Did you know that half of the nation’s adult population takes vitamin supplements regularly, and about a quarter take herbal supplements at least occasionally?
In 1994, Congress passed legislation allowing supplement makers to sell products without FDA approval. A vast majority of suppliers of supplement ingredients are now located in China where the FDA neither has the time nor resources to perform inspections.
In late May, the NY Times reported that nearly all herbal dietary supplements tested in a Congressional investigation contained amounts of lead and other contaminants. 16 of the 40 supplements tested contained pesticide residues that appeared to exceed legal limits.
I recommend that my patients take supplements to increase their chances of pregnancy. I asked the owner of the supplement company to comment on the NY Times article. See his comments below:
Dear Dr. Eyvazzadeh,
Thank you for sharing your concerns about Coast products in view of the recent NY Times article regarding the safety of Supplements (“Study Finds Supplements Contain Contaminants”). I would like to assure you (and your patients) that all Coast supplements are manufactured according to the highest quality standards in the United States. I have personally seen to it that the facility in which Coast products, including our Male and Female Fertility Supplements, are manufactured to meet these standards. The facility can be characterized as follows:
• FDA regulated
• Licensed to manufacture organically-derived nutraceuticals
• Inspected by the State of California Board of Health
• All manufacturing areas are cGMP compliant
• All incoming raw materials are QC’ed for trace metals via HPLC
I trust that this meets your concerns. If you require additional specifics, I will be more than happy to provide them.
Sincerely,
Bruce Thomsen
Chief Executive Officer
Coast Science, LLC
www.coastscience.com
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