Vitaminbuzz.com Informational Web Site Sponsored By Vitamin Shoppe

Vitamin Shoppe's recently launched information-only Web site, Vitaminbuzz.com, "provides extensive health and nutritional information in an easy-to-navigate format," according to the North Bergen, N.J.-based supplement retailer.

The site includes information on "health concerns," diseases, nutritional supplements, herbal remedies, drug interactions, homeopathic remedies and "diets and therapies." The content of the site includes articles from HealthNotes, Inc. a Portland, Ore.-based research information service. Articles are based on clinical studies and other third-party research.

More information on nutrients mentioned in the articles is available to readers by clicking on the nutrient icon as it appears. A separate link connects the Vitaminbuzz.com site to Vitaminshoppe.com for product purchases. Establishment of separate information and purchasing Web sites may help avoid some regulatory issues regarding appropriate use of third-party literature to market supplements online.

The company explained that "Vitaminbuzz.com is geared toward savvy consumers who want usable answers to tough health questions, while Vitaminshoppe.com provides 24-hour access" to the company's more than 400 name brands and 17,000 products. Vitaminbuzz.com has been in operation since mid-December.

A link to Vitaminshoppe.com also is included in Internet navigation service Infoseek's "Wellness" sub-channel. Vitaminshoppe.com was launched in the spring of 1998. The company is planning to expand its customer base with an affiliate program of independent distributors in March.

Vitamin Shoppe opened its first store in 1977 and operates approximately 39 outlets in the New York tri-state area. It also markets its products through catalogs.

New dietary supplement online retailer Healthshop.com offers a 4,000-page compendium of natural health information entitled "Healthfacts Encyclopedia," which includes HealthNotes articles on health conditions.

The site also includes articles on current health news stories written by Healthshop.com staff under the direction of Editor-in-Chief Sue Frederick, the former editor of The Herb Research Foundation. For example, a recent article stating "Echinacea Study Misrepresented By Media" cites a study published in the November/December 1998 Archives of Family Medicine, urging "if you're taking echinacea at the first sign of cold or flu, don't stop just because a recent study said the popular herb was no better than placebo."

Quoting American Botanical Council Exec Director Mark Blumenthal, the Healthshop.com story suggests that while the research may call into question the effectiveness of echinacea to prevent colds, "it does not invalidate the previous research that shows its effectiveness for treatment."

Other features include an "Ask the Doctor" section in which members of the company's advisory board respond to questions from consumers on health issues and a bulletin board for consumer experiences with various products.

The health content of San Francisco-based GreenTree Nutrition's dietary supplement site is derived from the Medical Data Exchange database, which summarizes information from over 200 leading health journals and publications including Prevention, Harvard Health Letter, U.C. Berkeley Wellness Letter, the New York Times and Newsweek.

GreenTree.com also has an exclusive license with the New York Times Syndicate to provide daily health and nutrition news and offers content from Runner's World magazine.

GreenTree Nutrition editorial staff members additionally provide information on current new studies or articles. One such article describes the American Heart Association advisory published in the Feb. 2 issue of the journal Circulation recommending consumption of antioxidants in the diet instead of through supplements to lower heart disease risk (see story, p. 8).

Sections on individual nutrients also summarize results of some journal studies. Information on garlic cites a February 1997 study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

"Garlic supplementation significantly decreased both total cholesterol and LDL levels ('bad' cholesterol), whereas fish-oil supplementation significantly decreased triacylglycerol (a type of fat) concentrations and increased LDL concentrations in men with higher cholesterol levels," according to the summary.