Product Safety & Company Ethics
This is really a double edged sword. When MD’s Choice first started, the doctors released binders of science… thousands of pages of real science, backing up their logic, reasoning, and findings justifying the formulas they chose for each of the products. Why they were using the things they were, what the cofactors (nutritional enablers, and neededs, those nutrients that 'work better' WITH (or without) certain other nutrients) were; and, why certain nutrients (and/or FORMS) were purposefully left out, avoided, and sometimes even condemned. However, within a year we learned that competitors were actively using 'our' information, and the decades of doctors research and knowledge; and, there were some companies that even attempted ‘knocking off’ (copying) our formulas. One in particular, a HUGE well known COMPANY, even copied our 'human joint formula' within a few miligrams, here and there, to mix in with alfalfa pellets FOR HORSES! There was actually an equine product on the market that had released almost the identical formula of our human joint product (just not the same quality, safety tests, science, or ratios - the stuff that REALLY makes OUR product DIFFERENT than everyone else)!
So, we pulled most of the product, formula, and nutrient specific science for more than twenty five years. We really are sorry we had to do that… but the companies we caught were huge, and we needed to do what was necessary to protect our formulas, our brands, and our company’s future.
So today, and for over 25 years now, we have maintained nearly 2,000 pages of nutritional information ‘open to the public’ – for the ‘greater good.’ Many Universities, College’s, Nutrition students, and professionals still reference the ‘notes’ and nearly three decades of actual research that Doctors J.K. Miller and Jim Bailey, both PhD’s in Nutrition, and retired clinical instructors from the University of Tennessee (UT), and Doctors Davenport & Martin, D.V.M.s & C.N.S.s, also from UT, gave to Terry Mercer and MD's Choice share with the world on assorted websites.
We still try to help educate. We strive to be honest and ethical… while maintaining some of the very best product formula’s in the business, both human and animal nutritional supplements.
All the ingredients in MD’s Choice products are listed, in elemental amounts, accurately and honestly, on the product labels. However, the specifics of ratios, sources, and other such information are seldom shared with anyone outside the company, and remain our 'secret formula.'
BUT the release of all the very real science based information didn’t stop the competing companies from continuing to make their false claims. Things like:
➱ ‘liquid joint replacements,’ (seriously, there is NO SUCH THING),
➱ ‘quick cures,’ (we’ve heard claims of 3, 5, and 7 day ‘cures’ by some competing companies)
➱ don’t forget all those new ‘miracle ingredients.’
➱ ingredients that have no ‘nutritional’ value, or real benefit to the body, BUT hey - "they work quickly" so they say.
➱ ingredients that have been scientifically proven to not really be safe for daily prolonged use are STILL IN PRODUCTS without any warnings!
➱ products third party tests have shown don’t even contain as much as their label claims,
➱ products that don’t even have all the ingredients in their product that are written on their labels.
It’s enough to make just about anyone honestly wonder:
➱ HOW those companies can continue to make those claims?
➱ IF their product really ‘worked’ why do they only have a 30 day guarantee? What do they really care about? They got your money, for a time or ten.
When you realize their ‘quick fix’ really didn’t help, or actually caused some other side effect or the problem worsen, it’s past the thirty days. No money back. But hey, maybe you’ll try some other product that company has… with a different ‘magic formula,’ a different label, maybe even a different company name (owned by the same umbrella company).
But, in reality, no one really has any idea what’s really in the bottle or if the stuff is safe. The reality is: CAN YOU TRUST THE COMPANY SELLING YOU PRODUCTS? If you aren’t sure, maybe you should step back… because honestly, your longevity might depend upon it!
Look for ‘flags!’ Those things COMPANIES with a real and solid foundation in Science based Nutrition will NOT do:
➱ use calcium carbonate, lime stone, except as some type of bicarbonate, in ANY of their supplements.
➱ use any iron oxide, rust, in any product claiming to actually supply iron.
➱ list their ingredients on the label in ‘combined’ amounts (ethical companies that understand the need for quality nutrition will always use ELEMENTAL AMOUNTS )
➱ list some ‘proprietary blend’ on the label to hide the real ingredients, rather than actually stating what is actually in the product, unless it's a patented formula - they can still list the ingredients, while protecting the quantities. Because while they KNOW AMOUNTS MATTER, they know they don't want knock-offs, and efficasy matters!
➱ list generic ‘single names’ of ingredients, because they know FORM MATTERS and is vital to the math for absorption.
➱ have any ‘herbs’ (plant derived drugs) in any product intended for daily use for a prolonged period of time.
One of our competitors actually had 17 different joint supplements under different names, and even different company labels, with different formulas, sitting on the shelves of big box stores. All claiming to do EXACTLY THE SAME THING! (We’re unsure of how many they have today). But at that time, none of their products had more than a 30 day guarantee… but they spend a pile on advertising (tens of millions) to get as many of those products on to those store shelves as they could, and they sponsored all kinda of stuff, including trips for the sales people & stores that peddle the most product. How accurate do you think the information is from those sales people, that get trips to far away places for selling the most product, or reaching sales goals? How great do you think any one of their numerous formulas are? Particularly when most of their ‘wonder formulas’ have herbal pain blockers, masking agents, and have historically failed testing for even what their labels claim?
(But hey, those test results were quickly quieted… and the media never covered that). Interestingly, back in the early years, that same company tried to buy MD’s Choice, all our formulas, science, pending patents, and a couple of our key personnel for a pile of money… but we turned them down, because they wouldn’t guarantee product consistency, our testing process, or maintain the availability & price for our existing customers.
Ethical companies want to avoid dangers and known negative side effects. They want to avoid both harming others AND any potential law suit. Sadly, there are companies that just don’t know any better… and some that frankly don’t seem to care.
Knowledge IS POWER:
➤ when it is proven with the test of TIME , not just strangers' opinions! (Even under the best of circumstances, unless you know them, you don't know their motivation… or thoroughness).
➤ when it can be communicated , and then understood by those seeking it, along with the wisdom to use it correctly!
➤ ONLY when it is applied! There are many great things stashed away in closets, hidden on shelves, buried in basements… and they aren't powerful, UNTIL THEY CAN BE APPLIED BY OTHERS!
Celebrity Endorsements
It really bothered MD’s Choice when they saw celebrities being paid to ‘endorse’ products the majority of those celebrities never actually used themselves.
But hey, “That’s show business” right? The majority of those celebrities were pushing some product merely because some company paid them a pile of money to promote that product, to talk good about it, to say nice things.
Golfers, basket ball players, trainers, football players, tv stars, models, etc. etc. etc. Huge budget commercials were filled with people taking about all types of ‘dietary supplements’ and quick fix topicals those celebrities likely never even heard of before their agents contacted them with an offer of pay to read a script on camera.
That’s sad, though it’s become common place these days. Celebrities being paid tens of thousands to millions… just to read scripts on video for products they really didn’t use.
To tweet or post links someone else wrote, for products the celebrity never really knew anything about. Talk about serious ‘bait and switch’ tactics, and ‘UNtruths in advertising.’ All of that just motivated the doctors involved with MD's Choice even more.
Their need for some truth regarding supplements, AND NUTRITION, was established. Those in charge at MD’s Choice agreed to never 'hire people' to ‘endorse’ any of our products, to write testimonials, or pay for positive ratings when they never really used or benefited from our product(s).
With some common problems clearly defined, the challenge became how to best help solve some of those problems and reach the goals in the most cost effective manner possible.
Infomercials and the Reality of Science Throughout the 90’s there was a guy, “Doctor” Barefoot, doing zillions (or so it seemed) of infomercials about “Coral Calcium.” The Founders’ of MD’s Choice just shook their heads, and pointed out all the fallacies in Barefoot’s claims (he wasn’t really a doctor, medical professional, nutritionist, or even clinical researcher, which was also covered by ‘Quackwatch’).
Honestly, this section is a bit boring, but an important factor that helped motivate the real doctors involved with MD’s Choice to group together, and develop some effective formulas. (you can skip to the end of this section, to the next section, if you never saw the ‘coral calcium’ commercials or Barefoot). Oh, most of what Barefoot said about CALCIUM was generally all true… the problem was that HIS TYPE calcium and what he claimed about the calcium he was using was totally bogus (illegal and totally false on so many levels)
➱ it’s been internationally illegal to harvest coral – world wide for decades;
➱ ‘coral’ was NOT the really ‘in’ his product, any more than sand is necessarily comprised of coral. (It was never even determined he was getting the calcium from sand in some far off island… or that there was really any ‘coral’ actually involved, any more than some fossils in some remote mine in Utah, Africa, or India).
➱ Third, sand is made up of a whole lot of things, including dead fish, shell fish, heavy metals that settled to the bottle, and rocks broken by the currents, tides, and waves… essentially ‘limestone’ – which is basically what calcium carbonate is.
➱ Forth, even if coral was somehow legally farmed, Coral calcium is composed primarily of calcium carbonate (CaCO3), with small amounts of magnesium and other trace minerals. Calcium Carbonate has been scientifically proven, repeatedly throughout the years, but dozens – if not hundreds – of researchers, to not be a bio-available form of calcium, although it’s the cheapest and most common form of calcium… now you know why… limestone).
One of Barefoot’s big claims was that his ‘coral calcium’ had the ability to change the pH (or alkalinity), and that somehow had significant health benefits… even curing all types of stuff. A real miracle, right? Well, he was the modern day example of a ‘snake oil salesman.’ Another of Barefoot’s claims was that testing your saliva’s ph level was an indicator of your health. However, the reality is that testing saliva has no actual or practical value in evaluating general health. The level is usually similar to blood pH, which the body keeps within a very narrow range. When the saliva flow is high, the pH is usually about 7.4 (7 is neutral, low numbers are acid, and higher numbers are alkaline). Calcium intake does NOT affect the pH of saliva. The most common cause of low (acid) salivary pH is the presence in the mouth of bacteria that cause cavities. In diseases (such as diabetic acidosis) in which blood pH is dangerously low, the level is determined by blood pH testing and calcium pills have no relevance to treatment, contrary to Barefoot’s claims. With respect to pH and alkalinity, the calcium component is far less important than the carbonate component, which is chemically similar to the bicarbonate in baking soda.
Hundreds of scientific studies support the medical belief that cholesterol is a major factor in cardiovascular disease. However, we couldn’t find any science to support Barefoot’s claim that there is some relationship between abnormal cholesterol levels and calcium deficiency. Further, Barefoot cited no evidence to supports what he claimed on that topic. Barefoot claimed that the calcium in coral calcium is far more absorbable (100%) than the calcium in milk (17%) , calcium citrate products (10%) and antacid products (1-2%). However, science doesn’t support his claims , again… with nutritionists stating that the best forms of “pure calcium carbonate” products are at most 10% actual ‘calcium’ (90% carbonate), and then only about 30-35% of the actual ‘calcium’ is actually absorbable. So, the mathematical reality is 500mg of the best ‘calcium carbonate’ is that only 50mg is actually calcium (90%, or 450mg is the carbonate). Then, only 15 to 17.5mg of calcium can be used (absorbed by the body)… out of that 500mg starting number. Sure isn’t much calcium from that big ole impressive combined mineral number, huh?
The issue of whether Barefoot has any actual credentials or not was determined by the courts. Despite thousands of Web sites referring to Barefoot as “Doctor Robert Barefoot” or Robert Barefoot, Ph.D. the reality is that he is NOT a medical doctor and does NOT have a Ph.D. degree when he was promoting all the ‘coral calcium’ stuff. In 1999, Barefoot was NOT permitted to testify as an expert in a case in which the Maryland Attorney General stopped the marketing of T-Up (an aloe vera concentrate) and cesium chloride for the treatment of cancer and AIDS. The case was extremely serious because the regimen had killed several of its users. During hearings in the case, the defendants sought to have Barefoot testify that cesium was effective. The curriculum vitae that Barefoot submitted described his formal education after high school as “1964 Northern Alberta Institute of Technology, Chemistry” and “1967 Graduated with Honors, Chemical Research Technology.” This means that his highest educational credential was a diploma (not a university degree) that reflected, at most, only three years of coursework. The presiding Administrative Law Judge noted that Barefoot had formal training and experience in INORGANIC chemistry but had no professionally supported or supervised training and had NOT done any professionally recognized research in organic chemistry and biochemistry in the human body.
Although Barefoot described having many discussions with doctors and patients about using cesium for treating cancer, the judge concluded that “this experience and study was not scientific.” In 2000, a civil court judge ordered the defendants to pay millions of dollars in restitution and $3.7 million in civil penalties. In 2001, the Maryland Court of Special Appeals upheld this decision in a ruling that explained why Barefoot’s exclusion had been justified. One of the defendants received a 46-month prison sentence in a parallel criminal case. Web sites also described Barefoot as a “world-renowned chemist.” However, his own curriculum vitae stated that between 1968 and 1972 he published six scientific research papers on analytical chemistry and diagenesis. Diagenesis refers to the changes that occur in sediments as they are buried under other sediments. This has some relevance to the formation of limestone, but it certainly has nothing to do with human biology or human health. Searching Medline, which is the most comprehensive database of medically-related journals, there were no articles with Barefoot listed as author found. His curriculum vitae stated that he had patented an ore-extraction process and headed two companies that serviced the petroleum industry. While his marketing activities, and infomercials attracted considerable attention it’s highly suspect to refer to him as a ‘doctor’ or be called a “renowned chemist.” Further, Doctor Carl J. Reich, M.D., who co-authored The Calcium Factor (with Barefoot), was a Canadian physician whose license was canceled in 5. Barefoot claimed that Reich had a thriving practice in Calgary, Canada, but the Alberta College of Physicians and Surgeons considered his practices “potentially dangerous” when they pulled his license to practice medicine. In 2003, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission stopped Barefoot and Reich from broadcasting because of the fallacies, and grossly inaccurate information. However, sadly, there are still a pile of ‘coral calcium’ products still widely marketed today. Most with a few lesser claims these days (but many still refer to one of Barefoot’s published books, which continue promoting the fallacies).
It’s all that ‘buyer beware’ – and ‘freedom of speech’ – that allows his books to be sold. Sadly, all that ‘marketing hype’ and baseless advertising is tough to get out of the minds of the people that bought into the false claims and misinformation he was promoting. Laboratory analyses have shown that some calcium supplements contain significant amounts of lead and other heavy metals. The UC Berkeley Wellness Letter. February 2003, has warned: Science doesn’t support Barefoot’s claims. He couldn’t produce any, even in his own defense. In January 2004, shortly before a trial would otherwise taken place, the FTC announced that Barefoot had agreed to a permanent injunction under which he, and Deonna Enterprises, Inc., and Karbo Enterprises, Inc., are:
Prohibited from making unsubstantiated, and false, claims:
➱ “Coral Calcium Supreme” or any other coral calcium product can treat or cure cancer, multiple sclerosis, heart disease, high blood pressure, and other serious diseases.
➱ The body absorbs coral calcium better than other calcium supplements in the market.
➱ A daily serving size of such a product provides the same amount of bio-available calcium as two gallons of milk.
➱ Scientific research published in JAMA and elsewhere proves that calcium supplements are able to reverse or cure cancer in the human body.
➱ Prohibited from making unsubstantiated claims about the health benefits, performance, or efficacy for any dietary supplement, food, drug, cosmetic, device, or service.
➱ Required to recall any product packaging that makes the prohibited claims,
➱ Required to notify resellers and distributors about the FTC action.
The court order also permitted the FTC to recover all royalties owed to Barefoot in connection with the Coral Calcium Supreme infomercial marketing (it’s unclear if any royalties associated with the books are also collected by the FTC… OR what is happening with any of the monies they collect). The point of this section was NOT to ‘rake’ Barefoot over the coals more, but to educate people of some of the motivating factors used in defining the goals of MD’s Choice. And choosing which products to formulate, explain why one of our products is Mag-Cal Plus, a truly bio-available Calcium product with the necessary ingredients to maximize absorption and actual functionality within a mammals body was created.