What in your career led you to dietary supplements?
When I was working on the leukemia at Inserm, it was above all a question of fundamental research, quite far from the field. I wanted to get closer to quick and concrete applications for people who really need them. I have been in the nutraceuticals [mot fabriqué à partir des termes anglais nutrient et pharmaceutical, et désignant l’industrie des compléments alimentaires, NDLR]. My core business is research and development. I devote myself, among other things, to the development of processes aimed at increasing the assimilation of active ingredients, on the basis of cellular models reconstituted in vitro and which mimic intestinal absorption. I found in nutraceuticals the possibility of developing interesting solutions both in terms of prevention and treatment.often for people who have obtained little or no results with allopathic medicine. 70 to 80% of the current pharmacopoeia derive from nature. It has many things to offer us; it would be a shame not to take an interest in it.
Why did you devote a book to these supplements?
Too many beliefs circulate on this issue. I wished reinject science into the debate by providing verifiable factual elements to the detractors of dietary supplements, who criticize, sometimes rightly, the excess of marketing and the lack of science. And in the context of the training that I give to health practitioners – physiotherapists, osteopaths, doctors, surgeons – one of the recurring questions is how, in this jungle of complements, make the right choice and identify serious laboratories. I hope, through this book, to have given keys to answer it.
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What are the main issues related to these products?
I’m a little appalled when I hear consumers say that taking dietary supplements has “done them no harm”. These are not placebos. People need to benefit from it! The effectiveness must be optimal and demonstrated, the synergy between the active ingredients also. And this goes through clinical trials on the products sold. There may be synergies but also antagonisms between active ingredients. Just because you take four wheels, an engine and a body doesn’t mean you get a Ferrari. You can come across a low cost car. A number of players are entering this market by being more interested in customers’ portfolios than in their health. They would be wise to invest in advanced analyzes and apply a rigorous selection policy for their raw materials. It’s the only way to avoid health scandals such as the one linked to ethylene oxide1 which, in 2021, affected the food industry but also food supplements.
What are the manufacturing issues?
The search for the most optimized costs is a constant. The manufacturer realizes its margin on the low price of materials as well as on ancillary services (printing of labels and cases). This is not an incentive to go for quality but to seek large volumes for assets in order to have competitive prices. Some ingredient suppliers have admitted to me that they have great difficulty in offering their active ingredients to certain manufacturers, because they are often much more expensive than basic ingredients from low-cost countries. During the life of food supplements from full service offers2, it is not uncommon for one ingredient to be replaced by another, the manufacturer having found a cheaper price from another supplier than expected. Very often, the client laboratory is presented with a fait accompli (or is not warned). This is one of the risks of not taking care of the sourcing yourself3 and purchases of its ingredients.
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How do you know if the lab has mastered all the steps?
The consumer must give preference to the few players in the sector who carry out the research stages (development, studies), formulation, development of new food supplements and sourcing of raw materials internally. Only the shaping part can possibly be entrusted to a certified service provider. For these laboratories, delegating the development, quality and traceability of their products to others is taking a risk. Their degree of requirement nevertheless requires having qualified personnel in-house to carry out these missions. Ask these questions to the laboratories and favor those who keep control of the chain at all stages, from the design of their formulas to the direct sale of their finished products. I would add that, like great chefs who only offer a few dishes on their menu, good laboratories generally do not offer a vast catalog of products. They sell a limited range of well-designed products. Take an interest in these labs.
What are the regulatory constraints governing marketing in France?
There are many. Some players have stumbled upon the authorities who have tightened scientific requirements and imposed regulations on health claims. This one is supposed to avoid over-marketing. It was originally intended to be quite an interesting text, increasing the information given to consumers. Ultimately, it rather led to a dumbing down of all that can be said about supplements. Some statements are simplistic to say the least: Vitamin C helps reduce fatigue ” or “Water helps maintain normal body temperature regulation are just a few examples. We also couldn’t escape claims about healthy teeth with sugar alternatives used in chewing gum. In short, apart from the lobbies, no one has won their case concerning health claims on plant extracts. This still represents the majority of products sold.
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Weren’t these allegations necessary?
Whether ! And if it were necessary, of course, to stop the excessive communication around supplements, we went from everything to almost nothing, and consumers are lost. By adding vitamin C to a product containing effective plant extracts, the claim can only relate to vitamin C. However, we know that this alone does not deliver all the benefits of a product. . Some manufacturers have told me that they have driven clinical studies on their plant extracts and having been forced to add vitamins or minerals in order to market their product more easily. However, the studies showing interesting results have only been carried out on the “plant extracts” part and not on their association with vitamins or minerals.
How is it outside of France?
In Canada, in addition to the food and medicine component, there is anatural health products “. Possible claims require a scientific dossier on the ingredient. In Europe, either the product is listed in the “food” category, such as dietary supplements, or in the drug category. Since the supplement is generally a dry product, it is much easier to store it, to sample it and therefore to find faults with it, unlike fresh products sold on the stall. However, the latter are sometimes more loaded with contaminants; I am thinking, for example, of shrimps. LFood supplements are subject to almost the same constraints as drugs, while at the same time it is impossible to allege more than a mere food. It’s a bit paradoxical…