No surprise that Dr Jim Stoppani from Muscle and Fitness magazine attacked Consumers Reports magazine for its findings that many supplements are unsafe. Why do I say “no surprise”? Follow the Money! This is the second time in a week that Dr Jim Stoppani has appeared in my blog. The first time was on a similar subject because of his sensationalistic and deceiving article on “Gain 10lbs muscle in a month”. In that article, I suggested that one possible motivation behind his article was to sell supplements. It seems just on cue, the good doctor decided to prove me correct by publishing his blog blasting Consumer Reports magazine for its article critical of supplement safety.
I ask you this, who are you going to believe on the subject of supplement safety – Consumer Reports magazine is the most respected consumer advocacy organization on the planet or Dr Jim Stoppani who is a staff writer for Muscle and Fitness magazine that gets most of its income from supplement manufacturers? Hmmmm, let me think. Follow the money!
Supplements makers are doing their best to discredit the Consumer Reports findings. They are worried that us consumers will start to demand supplements which have been tested for toxicity and purity by an independent testing organization like USP Verified. Why are they so concerned? Because first of all that would cost them ten cents per bottle, doesnt sound like much to guarantee our safety but that adds up to millions in lost profits. The bigger problem for the supplement industry is that they would be forced to forgo the cheap tainted Chinese raw materials for more expensive American sources and that would really cut into their profit margins!
Do you want supplements that are safe? Email your favorite supplement manufacturer and ask if the have their supplements tested for toxicity by an independent testing lab like USP Verified! Just by asking you put them on notice that we consumers care! If you dont take the time to email them they will never spend that ten cents to test that $40 bottle of supplement you just bought.
There is exactly one point I agree with Dr Jim Stoppani on, that Consumer Reports didnt do their homework well on the subject of how much protein to consumer. Thats where my agreement with him ends.
Dr Stoppani made a big deal about the fact that NSF found Muscle Milk to be safe, so what. This does not mean Consumers Reports made a mistake, both could be correct. The batch that NSF testing was a good, clean batch and the batch that Consumers Reports tested was tainted. The NSF report does not state where they obtained the Muscle Milk they tested either. Was it given to them by the manufacturer or was it purchased off the shelf? This is exactly why each batch should be tested by an independent testing organization like USP Verified!
Dr Stoppani also made a huge deal about the fact that CR did not report on their testing methods – so what. Its a 50 page magazine, if they included all their testing metholodogy it would be a dry 300 page book. They are a transparent organization, if you write a letter to the editor asking their testing methodology, they will tell you.
Lastly Dr Jim Stoppani convieniently missed the main point of the consumers reports article! Since supplements undergo no FDA scrutiny of any kind, consumers should only buy products which test each batch for toxics and purity thru an independent testing organization like USP Verified. Can any one come up with any possible reasons why Dr Jim Stoppani could possibly think this kind of testing would be a bad idea? Certainly by enguaging in character assination of Consumers Reports he has done everything in his power to discredit their recommendations, I ask again. Why could Dr Jim Stoppani possibly find wrong with batch testing of the supplements we take? Isnt he concerned about our health?