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What Do Health Food Stores Clerks Know About Nutrition?
Are health food store clerks an appropriate source for nutrition information? Should they be the ones we turn to for advice on supplements? Undercover investigations show that the answers to these questions are "no"!
In 1993, FDA (Food and Drug Administration) agents visited local health-food stores throughout the United States, posing as prospective customers. The investigators asked:
"What do you sell to help high blood pressure?"
"Do you have anything to help fight infection or help my immune system?" and/or
"Do you have anything that works on cancer?"
Of the 129 requests for information, 120 resulted in recommendations of specific dietary supplements.
In 1994, Jennifer E. Pumphrey, a student at Kent State University, inquired about ephedra-containing products at 10 randomly chosen health-food stores in the Cleveland metropolitan area. In each store she found an "energy booster" containing ephedra and asked: "Do you think this works?" and "Is it safe? Does it have any side effects?" At two stores she was correctly told that the products were powerful and should not be taken by people with high blood pressure. At the rest she was told that the product had no side effects. Some said it was harmless because it was herbal, natural, or "not a drug." Ephedra contains a stimulant that is potentially dangerous for people with high blood pressure and has caused deaths as a result of its stimulant properties.
Between 1985 and 1997, the late John Renner, M.D., a board member of the National Council Against Health Fraud, sought advice for health problems at more than a hundred health-food stores in 20 states and the District of Columbia. In all but two stores, he was advised to buy products. Renner also observed hundreds of customers shopping at these stores. More than half asked for advice about a health problem, and almost all questions led to inappropriate advice.
In 1998, a researcher posing as the daughter of a patient with metastatic breast cancer inquired at 40 health-food stores in Oahu, Hawaii. After products to assist in metastatic breast cancer care were mentioned and/or shown, if store personnel did not provide any further information, the researcher asked:
How does the product work?
Do you recommend any particular brand (if more than one brand was available)?
Could I write down some prices?
How much of the product does my mother need to take per day?
Can the product(s) be taken together with the medication my mother is receiving from her physician?
Is there anything else you can recommend?
Personnel in 36 of the stores recommended one or more of 38 inappropriate products, the most common of which were:
Shark cartilage (recommended by 17)
Essiac (recommended by 8)
Maitake mushrooms (recommended by 7).
Similar findings have been reported by investigators in Ontario, Canada and London, England.
The Bottom Line
Don't Trust Advice from Health-Food Retailers! Remember that the vast majority of people who work at health-food stores have no formal training in nutrition or health care and are not qualified to give advice about health matters. Their advice is based on subjective information provided by the manufacturers as well as unscientific "proof." If you have a health problem, see a qualified physician. For advice about your diet, a registered dietitian is usually the best choice.
Are health food store clerks an appropriate source for nutrition information? Should they be the ones we turn to for advice on supplements? Undercover investigations show that the answers to these questions are "no"!
In 1993, FDA (Food and Drug Administration) agents visited local health-food stores throughout the United States, posing as prospective customers. The investigators asked:
"What do you sell to help high blood pressure?"
"Do you have anything to help fight infection or help my immune system?" and/or
"Do you have anything that works on cancer?"
Of the 129 requests for information, 120 resulted in recommendations of specific dietary supplements.
In 1994, Jennifer E. Pumphrey, a student at Kent State University, inquired about ephedra-containing products at 10 randomly chosen health-food stores in the Cleveland metropolitan area. In each store she found an "energy booster" containing ephedra and asked: "Do you think this works?" and "Is it safe? Does it have any side effects?" At two stores she was correctly told that the products were powerful and should not be taken by people with high blood pressure. At the rest she was told that the product had no side effects. Some said it was harmless because it was herbal, natural, or "not a drug." Ephedra contains a stimulant that is potentially dangerous for people with high blood pressure and has caused deaths as a result of its stimulant properties.
Between 1985 and 1997, the late John Renner, M.D., a board member of the National Council Against Health Fraud, sought advice for health problems at more than a hundred health-food stores in 20 states and the District of Columbia. In all but two stores, he was advised to buy products. Renner also observed hundreds of customers shopping at these stores. More than half asked for advice about a health problem, and almost all questions led to inappropriate advice.
In 1998, a researcher posing as the daughter of a patient with metastatic breast cancer inquired at 40 health-food stores in Oahu, Hawaii. After products to assist in metastatic breast cancer care were mentioned and/or shown, if store personnel did not provide any further information, the researcher asked:
How does the product work?
Do you recommend any particular brand (if more than one brand was available)?
Could I write down some prices?
How much of the product does my mother need to take per day?
Can the product(s) be taken together with the medication my mother is receiving from her physician?
Is there anything else you can recommend?
Personnel in 36 of the stores recommended one or more of 38 inappropriate products, the most common of which were:
Shark cartilage (recommended by 17)
Essiac (recommended by 8)
Maitake mushrooms (recommended by 7).
Similar findings have been reported by investigators in Ontario, Canada and London, England.
The Bottom Line
Don't Trust Advice from Health-Food Retailers! Remember that the vast majority of people who work at health-food stores have no formal training in nutrition or health care and are not qualified to give advice about health matters. Their advice is based on subjective information provided by the manufacturers as well as unscientific "proof." If you have a health problem, see a qualified physician. For advice about your diet, a registered dietitian is usually the best choice.
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