MANY vitamins contain lactose.  Many, many pills of all types do.

My father worked in the pharmaceutical industry for many years, and has told me
they [Schering] used lactose for a lot of reasons:

it is very non-reactive, so that it can be used between layers of different,
potentially reactive vitamins;

it is a cheap filler, so that it can be used to fill and/or bind the drugs in
the pills;

in some cases it is a sweetening agent as well, to help cover flavors.

Most pills in over-the-counter packaging now must include the information about
what else is in them.  Look for "Additional Ingredients" or "Inactive
Ingredients" listing on the packaging.  If prescription drugs, ask the
pharmacist to check the package insert for lactose or other potential problems
[like some dyes and such].  They will be happy to do it; often they will even
give you the insert if you ask.  [And if they don't I suggest you find another
pharmacy to deal with - quickly]  Many of the pharaceutical companies have web
sites that may have the insert information available, but some of them take some
REAL effort to find your way through.  If all else fails, look for toll-free
numbers to call and they'll probably help you.

Two points:  watch out for some artificial sweeteners.  Some of them that are
made with aspertame were/are made with lactose and/or fructose to provide
additional "natural" sweetening.  Nutra-sweet [awhile ago] used to be that way.

Also, GNC [General(?) Nutrician Centers] seem to be very good about identifying
the potential problem ingredients on their labels, often large and easily seen.
I am not now, nor have I ever been associated with GNC:  but I do recommend some
of their products.

Eric



> From: Tanya Bumgardner <[log in to unmask]>
> Subject: Lactose in vitamins
> To: [log in to unmask]
>
> I know many medications have lactose in them, but does anybody know about
> vitamins and herbal supplements?  I've looked on the labels but they don't
> say, but I've taken medications that are known to have lactose but it's not
> listed in the ingredients.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Tanya Bumgardner