OTC supplements -- not what they say they are...
The New York Times had a rather remarkable article on Feb 3rd noting that in a NY attorney general's investigation, approx 80% of herbal supplements from 4 retailers "contained none of the herbs listed on their labels", but included "cheap fillers like rice and house plants, or substances that could be hazardous to people with food allergies". Specifically, they analyzed products from GNC, Target, Walmart, and Walgreens (see http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/02/03/sidebar-whats-in-those-supplements/?ref=todayspaper&_r=0 ). this raises several issues. --there is a total lack of oversight/regulation for these "dietary supplements": ie, no FDA or other agency assuring the quantity or quality. I have previously sent out an article on vitamin D supplementation of milk (see vit d content of fortified milk nejm 1992 in dropbox, or N Engl J Med 1992; 326: 1178), finding that only 29% of 42 samples of 13 brands of milk...