Supplements - The Good, The Bad, The Ugly
THE SUPPLEMENT INDUSTRY
The nutraceutical market (aka supplement industry) is a huge market that is only expected to grow bigger and bigger. The worldwide nutraceutical market is predicted to grow from $352.92 billion in 2021 to $658.11 billion in 2028. The US is a major contributor to this market making up 32% or roughly $21 billion. So what does this mean and why should you care? Well considering that roughly 80% of Americans use supplements, most people should care about whether the products they use are safe and effective or not.
WHY QUALITY MATTERS
Before we go into what makes a supplement high-quality, let's discuss the reasons why quality is important.
Poor quality products lead to a lack of results or potentially worse outcomes.
Poor quality products are essentially a waste of your time and money.
Poor quality products confuse your doctor as to what the actual problem is.
Poor quality products are cheap but for a good reason.
In general, poor-quality supplements lead to a lack of results because they may contain the wrong form of ingredients and improper dosages. Your body absorbs nutrients differently depending on the form they are in. So if the form is less bioavailable, then your body won’t absorb the nutrient to the extent it would in its more bioavailable form. Being in the right form not only allows a supplement to work better, but also minimizes potential side effects or negative reactions you may have to the product. If you use poor-quality products, this may muddy the waters because it will be unclear if your lack of results are due to poor supplement quality or if you need a different intervention entirely. If you are concerned about the higher costs of high-quality brands, you have to consider the reasons why store brands are so cheap and accessible. It costs money to make products with high-quality ingredients, obtain certifications, participate in third-party testing and routine auditing. For all these reasons, most professional-grade products are well worth the money when compared to certain store-bought brands.
WHAT MAKES A SUPPLEMENT HIGH-QUALITY?
When choosing a supplement make sure to ask the following questions:
Is it third-party tested?
Does it have artificial fillers and dyes?
Does it contain the correct forms of ingredients?
Does it contain the correct dosages of the ingredients?
Do the ingredients come from proper sources?
Are the ingredients extracted properly?
Is the labeling deceiving?
Third-party testing is when companies have independent agencies inspect and verify proper ingredients, manufacturing, distribution channeling, and labeling. Testing also helps to reveal if there are any contaminants, toxins, and heavy metals within the product. Third-partying testing is completely voluntary by the company and shows they are committed to high quality. Another thing to pay attention to is the ‘other’ or ‘inactive’ ingredients. Some lower-quality products have added fillers and dyes that are known to negatively affect your health. Examples of these unnecessary additives include talc, propylene glycol, vegetable gum, magnesium stearate, silicon dioxide, titanium dioxide, starch, microcrystalline cellulose, and simethicone. Lastly, I mention deceiving labels because I find this very common with certain things such as fish oil supplements. Some fish oil supplements will label the front of the product saying 2000 mg of fish oil which is an adequate dose. But then on the back they actually contain very little EPA or DHA, making them less beneficial than you originally thought.
HOW TO CHOOSE A GOOD SUPPLEMENT COMPANY?
The quality of the companies that make the supplements are just as important as the quality of the supplements themselves. Here are some red flags to look out for regarding supplement companies.
They are not transparent or refuse to provide you with information about their production processes
They lack third-party testing
They lack any type of auditing program
They are non-compliant with Current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMP)
They do not allow any visits to their manufacturing facilities
They perform ‘dry labbing’ meaning they send their products out to a lab for analysis, no testing is actually done, but they receive results like it was done
The first step is to start by choosing a company that is fully transparent. Companies that have nothing to hide will want to share their quality testing, sourcing, and production processes with you. An important thing I look at with companies is if they have Current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMPs) in place. cGMPs indicate how they manufacture the product in a safe way, as well as use accurate packaging and labeling. I recommend buying only from reputable suppliers that are not retail stores or third parties. There have been claims made against GNC, Walmart, Walgreens, and Target for selling fake and potentially harmful supplements. Always make sure to interact with the manufacturer directly and check for third-party testing like NSF or USP labels. Ask about testing procedures like purity, safety, and efficacy. Make sure their research is applicable to their product and not just extracted data.
THIRD PARTY PURCHASING (Amazon, Ebay)
I know a lot of people who prefer to buy their supplements from Amazon, Ebay, or other third-party companies because of the lower costs and convenience. While they may offer a lower price or free shipping, the tradeoff is an unknown quality. There have been a lot of quality issues with third-party purchasing such as the selling of expired and counterfeit products, lack of oversight, reduced potency, altered ingredients without labeling, and improper storage in warehouses.
WHY DO I HAVE TO DO ALL THIS WORK TO ENSURE QUALITY, AREN’T SUPPLEMENTS REGULATED?
Supplements are not necessarily regulated by the FDA. The FDA has some guidelines to make sure the products are not overtly unsafe for consumption. But that does equate to high quality. Companies do not even have to report adverse reactions or potential contamination. Reporting is all voluntary unless of course they get caught during an inspection. Supplements are not nearly held to as high of standards as pharmaceuticals. If they were, they would be just as expensive to make and buy as pharmaceuticals.
By the end of this article, you are probably thinking ‘wow this sure sounds like a lot of work just to buy supplements. And you are right, it is a lot of work. Crazy enough, I didn’t even make it to the part about how to know what supplements are right for you, what they even do, what doses and forms they should be in, and if they interact with other things you are taking. Luckily for you, naturopathic doctors specialize in this and can help guide you through the process so you can stop wasting your money and actually see results.
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