Dr. Sears - suppliments

Justin Leigh · 08-02-2005, 08:29 AM

After reading some of Dr. Sears information on suppliments(fish oils) he seems to be making the claim that his products are superior to those found in healthfood stores.
Quote from website:
http://www.zonediet.com/free/article...type=qa&id=073}
Yes, it's possible to take too much fish oil. However, if you're consuming pharmaceutical-grade fish oil, there's generally very little downside. Unfortunately, I can't say the same thing for the fish oil you find in health food stores. That oil contains significantly more contaminants than the pharmaceutical grade product, and can have major gastrointestinal side effects. So stick with the pharmaceutical grade ultrarefined EPA/DHA concentrates.

Obviously he wants to make a profit, but what he sells seems to be much higher than what I can find at the healthfood stores. what is the reality when purchasing Omega3's compared to Dr. Sears sales pitch for his products. For example, I just purchased a 240 count bottle here for $11.00
http://shop.store.yahoo.com/hono/710013000736.html

On Dr Sears website he is selling a 120 count bottle of Omega3 for $40.00
http://www.zonelabsinc.com/servlet/coresysconfig.ZLTPShoppingCartController?task =ThirdPartyShoppingCart&navAction=ZLWTPAllProducts PageOpenV4&dbAction=NONE&extRe ferrerID=zonedietcom&PartnerID=zonedietcom

*Note* This is not a slam at Dr. Sears, who I have learned a ton of information from and have a great deal of respect. I just don't want to pay $50.00 for something I can get for $15.00 at a healthstore considering I have already bought most of his books and pay monthly for his website subscription.

Brendan Melville · 08-02-2005, 11:47 AM

I think he said that a long time ago when they didn't do extreme scanning for contaminants. I use carlson, which is really cheap from healthfood stores, is contaminant free, and I eat them like skittles. (not really, that's bad.)

Jason Simpkins · 08-02-2005, 12:13 PM

Justin,

Dr. Sears is just capitalizing on his name. Carlson's fish oil is one of the best and is way cheaper. Besides, taking one look at his MRP bars makes me want to gag, cause they're packed full of unhealthy crap. Makes you wonder how great his fish oil truly is...

Kristian Palaoro · 08-06-2005, 11:23 AM

Just a silly comparison ...
If pharmacies use toilet tissue-X, that must mean that Toilet tissue-X is pharmaceutical grade.

What I'm getting at is that there may or may not be any difference. If pharmacies use a product, it may be driven by cost, ease of attainability, contract, etc...

The US military gets contracts based on the lowest bidder, and senatorial handshakes. This does not strictly guarantee the highest quality product, but marketing often implies it (military grade).

Have you ever walked into a doctor's offfice and not seen adverts for some drug or another? Where is the guarantee that it is any different in a pharmacy. It seems unlikely that you would pay for fish oil and get canola oil instead, but this is one of the risks we take with supplements, which are not strictly required to bottle what is advertised.

LSS, if you think its fish oil, it probably is, and there is not likely any difference between two brands of oil. It seems a trivial substance over which to make that kind of claim. But if he didn't, does he stand to lose revenue? It is a confounding bias.

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08-02-2005, 08:29 AM	#1
Justin Leigh Member Profile: Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Linton IN Posts: 93	After reading some of Dr. Sears information on suppliments(fish oils) he seems to be making the claim that his products are superior to those found in healthfood stores. Quote from website: http://www.zonediet.com/free/article...type=qa&id=073} Yes, it's possible to take too much fish oil. However, if you're consuming pharmaceutical-grade fish oil, there's generally very little downside. Unfortunately, I can't say the same thing for the fish oil you find in health food stores. That oil contains significantly more contaminants than the pharmaceutical grade product, and can have major gastrointestinal side effects. So stick with the pharmaceutical grade ultrarefined EPA/DHA concentrates. Obviously he wants to make a profit, but what he sells seems to be much higher than what I can find at the healthfood stores. what is the reality when purchasing Omega3's compared to Dr. Sears sales pitch for his products. For example, I just purchased a 240 count bottle here for $11.00 http://shop.store.yahoo.com/hono/710013000736.html On Dr Sears website he is selling a 120 count bottle of Omega3 for $40.00 http://www.zonelabsinc.com/servlet/coresysconfig.ZLTPShoppingCartController?task =ThirdPartyShoppingCart&navAction=ZLWTPAllProducts PageOpenV4&dbAction=NONE&extRe ferrerID=zonedietcom&PartnerID=zonedietcom Note This is not a slam at Dr. Sears, who I have learned a ton of information from and have a great deal of respect. I just don't want to pay $50.00 for something I can get for $15.00 at a healthstore considering I have already bought most of his books and pay monthly for his website subscription.

08-02-2005, 11:47 AM	#2
Brendan Melville Member Profile: Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Norwalk CT Posts: 454	I think he said that a long time ago when they didn't do extreme scanning for contaminants. I use carlson, which is really cheap from healthfood stores, is contaminant free, and I eat them like skittles. (not really, that's bad.)

08-02-2005, 12:13 PM	#3
Jason Simpkins Departed Profile: Join Date: Jan 1970 Posts: 221	Justin, Dr. Sears is just capitalizing on his name. Carlson's fish oil is one of the best and is way cheaper. Besides, taking one look at his MRP bars makes me want to gag, cause they're packed full of unhealthy crap. Makes you wonder how great his fish oil truly is...

08-06-2005, 11:23 AM	#4
Kristian Palaoro Departed Profile: Join Date: Jan 1970 Posts: 77	Just a silly comparison ... If pharmacies use toilet tissue-X, that must mean that Toilet tissue-X is pharmaceutical grade. What I'm getting at is that there may or may not be any difference. If pharmacies use a product, it may be driven by cost, ease of attainability, contract, etc... The US military gets contracts based on the lowest bidder, and senatorial handshakes. This does not strictly guarantee the highest quality product, but marketing often implies it (military grade). Have you ever walked into a doctor's offfice and not seen adverts for some drug or another? Where is the guarantee that it is any different in a pharmacy. It seems unlikely that you would pay for fish oil and get canola oil instead, but this is one of the risks we take with supplements, which are not strictly required to bottle what is advertised. LSS, if you think its fish oil, it probably is, and there is not likely any difference between two brands of oil. It seems a trivial substance over which to make that kind of claim. But if he didn't, does he stand to lose revenue? It is a confounding bias.