The Principal Points
The documentary on Supplements and Safety by Frontline, New York Times, and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation presents an insightful description of the hidden dangers of supplements and vitamins. These organizations analyzed the marketing and control of supplements, as well as their serious health problems. According to the narrators, trading in vitamins and dietary additives has flourished because the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has limited control over the business.
The reporter gathered evidence from recent research projects and interviews with people from the national government, victims of supplements, healthcare officials, and the producers concerned with the issue. The facts revealed from this research are numerous; for example, lacking effective safety regulations from the federal government increases the chances of developing unsafe products. Stephen Ostroff is among the commissioners of the FDA, and he asserts that the organization barely analyzes food supplements before they are released to the market.
Although the FDA emphasizes compliance with safety standards, the content of dietary additives is still harmful. The research by Newmaster and Schneiderman in the documentary reveals that supplement producers add unverified ingredients, which are not listed on the labels. Such products pose health risks, especially by inducing irreversible damages to the body organs. Moreover, dietary additives are advertised on social media, and they seem appealing to the consumer because there are promising and unrealistic effects. The internet also presents authoritative figures such as governments, healthcare facilities, and other bodies encouraging supplement consumption.
The documentary also reveals that many consumers are unaware of the health risks that dietary pills pose. Advertisers and manufacturers have personal and financial interests in steering product sales growth. The film also presents DNA analyses of the contents in various supplements. Approximately 20% of dietary pills in the United States are credible, while the remaining 80% are unverified, apart from containing cheap extracts from plants such as asparagus and rice. This production approach reduces costs while maximizing profits despite harming consumers.
Overall, vitamin and supplement manufacturers engage in unethical practices that are harmful to the consumer. Many people lack information about the safety of pills available in the market because they have limited access to scientific evidence to guide them on medicines consumption. Additionally, an individual cannot be completely certain about a product’s safety and effectiveness. They should adjust their natural diets to contain most of the required nutrients to limit consuming food supplements.
Perception of Supplements
Before watching the documentary, I would not tell the detrimental effects of dietary supplements. I have observed many people in my community purchasing fish oil and green tea, especially for young children, and I thought they were safe. After watching the documentary, I realized it is not enough to consult a doctor or read guidelines on the supplements’ labels. I also learned that insufficient research on food supplements is the leading cause of the concerns raised in the documentary. Therefore, a substantial analysis should be conducted on the standardization and guidance on the intake of dietary additives.
Conclusively, the narrators also stated that some of the current additives contain excess vitamins than the required daily doses, which I had no idea about it. Thus, the government is to blame for failing to regulate dietary pill development, and it should promptly address the issue. Investigating various aspects of supplement consumption requires more efforts to inform consumers on the issue. Federal governments should tighten production rules to ensure compliance with ethical principles and promote a human-focused business.