On February 10th, 2010, Senators John McCain (R-AZ) and Bryon Dorgan (D-SD) introduced a bill that could dramatically alter the dietary supplement industry.

This bill puts the government in charge of approving new supplements. It also means regulations, controls, and more red tape – essentially making it very difficult – if not impossible – to purchase affordable dietary supplements. The hidden purpose of this bill is to give the pharmaceutical industry – who in many ways controls the FDA and other government organizations – the ability to take over the entire supplement industry. Here is their agenda as I see it:

1. To eliminate natural, healthy remedies and redirect the public towards prescription drugs only.
2. To force vitamin manufacturers out of business with excessive paperwork, reporting and government regulations. The majority of supplement companies would fold because these controls would be too expensive to implement. As a result, “big pharma” would takeover the vitamin market. Just think…you would need a prescription to buy vitamins!

There are already a few examples of this: A prescription form of niacin, a B-vitamin, sells for $145 for a 60 day supply. You can buy the same at a health food store for around $8. A prescription fish oil costs almost eight times more than what you spend on a reputable brand.

The senators introduced this bill due to an incident involving the claims of a few professional athletes who believe that they were mislead into taking illegal substances (steroids and other banned ingredients such as ephedra) because the ingredients of their health supplements were unlisted on their labels. If it passes, Senator McCain plans to give the FDA unprecedented control over the vitamin industry.

The unfortunate fact is that the FDA already controls the food supplement industry. Either the athletes who took the questionable supplements knew what they were taking, or the FDA did not monitor those companies with their extant policies.

Before introducing one of my new supplements, I comply with each letter of the law – down to the smallest detail. I also use labs that follow GMP (Good Manufacturing Practices) – which were created by the FDA in the first place. The FDA presently mandates and monitors compliance of these manufacturing practices.

The truth is this: it is a misnomer to name this bill the “Dietary Supplement Safety Act” because there are effective measures already in place protecting U.S. consumers.

In fact, according to the American Association of Poison Control, there were no fatalities in 2008 resulting from dietary supplement intake. In contrast, almost 100,000 people died in 2008 due to prescription drugs. As you can see, the intentions behind this bill are questionable – at best.

For what it’s worth, I am not criticizing Senator McCain or Senator Dorgan. However, I am very concerned about losing our choice to manufacture and sell supplements that provide wonderful health benefits. I believe this bill could lead to an increase in people taking prescription drugs and undergoing risky surgical procedures. It would also remove my ability to bring you new formulas.

Please take action by clicking on the following link and email your senators with a resounding “NO” today!