Jen Gunter Instagram – When I mention supplements that claim to have therapeutic value (meaning they can treat a symptom or condition) and explain the dismal data, there are always people who seem to think that it is not possible to study these products. Or that it is somehow the government’s job. No, the onus on research is from the company making the claim. It is a CHOICE to not study a product, and it is always a financial one. The people making and selling supplements could funnel their millions and billions into research and product safety…except that would affect their bottom line. Pharma does this because regulations demand it. If a supplement company studies a product and it doesn’t work, they’ve lost out on their revenue stream. Why take that gamble when you don’t have to? Supplements are simply untested, untreated pharmaceuticals and people promoting them obviously don’t mind that fact. Personally, I think women deserve science. It can be confusing, because we do recommend some vitamins and minerals for deficiencies and also prenatal vitamins. But the lack of regulation also harms here, because products might not have the quality control that you think. Head to The Vajenda to read more. I recently wrote about how many prenatal vitamins don’t contain what they claim (Look for “What’s in Your Prenatal Vitamin.”)