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Although
unregulated, herbs,
vitamins and other
food supplements are
gaining popularity

JENNIFER FINER STAFF WRITER

/

isele Feldman walks the aisles of the
Good Food Co. in Troy. Carefully, she
selects the right herbs and vitamins.
Her healthful ways, she says, are not
a hobby but a lifestyle.
In the store, Ms. Feldman passes bottles
with various labels, including valerian root,
garlic pills, ginsana and dong quai. She se-
lects huckleberry tea (for her diabetes), dan-
delion root (to occasionally cleanse her liver)
and potassium (for energy), crossing them
off her list as she puts them in her basket.
Much of what she takes is used as an alter-
native to medication, to which she has de-
veloped an allergy.
"Herbs are a lot like-medicine," Ms. Feld-
man said. "Overall, they are safe unless tak-
en incorrectly. Still, most herbs should not
be taken for a long period of time."
Some nutritionists and doctors say herbs Gisele Feldman: A healthy lifestyle.
should not be taken at all because the mar-
ket is largely unregulated. They also say ben-
laws regarding the sales of such supplements. It also cre-
efits are unfounded.
Still, 40 percent of all Americans take a dietary sup- ated a category for dietary supplements, separating them
plement, vitamin, mineral or herb for one reason or an- from food and drugs, making them immune from FDA reg-
other. That translates into yearly sales of $1.5 billion for ulation.
Prescription and over-the-counter drugs must undergo
natural herbal remedies and $3.1 billion spent on vitamins
years
of testing and research to prove they are safe and ef-
Consumer
Re-
and minerals, according to a 1995 article in
fective, and food needs to meet certain standards, but
ports.
Ms. Feldman concedes her regimen is costly, but she the FDA provides no guidelines for these dietary supple-
ments that promise medicinal effects.
doesn't know how much she spends.
The law also states that manufacturers cannot claim
"It's not important to keep track," she said. "I'm not
the
supplement cures or prevents a disease. A label can
going to deprive myself of what my body needs."
detail
how a product affects the body as long as it's truth-
Edie Engelbaum, a manager at the Good Food Co., said
it's hard to estimate how many products are on the mar- ful.
Dr. John H. Renner, a Kansas City family physician af-
ket but speculates there are thousands. In her three years
filiated
with the National Council Against Health Fraud,
at the store, she has noticed an increase in the number
is
one
of
many who feels regulations on dietary supple-
of customers buying dietary supplements and those who
say their physicians recommended a specific herb, vita- ments are too lenient.
He said people take these products because they are try-
min or other supplement.
ing
to stay healthy.
The Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of
1994, enacted by Congress, defined a dietary supplement
as a vitamin, mineral, herb or amino acid. The act relaxed HERB page 70

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