How well trained are the staff of health shops? Sylvia Thompsoninvestigates
GO INTO any health store across the Republic and you'll overhear conversations between customers and health store staff about various foods, vitamin and mineral supplements, herbal or homeopathic remedies.
Comparisons between products is what you might expect to hear, but sometimes you'll hear more - a health store owner advising someone on what supplements or remedies are good for conditions such as pre-menstrual tension or irritable bowel syndrome, for example.
But how accurate is the advice customers are receiving? Are the staff qualified to issue it? And, more importantly, how safe is the advice?
Jill Bell is a health store owner and the president of the Irish Association of Health Stores (IAHS) which represents almost 120 stores throughout the Republic.
"Three years ago, we introduced a protocol for selling which is compulsory for anyone on the shop floor advising customers," she explains. "The main purpose of this is to protect the customer. Some people felt it was a bit restrictive and it would reduce sales but we've found it has increased customer confidence."
The IAHS Protocol for Selling is a 16-page document that describes in detail what kind of advice health store staff can give to what type of customer.
It includes caveats such as "always ask if customers are on medication before recommending a product and, if so, advise them to consult their doctor or pharmacist before taking a herbal remedy or food supplement".
A comprehensive set of referral guidelines is also included.
Specific examples of situations where supplements may be dangerous are also given. For example, staff are informed that omega-3 oils, garlic or vitamin E supplements might put a customer on blood-thinning medication at risk of excessive blood thinning.
Similarly, staff are advised that they must never recommend anything containing iron to people who have been diagnosed with haemochromatosis (a condition in which excessive amounts of iron are stored in the body).
"Almost 700 IAHS members and their staff have passed their Protocol for Selling assessment which enables them to sell health products safely and ethically," explains Del Eagle, the IAHS's administrator.
Apart from the compulsory protocol, some health store staff also complete certificates and diplomas in health food retailing set by the Health Food Institute in Britain.
Health stores that are members of the IAHS are also expected to follow the association's code of ethics. And while the IAHS doesn't have any policy on the burgeoning area of sports nutrition, it does request members not to sell products containing genetically modified organisms or the artificial sweetener, aspartame.
"We have an accreditation process which involves a visit to the store to see if it is up to scratch," says Bell.
The Nature's Way health stores, which are owned by the British health store chain, Holland and Barrett, and the Tony Quinn health stores are not members of the IAHS.
Martin Forde from the Tony Quinn health stores says that their staff receive in-house training and most staff members do their own one-year part-time nutrition course.
All staff who work in IAHS health stores are encouraged to check if a customer has consulted a doctor about a problem or has had a condition diagnosed. The protocol reminds them that they are not qualified to or permitted to diagnose conditions and should never recommend that a customer discontinue or not follow treatment prescribed by a doctor.
"People are on multi-medications nowadays and we have to be very careful," says Bell. "We never tell customers to come off medication.
"What I usually do with someone who, for example, is on blood pressure medication and wants to take vitamin C for a sinus problem is to sell them the product but offer to refund them if their doctor or pharmacist says they are not to take it," she says.
"Generally speaking, we can give advice on ailments and not illnesses and conditions. We're not practitioners," says Bell. "Knowledge sells. We want our customers to come back so the advice has to be right. We want to empower people to help themselves and improve their wellbeing. That's what motivates me to run my shop," she says.
How objective the advice health store owners give on products is almost impossible to say. Just like their medical counterparts, they are offered training courses on various products which subliminally or otherwise make some products seem superior to others.
"Some of the main manufacturers run detailed training courses which look at diet and lifestyle and don't just focus on the products themselves," explains Bell, naming two of the best known vitamin companies and one leading herbal remedy manufacturer.
"We also encourage customers to do their own detective work and find out ways to tackle their problems, and most stores have a list of reputable practitioners who they will refer people to," she says.
While health store owners are keen to stress their respect for the medical profession, they are nonetheless ardent campaigners for the continued availability of high-dose vitamin and mineral supplements on the European market.
"One in every two people in Ireland takes supplements and through the IAHS campaign, we collected over 60,000 signatures protesting against the Food Supplements Directive," explains Erica Murray, owner of the Hopsack healthstore in Rathmines, Dublin 6.
"There is huge concern about people being denied the right to choose to manage their own health and our campaign is ongoing," she adds.
Some commentators maintain that this campaigning zeal of the natural health stores contributed to the rejection of the Lisbon Treaty earlier this year.