As a Registered Dietitian, my
job is to provide people with nutrition recommendations grounded in science, along
with the accompanying assistance to help make lasting and effective health-improving
lifestyle changes. Dietitians have an obligation to protect clients and the
public from misleading, ineffective nutrition information and products—bearing this
responsibility certainly rules out selling dubious supplements ourselves.
So why do some health
practitioners still succumb to selling supplements? Understandably, many people
today are seeking extra income, and this is one way to potentially garner a
handsome little side profit; however, there are many serious concerns with health
professionals, specifically dietitians in private practice, selling and
profiting from supplements.
Conflict of interest and ethical matters
I think that recognizing the
ethical shortcomings inherent in a dietitian’s sales and marketing of supplements
is the first step, and it’s not hard to see the problem: having a financial
stake in recommending any health product is a major conflict of interest. The
dietitian’s opportunity for financial gain is perceptibly close—and this can
easily drown out the voice of professional responsibility in favor of a sale.
Moreover, dietetics practitioners
are unmistakably supposed to stay clear of any act that may affect their
professional judgment, according to our Code of Ethics. Prescribing, then selling
and profiting from supplements clearly challenges the dietitian’s
responsibility to put the client’s interests in front of the possibility to pad
her own pocketbook.
Evidence to support the supplement claims—belief versus
science
I think it is important to point
out that unlike prescription drugs, nutritional supplements do not have to be
proved effective or safe before they go on the market. Additionally, their
labels don’t have to warn about side effects, even for products with real
hazards. This alone should give anyone pause before choosing to take a
supplement.
And while there are definitely
some instances in which supplementation can be beneficial (consider women of childbearing years, pregnant women, vegans
or strict vegetarians, or people who are malnourished, etc), there is a ridiculous number of supplements available touting
benefits that have never actually been scientifically proven. It is the latter,
in this case, that I am most concerned about.
It’s easy for someone to say she
recommends something because she “believes” it works. Actually, this makes me
think of all the women in my life (including myself, sadly) who spend way too
much time researching, testing, hoping, and eventually believing in the
wrinkle-reducing face cream du jour, only to end up with wrinkles anyway. Why
do we do it? Because we BELIEVE it will help, and heck, it’s better than the
risk of doing nothing! Despite all the money and time spent, guess what? At 65,
we’re going to have wrinkles!
So while it’s easy to believe
something works, it is a bit harder to come up with solid research supporting
why you “believe” people need to be popping pills for every life stage and
condition imaginable. There’s really a bottle of magic for pretty much everything,
folks. Here’s what one dietitian’s online supplement store is selling products
for:
·
Healthy testosterone balance
·
Prostate & urinary health
·
Healthy libido & sexual function
·
Blood sugar balance and supporting sensitive blood
sugar levels
·
Immune health
·
Joint/muscle/bone health
·
Metabolic detox remedies to help the body’s natural
cleansing and filtering processes
·
Overcoming cravings and balancing brain chemicals
·
Pregnancy nutrition
·
Sexual health
·
Balancing estrogen and testosterone levels
·
Sleep
·
Sports nutrition
·
Essentials for weight loss
·
Healthy kids
·
Heartburn/reflux
·
General wellness
·
Digestion and gut health
·
Protein powders and supplements, and
·
Superfood & antioxidant formulas
Why do people need to go to
the doctor anymore if we have all this? Why are there people in the world still
suffering from hot flashes, candy bar cravings, lack of libido, the common
cold, being overweight, or digestive issues if all of these miraculous remedies
for sale ACTUALLY WORK? COME ON, people!
Another common method to
justify selling supplements with questionable benefits is the “I use it myself”
explanation. No scientific evidence to support the recommendation? No problem. “I
take this myself and haven’t had a craving in 9 ½ years! And the best part is,
I sell this pill right here in my office—for just $35 a bottle!”
Well isn’t that convenient?
Skirting the issue with the “high-quality” farce
One effective way to sidestep
the big concern of “is this supplement actually PROVEN to provide advantageous
health benefits?” is to frequently recount the importance of choosing only the highest quality supplements—the
best of the best—and then handily offer those top-notch pills.
I had an experience with
exactly this in my private practice a few years ago that may shed some light on
the tactic at play here. I was approached by a chiropractor who sold a variety
of supplements in his own practice, and was reaching out to other health
practitioners offering them a chance to sell this line of supplements, too,
thereby increasing overall sales. Though I had no intent to take the
chiropractor/salesman up on his offer, I wanted to hear him out and learn from
what he was doing. Despite the obvious ethical concern—most of the products to
be sold were inefficacious—what I really found interesting were the marketing
tactics encouraged. If I were to start offering these products for sale in my
practice, the most profitable marketing message to drive home to my clients
would be that these supplements were of the highest quality—they
were the most well-absorbed and effective, not to mention completely free of
contaminants, additives, or fillers.
Sound familiar?
Additionally, the
money-making prospect this chiropractor laid out for me was divine. Describing
how the supplement-selling program worked, he explained that he was on a
10-year plan and was to be making six digits in supplement sales (not counting
his chiropractic work) at the end of this time period!
Needless to say, the warning bells were
ringing loud and clear, and I couldn’t get away fast enough from this unscrupulous
scheme.
So if you come across a
dietitian selling her own supplements who really
“feels” that her products are so much better than cheaper alternatives, or who
says she truly “believes” that the
only supplements good enough for her clients are the ones she is selling? Think
twice. Either she has been hoodwinked by marketing, or she’s working on
hoodwinking you—perhaps a little of both.
Food and lifestyle change first, unsubstantiated supplements
never
Popping a pill when you have
a sugar craving doesn’t teach you how to deal with cravings. It is a temporary
crutch (one unsupported by science, I might add). There is no long-term benefit
to supposedly easing your way through a craving with a pill—even worse, this
makes you feel reliant on a quick-fix and doesn’t create any new, healthy
habits that decrease the likelihood, frequency, or intensity of a craving. Is
it too much work for dietitians to address the underlying habitual and
environmental causes of cravings with their clients?
Reestablishing a healthy
relationship with food has ZERO to do with popping pills and EVERYTHING to do
with the much more difficult-to-sell long-term investment in lifestyle change.
Bottom line is this
If you are trying to
improve your health and seeking the advice of any health professional, you
should know that over the past couple of decades, study after study researching
the health effects of large doses of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and
other substances have found no significant benefits. Worse, some of these studies
have revealed health concerns with taking these products. I can only encourage
you to do your own research, seek out several OBJECTIVE health professionals (those
who don’t sell supplements), and make an informed decision about what you
decide to put into your body.
And if you are a
health professional who “believes” in the value of unscientifically supported
supplements, it’s time to choose which side of the fence you want to be on:
client care, advocating, science, and teaching, OR retail, sales, and product
marketing.
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