I am chatting with friends who are educated professional women, some in science, some in nursing, others in higher education. The subject of conversation drifts to dietary supplements and what vitamins and minerals each of us takes. We are all 45-plus and concerned about how we can help ourselves stay healthy and fight the aging process. Some of us take supplements more or less regularly; others say that all supplements are nothing but a bunch of snake oil and maybe even dangerous. “They are not regulated!” seems to be a common complaint. Now my friends know that I make my living in the dietary supplement industry. Do I take offense? Probably, a bit. But I am passionate about what I do and this is my time to set the record straight.

“The industry is regulated,” I tell them. “There are very clear laws on the books that state that the manufacturer and/or reseller must offer products that are SAFE, CLEAN, NOT ADULTERATED AND DO WHAT THEY CLAIM TO DO.” With that said, it is also true that enforcement is not always fair or equal and, as you will find in any industry, there are greedy and deceptive people who take advantage of the loopholes (or just don’t care) and market very questionable products.

But, there are also many very ethical and honest companies who manufacture and sell good products… supplements that can significantly help to keep us healthy and young (ish).
Did I convince the doubters? Maybe. We ended up talking well after it got dark, calling it quits when the mosquitoes got bad. There were quite a few good ideas and interesting comments that evening, and some heated discussions… far to many for one blog. So I’ll post more of the conversation in upcoming days and weeks.

If you’re trying to stay healthy and energetic past, say, 40, I think you’ll find our ongoing discussions to be pretty interesting, so stay tuned.

We might even start our own online group to talk about health, life and the ‘joys’ of being “women of a certain age’.