A while ago I wrote about supplement companies that have been bought by big corporations here.
There are more companies now that have been bought.
There are several reasons why I stop using those companies, so let’s talk about it.
One issue is the illusion of choice.
When a handful of corporations buy up everything, you’re not actually getting a variety of brands to choose from – you just have 1 choice, just with different names.
That means a handful of corporations slowly and steadily get to control our supplements, food, etc.
For example, Tom’s of Maine toothpaste (I know it’s toothpaste not a supplement, I want to show how far reaching this is) is a majority owned subsidiary of Colgate – Palmolive since 2006.
I promise I won’t dive too deep into this, but when you realize that Colgate-Palmolive is owned by shareholders…
… and the top three shareholders are The Vanguard Group, BlackRock Inc, and State Street…
… and then you start looking into other big corporations, you’ll realize you’ll nearly always see those three stakeholders at the top of those lists.
So three stakeholders are running the show across the board for nearly all products we buy.
The next issue with having a major corporation buy a supplement brand is because of how easily they can change the integrity of the products.
While they can keep the ingredient lists looking the same, they can certainly change where and how they source the ingredients.
They can also use certain loopholes to get in other ingredients that we don’t want in our supplements, without us ever knowing.
Another issue is changes to ingredient lists being made, and even when it’s shown on the list, it usually isn’t for the better.
I have to think years back to when I liked Burt’s Bees lip balm… until one day, standing in the check out aisle I read that it now has aluminum in it.
I personally find that less shocking when considering Clorox bought Burt’s Bees.
But it is one example of how easily I could’ve ended up smearing aluminum on my lips if I hadn’t read that ingredient list (which many people don’t do, especially when we feel we know product).
And finally, while a handful of corporations controlling our food and supplements is bad enough, that also means they amass more and more money.
I feel money should be in flow, not getting hoarded by modern day dragons.
And I know, I know, there are those who say it’s great for small companies to be bought up because they then get wider distribution etc…
Well, there are products where I didn’t know it was bought up, and I noticed my body didn’t like it anymore… and then I found out they were bought.
So something was changed, and while I still don’t know what, just listen to your body when something doesn’t feel right.
So, what are these supplement companies that have been bought up?
(Bear in mind, this isn’t an exclusive list and changes keep happening).
Clorox: Rainbow Light, True Health, Natural Vitality (you know, that CALM drink?), Champion Performance, Renew Life, Neocell, Stop Aging Now
Bayer: Airborne, Schiff Nutrition, MegaRed, One A Day, Move Free, Neuriva, Digestive Advantage
HGGC: Natural Balance, Natural Care, All One, Solaray, Life Time, Nature’s Life, Thompson, Dynamic Health, KAL, Zand
DSM: Life’s DHA, Estroven, Ovega-3, AZO, Brainstrong, Culturelle
P&G: New Chapter, Metamucil, Femibion, Neurobion, Align, Sangobion, Seas Seas
Unilever: Smarty Pants, ONNIT, OLLY
Nestle: Garden of Life, Douglas Labs, Solgar, Klean Athlete, Pure Encapsulations, Genestra, Body Fortress, Wobenzym, Dr. Organic, Sundown Naturals, Osteo Bi-Flex, Nature’s Bounty, Spring Valley, Vital Proteins, Met-Rx, Ester-C, Puritan’s Pride, Pure Protein
Alticor: Metagenics, Nutrilite
Otsuka Pharmaceuticals: Nature Made, MegaFood, Equelle
Schwabe: Nature’s Way, Enzymatic Therapy, Integrative Therapeutics, Sanat
Pfizer: Emergen-C, Bifiform, Centrum, Caltrate
Now, again, it’s my personal approach that when a supplement company is bought by a giant, I won’t use it anymore.
To me, it just doesn’t make sense when a company that produces bleach goes and buys up supplement brands (Clorox).
I have trust issues when a company who bought up a horrible pesticide company that causes uncountable numbers of health issues including cancer, goes and buys up supplement brands (Bayer).
Or when a company makes a shot that causes a certain health issue and then also sells the drug to “fix” that particular health issue, I don’t feel their goals align with mine (Pfizer).
And then, of course, we’ve got Nestle, whose previous CEO said clean water isn’t a human right…
… and Nestle also had highly successful tactics using doctors to keep women from nursing by handing out samples big enough to keep the young mother’s from getting their milk in.
I could go on, but the main point here is: you have to pay attention.
Don’t wait for a company to decide to do the right thing.
Don’t wait for the government to step in and make a company do that right thing.
This is about your health, and we have no other choice but to take responsibility of it when we want to be healthy.
And if nothing else, I think you can see why I’m so particular about what supplement brands I recommend.
