The Seven Sneakiest Secrets Nutrition Companies Hope You Never, Ever Find Out About (Written by Guy Santeramo) Sneaky Secret #1... All Sizzle - No Steak Ingredients that get a lot of publicity become "Hot". Everybody has read articles or heard reports about them broadcast on radio or TV. This creates a huge demand for them. You've heard of them: Grape Seed extract, MSM, CoQ-10, Gingko Biloba, Ginseng, the list is a long one. Manufacturers like to list these impressive ingredients on the packaging and labels. It helps sell lots and lots of bottles. They like all that profit wouldn't you? The catch is, although that "Hot" ingredient is listed on the label, there's such a tiny amount of it in the formula that it's therapeutically useless. And, I'm not talking about putting in half or a third of what's needed. It gets completely ridiculous! I've seen labels that have only 1/1000th of what is needed to work. You wouldn't believe how many times I've seen companies play these tricks. Let's take a heart supplement as an example What's very common is that they'll produce a pretty good formula, then they blow it by adding teenie-tiny amounts of 2 very effective (and expensive) ingredients: L-Carnitine and Co Q10. It looks good on the label, but those insignificant amounts won't do you any good. Worst of all, it cost you more! A ton of companies include L-Carnitine in their weight-loss products. It's excellent for that. But these companies add only 50 or 100 milligrams of it. However, you may need to take much more depending on the reason you are taking it. As an example, for weight loss you need to take between 1,000 and 2,000 milligrams a day for it to work in your body the way it's supposed to, on the other hand, you may only need between 250 and 1,000 milligrams a day for heart support. In fact, a couple of weeks ago I saw a company's advertisement where they were actually bragging about the fact that their weight-loss product has 200 milligrams of L-Carnitine, double the amount of their competitors. Big deal! You need 5 to 10 times that amount. This trick is not limited to heart or weight-loss products either. You'll also see this practice used with multi-vitamins to add more sizzle to the product (more perceived value, you know). It's also done with those products that target specific conditions such as vision, memory, joint, menopause, and prostate conditions. Great, so these wonderful ingredients are on the label. You paid extra for that bottle because of that. But, it's not going to do you a lick of good! Sneaky Secret #2...The Big Switch This leads me to the second underhanded tactic many companies use. Unfortunately, it's becoming more and more common. What they do is switch the recommended Milligrams down to Micrograms. It takes 1,000 Micrograms to equal 1 Milligram. Can you believe it? See how they're playing on people's ignorance? They are also counting on the fact that a lot of people are not very observant. Let's face it, certain ingredients are very expensive. Herbal Extracts, for example, can cost the manufacturer a lot of money. They look good on the label, but they drive the price up. So, companies can get away with having it on the label. But, unless you are paying special attention to the difference in the abbreviations you'll miss it. On top of that, you also need to know the correct recommended amounts. Otherwise, you are not getting what you think you are.two Examples: A major national brand name company has an Antioxidant Formula that sits on every health food store shelf in America. This formula includes 100 micrograms of Alpha-lipoic acid, a fantastic multi-dimensional antioxidant, unfortunately 100milligrams (1000 times more) would have been the optimal amount. Another thing I've seen done many times is this: some companies will add 600 micrograms of Lutein (an expensive ingredient) to their Vision Formula. They make a big deal out of reporting the scientific study that shows how Lutein helps to reduce macular degeneration. The only problem is that the study was based on 6 milligrams, which is 10 times more than 600 micrograms, which is all they included in their formula. Sneaky Secret #3...Everything But The Kitchen Sink Ever see these supplements that have dozens and dozens of ingredients listed on the label? Sure, there's a lot of them! Those so-called, "All-In-One" inclusive formulas are so weak that you'd have to take a fistful of them to get any benefit. It's obvious, with 30, 50, or 70 ingredients, the pill would be need to be the size of a baseball to do you any good. Here's a perfect example...The following is the exact wording a well-known mail order catalog company used to market this multi-nutrient formula: New All-in-One Power Packed Formula Containing Over 50 Vitamins, Antioxidants and Energy Releasers, Plus Other Natural Nutritional Factors! (Further highlighting that it contains *L-Carnitine & **CoQ10) Here is what was actually contained in this "all-inclusive formula": L-Carnitine.......5mgs - A great ingredient for weight-loss and heart support. As noted above, a safe and effective recommended dosage for weight loss is 1,000 to 2,000 milligrams and 250 to 1,000 milligrams for heart support. That's a far cry from the insignificant 5 milligrams they included. CoQ10......5mcgs - Also a great nutrient, which is becoming increasingly popular, that is enormously beneficial for the heart. 5 milligrams would be awfully low considering that the effective recommended dosage is 60 to 200 milligrams, however this company really sticks it to you, by including only 5 micrograms...which is 1/1000th of 5 milligrams.) This product also contained synthetic beta Carotene as well as synthetic vitamin E. (More about the topic of synthetics later in this report.) As far as those Energy Releasers; the label lists 10mgs of Ginseng (It doesn't even say if it's an extract or what kind of ginseng they used.) The label goes on to list just 10mgs of bee Pollen and 5mgs of Royal Jelly. Now, please tell me what benefit are you going to get from a lousy 5 milligrams of L-Carnitine or 5 micrograms of CoQ10? And just how much energy do you think you'll get from the above mix of ginseng, bee pollen and royal jelly? No exaggeration you'd get more nutritional value and more energy from eating one grape! Believe it or not, this example is not the exception, it's the norm for many successful nutrition companies. These companies are simply taking advantage of people who trust them. Sneaky Secret #4...I've got a secret While the first three Sneaky Secrets on our list were closely related to each other, this 4th dirty trick is altogether different. Many companies simply do not want to reveal their proprietary formulas. They don't want you to really know what you're getting. The way they get away with this is to list the ingredients in a complex or blend. Then, they list the dosage amounts for that blend. Here's the sneaky part: companies will often mix inexpensive raw materials together with the good ones. You think you're getting equal amounts of each ingredient. In reality, the largest percentage of the mix is made up of the cheap stuff. Let's look at a few examples... Bioflavonoid Complex with OPC's - 100mgs - Citrus Bioflavonoids (although beneficial) are many, many times less expensive than OPC's. OPC's are usually from grape seed extract and are documented to produce excellent results. Why don't the companies just list the percentages of the specific ingredients individually? Do you think they might be hiding something? Calcium (carbonate/citrate) - 1000mgs - Most people would think that they're getting 50% calcium carbonate and 50% calcium citrate. Right? Wrong! When you see this on the label, there's a very good chance that 99% of this complex is in the carbonate form. The inexpensive calcium carbonate is far less absorbable by your body than the citrate. Antacids often contain calcium carbonate to help neutralize stomach acid. Unlike, the more expensive calcium citrate, allowing for more complete absorption. You'd also need 200% more citrate than carbonate to equal the same amount of "elemental" calcium. This trick not only saves the company lots of money, but it also allows them to produce a calcium product (with the desired dose of 1000mgs) with far less tablets or capsules. Magnesium (oxide/citrate) - 400mgs - Similarly to the example we just used, the oxide is the inexpensive, less absorbable form of magnesium. The citrate form is far more absorbable, but it's more expensive to use. That's why there could be as much as 99 times more oxide than citrate in the formula. Here's my strong suggestion for you: The next time you see a product that includes a complex or blend, why not call up the company and ask what the break down is. Don't you deserve to know what the "real" balance is? Let's face it, even if you're buying a shirt, the label will tell you that the fabric blend is 20% rayon and 80% cotton. Isn't it even more important to know the blend when you're putting something inside your body? Sneaky Secret #5...Is An Apple Really An Apple? Are all apples nutritionally identical? No! Of course they're not! The nutritional makeup of each apple is determined by the conditions under which it was grown: the fertilizer used, the climate conditions, the amount of sunshine, the amount of rain, the care given by the farmer, and so on. One good apple could have far more nutritional benefit to you than another grown under adverse conditions, couldn't it? Sure! It's the same with herbs and their extracts. Often, companies will cite studies of herbal extracts along with the effective dosages. They will then include the exact same dosage in their formula as in the report. So far it sounds pretty good, right? However (here it comes), they will use a less expensive, less 'active' ingredient extract. For example Saw Palmetto Extract - This herbal extract is a Godsend for men concerned about their prostate. The studies suggest 160mgs twice a day of Saw Palmetto Extract (85% - 95% fatty acids/active sterols). I've seen countless companies include the right amount, but the wrong extract. You see, there are also extracts that contain only 25% of the 'actives' versus the 85% or the 95%, which is needed. That's less than a third of what the literature dictates, but, since it's so much cheaper, many companies use it instead. You think you're getting one thing, when all the time they are tricking you again. Sneaky Secret #6...They Don't Know Any Better That's the attitude many companies have towards you. They think you don't know any better. Unfortunately it's very often true. It's awfully hard to stay completely informed on the highly complicated subject of nutrition. There's just soooooo much to learn. Here's a trick that's often done with herbs. Herbs come in both extracts and powders. Powders are vastly cheaper than the much more expensive extracts. In addition, you need to ingest a lot more of the herb when it's in the powdered form than in the more highly concentrated extract form. Unfortunately, the majority of people don't really understand what they should be taking. So, they are easy to fool with some fancy advertising. Based on what you've learned so far, which do you think most companies prefer to use in the products they sell to you, powders or extracts? Right again! Companies will sell you all the benefits as if you were purchasing the high quality extract, which is many times more expensive. But, what you're really getting is fooled again. For example: Gingko Biloba - usually comes in 60mgs dosages. However, that's only the desired dose if you're taking the highest quality herbal extract. If you have bought a product made with the Gingko leaf powder you would need (get this now) 3,000mgs to equal the 60mgs in the 50:1 extract. That's 50 times the amount, no small difference! But it looks good on the label doesn't it? Sneaky Secret #7... A Book and Its Cover Often times, suppliers of raw materials need to get rid of their inventory that's been sitting around for too long. Therefore, these suppliers will offer manufacturers some tremendous discounts. The problem is that after a period of time, much of the potency of those raw materials is lost. This is especially true of herbs. No matter how educated you are in reading labels, no matter how alert you are to the other sneaky secrets we've talked about so far, there's just NO way of knowing whether the product you're buying was made with inferior raw ingredients that lacked potency. Natural Vs. Synthetic Here's another way you can't judge a book by its cover. Frequently, companies will use synthetic versions of the ingredients you see on the label. This is most often done with things like vitamin E and beta carotene.Here are a couple of good tip-offs: If you see beta carotene listed by itself, it's synthetic. The same for lutein or lycopene. The natural source should be listed. Examples: Lycopene (from Lycomato), or Lutein (from Marigold Flower extract). Here's another one to watch out for: With vitamin E the "dl" in front of alpha tocopherol makes it synthetic. It should read "d" not "dl".Natural ingredients are more effective and also more expensive. However, scientific evidence indicates that natural carotenoids, (not just beta, but also alpha and the other carotenoids) are much more absorbable by your body. Not only that, but they are also retained by the tissues anywhere from 200% to 500% longer. That is a tremendous advantage! Scientific evidence also indicates that if a person takes too much synthetic beta carotene it can cause a deficiency of the other carotenoids. The natural versions are vastly more absorbable than the inferior synthetics, thus increasing your body's ability to utilize it. OK, You Made Your Point Well, there they are, all seven of those sneaky secrets. Pretty darn tricky aren't they? At least now you're fore warned and, you know that old expression, "Fore warned is fore armed". END NOTE; SHAKLEE IS A COMPANY YOU CAN TRUST NOT TO USE ANY OF THESE SNEAKY TACTICS - THEY DON'T NEED TO. THE QUALITY OF THE PRODUCTS, THE TESTING, THE BEST RAW INGREDIENTS - SHAKLEE NEVER COMPROMISES THEIR ETHICS OR STANDARDS, AND HAS THE TECHNICAL DATA TO PROVE THAT EVERY PRODUCT THEY PLACE ON THE MARKET IS OF THE HIGHEST QUALITY, AND IS AS CLOSE TO NATURE AS POSSIBLE. SHAKLEE SELLS RESULTS.