Dietary advice from the 1950s, for example, is a little different than what healthcare professionals recommend today based on the best available research. However, despite our understanding of good nutrition, it’s fairly obvious that not everyone eats a balanced diet, which means many consumers simply aren’t getting necessary nutrients.

In fact, data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicate nearly 90 million Americans have a vitamin D deficiency, 30 million are deficient in vitamin B6, 18 million are deficient in vitamin B12 and nearly 16 million have a vitamin C deficiency. Tieraona Low Dog, MD, nationally recognized physician, author and speaker, presented this data to congressional staffers at an educational briefing in September.

“I’m extremely concerned when I hear misleading sound bites on the evening news that people don’t need vitamins because they get all the nutrients they need from their diet because it isn’t just patients who hear this, doctors also hear it repeatedly,” Dr. Low Dog said. “This mantra that Americans get all the nutrients they need from food is simply not true and the data demonstrates it is false. It is much harder than you think to get the nutrients you need from food alone.”

It’s healthy to reevaluate commonly held norms. However, clinical results need to be interpreted fairly and reported evenly. The omega-3 market had been sailing through pristine waters for decades thanks to thousands of studies that support the efficacy of EPA and DHA. While a handful of recent studies didn’t find positive results, negative stories in the media only muddied the waters, contributing to a sharp sales decline.

However, through collaboration and teamwork the industry has coordinated a positive response orchestrated by the Global Organization for EPA and DHA Omega-3s (GOED) to reverse the negative sales trend. I’m confident in the future of the omega-3 market because I believe that, ultimately, products with strong clinical backing will weather the harshest of storms while those with no scientific support will eventually sink.

The dietary supplement industry as a whole faces a strong storm led by critics like New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman. Many products in this industry offer solutions to public health problems. In much the same way that nutrition science evolves, the industry also needs to adapt based on current market dynamics. Industry can’t let the bad apples spoil the bunch because they are stuck in the same bag. Let’s work together to create meaningful change that will benefit the responsible players, isolate the irresponsible ones and expose the criminals for what they are.