JonnyO
02-12-2009, 03:02 PM
I got this email from a friend of mine:
Thought you might be interested in this. I have a paid subscription to consumberlab.com where they test supplements…they send periodic updates on testing they are performing. They sent me this one today on Milk Thistle..there's a lot of crap out there…be careful if you are taking.
I think your best bet is to go with the Trueprotein brand if you use this supplement…
I actually like ALA and Live 52 the best for liver protection. Trueprotein and Puritan.com carry the 300mg ALA. The Liv52 I get is called Livercare and is made by Himalaya. I have seen liver enzymes out of whack with these two. Anyways, just wanted to share…
JM
What CL Found:
Ten milk thistle supplements were selected for testing. Two products, 1Fast400 Milk Thistle and Pure Milk Thistle (Pharmex), failed to meet the FDA labeling requirement of indicating the part of the milk thistle plant used (typically seed) and, consequently, were disqualified from further review. Labeling on 1Fast400 Milk Thistle was also found to be inconsistent from jar to jar from the same lot: a one-quarter teaspoon serving was listed to provide 600 mg of milk thistle extract on one jar but 560 mg on another jar.
Among the remaining eight supplements tested, seven failed to provide the standardized amount of silymarin listed on the respective labels. Each of the following products claimed to provide an extract that was 80% silymarin, but the silymarin content was found to actually be much lower:
* Enzymatic Therapy™ Milk Thistle X — 52% silymarin
* Finest Natural Milk Thistle — 47% silymarin
* Natural Factors Milk Thistle — 67% silymarin
* Nature's Plus Herbal Actives Milk Thistle — 62% silymarin
* Smart Basics Milk Thistle Extract — 52% silymarin
* Whole Foods™ Milk Thistle — 54% silymarin
Nutrilite Milk Thistle And Dandelion was found to contain enough silymarin to meet its claim of an 80% silymarin milk thistle extract. However, it also claimed to contain 76 mg of a “silybin extract complex,” but no additional silybin was found in the product to support this claim.
The only product to be approved for quality was Jarrow Formulas Milk Thistle. This product claimed to provide a milk thistle extract that was 80% flavonoids – the larger family of compounds which includes silymarin. As the amount of silymarin was not specified, ConsumerLab.com held the product to an industry minimum standard of 70% silymarin, and the product met this standard.
Thought you might be interested in this. I have a paid subscription to consumberlab.com where they test supplements…they send periodic updates on testing they are performing. They sent me this one today on Milk Thistle..there's a lot of crap out there…be careful if you are taking.
I think your best bet is to go with the Trueprotein brand if you use this supplement…
I actually like ALA and Live 52 the best for liver protection. Trueprotein and Puritan.com carry the 300mg ALA. The Liv52 I get is called Livercare and is made by Himalaya. I have seen liver enzymes out of whack with these two. Anyways, just wanted to share…
JM
What CL Found:
Ten milk thistle supplements were selected for testing. Two products, 1Fast400 Milk Thistle and Pure Milk Thistle (Pharmex), failed to meet the FDA labeling requirement of indicating the part of the milk thistle plant used (typically seed) and, consequently, were disqualified from further review. Labeling on 1Fast400 Milk Thistle was also found to be inconsistent from jar to jar from the same lot: a one-quarter teaspoon serving was listed to provide 600 mg of milk thistle extract on one jar but 560 mg on another jar.
Among the remaining eight supplements tested, seven failed to provide the standardized amount of silymarin listed on the respective labels. Each of the following products claimed to provide an extract that was 80% silymarin, but the silymarin content was found to actually be much lower:
* Enzymatic Therapy™ Milk Thistle X — 52% silymarin
* Finest Natural Milk Thistle — 47% silymarin
* Natural Factors Milk Thistle — 67% silymarin
* Nature's Plus Herbal Actives Milk Thistle — 62% silymarin
* Smart Basics Milk Thistle Extract — 52% silymarin
* Whole Foods™ Milk Thistle — 54% silymarin
Nutrilite Milk Thistle And Dandelion was found to contain enough silymarin to meet its claim of an 80% silymarin milk thistle extract. However, it also claimed to contain 76 mg of a “silybin extract complex,” but no additional silybin was found in the product to support this claim.
The only product to be approved for quality was Jarrow Formulas Milk Thistle. This product claimed to provide a milk thistle extract that was 80% flavonoids – the larger family of compounds which includes silymarin. As the amount of silymarin was not specified, ConsumerLab.com held the product to an industry minimum standard of 70% silymarin, and the product met this standard.