anyone else get really annoyed with vitamin companies?

I am just so fed up with the misleading marketing of some vitamin companies.  It's bad enough that companies like Bariatric Fusion and Optisource market their vitamins as "bariatric vitamins" when they don't have all the nutrients  WLS folks need.  But today someone mentioned Vitafusion prenatal gummy vitamins to me, so I looked those up.  I am horrified that a company would market this vitamin to pregnant women.  Women that don't read labels or don't realize they need in a multi may think this vitamin is good for them since it says "prenatal" right on the label and may end up putting not only their own health but also the health of their babies at risk.

This vitamin has no thiamine, which you need in order for your baby's brain to develop.  It has no B2 - and insufficient B2 can cause pre-eclampsia, which can turn into toxemia, which can cause the death of the baby and mother.  It has no copper, which you need to build red blood cells - and the mother's blood volume needs to double during pregnancy.  And those are just a few things that are missing from this "prenatal" vitamin.

I know that vitamins and other supplements are not regulated by the FDA and I don't necessarily think they should be.  Plus the FDA does not do a very good job of keeping consumers safe, anyway.  But I think it's terrible that a company can market a vitamin as being a "prenatal" vitamin when it's missing so many nutrients pregnant women need or market a vitamin as being a "bariatric" vitamin when it contains calcium carbonate, which RNY folks can't absorb, etc.  It's just ridiculous.

YES!!!!! YES and YES!!!!! What really bothers me about Bariatric Fusion is that it was developed by a physician's assistant at my surgeon's office! Quoting from their website

Bariatric Fusion® was designed and formulated by medical professionals to provide increased amounts of key vitamins and nutrients vital for patients who have undergone weight loss surgery. Patients and their health care providers must work together to avoid nutritional deficiencies and support overall health after surgery.

Bariatric Fusion® uses the most biologically available forms of important micro and macronutrients in great tasting formulations. Our company has drawn on the experience of professionals to develop a complete line of nutritional products. These innovative products are superior to others on the market and are making a difference in the lives of bariatric patients across the globe!

It's bad enough that Bariatric Fusion and Optisource are misleading the WLS community, but to mislead a woman who is pregnant, that is unconscionable as they could directly affect the life of a baby!

Yeah.  I mean, hopefully pregnant women are getting enough nutrients from their diets that, while they might benefit from a good multi, they aren't really endangering their babies by taking a gummy vitamin, but who knows?  Some might really need a good vitamin.

Bariatric Fusion may have been developed by medical professionals, but it was primarily developed to make money.  It contains a combination of calcium citrate and cacium carbonate, for pete's sake!  Calcium carbonate is NOT the "most biologically available" form of calcium, so when they say the use the most biologically available forms of nutrients, that is a flat out lie.

I learned a long time ago to read labels and not just the list of vitamins but what is actually in the ingredients. I also take every thing a medical professional tells me and I look it up for myself. Its too bad we cant trust the people who took an oath to "First do no harm". Of course the companies that make said vitamins are only in the business for money, they could care less if they are hurting people. Its so sad that our country has people like this lobbying our politicians to keep their lies away from the public. Oh geeze dont get me started, lol.

Capitalism is evil.

That is all.

I try to buy Nature Made if not buying bariatric advantage. They are one of the few with the USP certification.

http://www.livestrong.com/article/366173-what-does-usp-mean-on-vitamin-supplements/