Vegetable Pills About to Be Served
Your mother was probably right when she forced you to eat that broccoli and spinach. Scientists say people who eat a diet rich in vegetables and fruits have lower rates of cancer.
Now vitamin companies are hoping to cash in on this by introducing what could be the next rage in nutritional supplements: vegetable pills.
The products are tied to recent studies on vegetable components called “phytochemicals,” whose name derives from the Greek word for plant.
Phytochemicals protect plants from too much sun and for a long time were thought to be inert in the body. Recent experiments in test tubes and animals have shown that they can help curb the growth of some cancer cells.
While vitamin makers suggest that phytochemical pills will someday be as common as the daily vitamin pill, cancer specialists say no one can assess their value yet because no human studies have been done.
“It’s human nature for people to always look for a magic bullet,” said Carolyn Clifford, chief of the diet and cancer branch of the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, Md. “If someone doesn’t like broccoli, it’s easier to take a pill. . . . The bottom line is the technology in this area is ahead of the science.”
Nonetheless, Leiner Health Products Inc., one of the largest makers of vitamins, will be first to enter the market nationwide next month with three pill varieties: broccoli, spinach and mixed vegetables (carrot, tomato, broccoli and spinach).
Although Leiner says it doesn’t know how much of each phytochemical is in each pill, it claims the pills include the essence of the vegetable minus the water and roughage.
Leiner, based in Carson, will sell the pills under its Your Life brand at supermarkets, drugstores and discounters such as Wal-Mart. The suggested retail price is $8.99 for a 75-pill bottle of broccoli or spinach, $9.99 for mixed veggies.
Mission Hills-based Pharmavite, the maker of Nature Made vitamins, plans to bring out its own vegetable pills later this year. Other companies are watching and may follow.
None of the companies are saying that the products will actually prevent cancer--such claims can only be made for drugs that undergo years of human tests.
