee's Vita-Lea won a "disintegration derby" conducted by NBC several years ago that showed Vita-Lea disintegrating in under 20 minutes-- faster than all other multivitamins tested.
There are many, many reasons that set Shaklee apart from all other vitamins, herbs and nutritional supplements on the market today, and one of the most important is found right in the Shaklee Guarantee.
- 100% guarantee that the ingredients listed on the label are in the product
- 100% guarantee of quality-controlled product formulations that ensure product safety, purity, reliability, and product performance
- 100% guarantee that we use the finest quality ingredients available
As you can see with Shaklee, it's not just an unconditional money back guarantee, but a whole philosophy and commitment to making Shaklee products the very best. With Shaklee you never have to worry or wonder if what's on the label is in the bottle. And you can rest assured that you're getting the very best quality and formulation based on solid scientific research and unprecedented testing.
A handy one page view with links to all the vitamins and minerals, herbs, botanicals and nutritional supplements.
