One in two adults takes a vitamin pill. Over half of the patients that we see are on some "alternative medication" - minerals, vitamins, etc. According to a recent article in the New York Times, alternative medications have sales in this country of over $30 billion dollars a year. It is largely an unregulated industry, and a New York Times op ed noted that these medications have been found to be contaminated with arsenic, other toxic metals, and even androgenic steroids.
