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ALL NUTRITIONAL SUPPLEMENTS
ARE NOT CREATED EQUAL.
(Article by herbalist Dave
Hawkins, MH, CNC)
With the increase in the
awareness regarding the use of nutritional and herbal
supplements, many people are confused as to what products
to purchase. It is confusing to read about a particular
vitamin and then to purchase it and feel assured you are
getting the same product referred to in your studies.
One problem I see with the
vitamin industry is that many companies are using research
to back their claims about a specific substance that come
from other companies or independent studies, and they use
this information to sell their product which may not be the
exact same substance used in the study.
A good example is the use of
the herb gingko biloba.
When
you read about the benefits of this particular herb, the
information comes from a research project funded by a
phyto pharmaceutical company in
Germany. The product is
called GBE 761, and it is sold under a trade name.
How do
you know that you are purchasing that exact substance used
in the research when you are buying gingko
biloba? Most often you will not
know unless informed.
That is the purpose of this
article to help give you some pointers and guidelines when
purchasing supplements. My belief is that you want to get
results, so consumers beware.
Most supplement
manufacturers are reliable and honest, and they depend on
good results with their products simply because they want
to see repeat sales. Most companies follow
GMP's (Good Manufacturing
Practices), and this is your assurance that the label is
correct and that it has been tested for bioavailability.
However, the standards under which a vitamin or mineral is
manufactured vary greatly.
A manufacturer can create a
tablet that looks identical to a quality product, but it is
just a replica.
The following are some of
the government standards related to vitamin manufacturing:
·
A
consumer would assume that a vitamin contains the potency
listed on the label: The government states only 90% of the
potency listed on the label has to be in a product at the
time of shipping.
·
A
vitamin starts to lose potency the minute it's made.
If not
produced properly, a vitamin can lose up to 50% of its
potency by the time you purchase it: There are only minimal
guidelines, not requirements, regarding product storage
(light, temperature, moisture, etc.), inventory rotation,
article granulation or product coating, all of which affect
the potency and quality.
·
After a vitamin is made, companies are not required to
conduct shelf-life testing to see how the products potency
is affected over time.
·
There is no law requiring supplements to be tested during
manufacturing. It is not a requirement for a company to
have a quality control laboratory.
How do you manufacture
vitamins without a quality control lab?
Good question!
Moreover most companies do not manufacture their own
products. Another manufacturer makes them. Here is how you
check to see if the product you are buying is made by that
company. On the label it will state, “Manufactured by ABC
Company.” If a company does not make their own product it
will state on the label “Manufactured for ABC Company” or
“Distributed by ABC Company.”
I recommend buying products
from companies that make their own line and have met the
requirements mentioned above.
A good company will provide
independent laboratory assays with their product. These
assays tell you the potency; disintegration times once
ingested; and the fillers, binders, and other ingredients
in the product you are interested in buying.
Another key point to look
for is a full disclosure label. This will tell you a lot
about what you are purchasing. It should include:
1.
The
product ingredients (calcium for example).
2.
The
product potency in micro grams or milligrams.
3.
The
source of the nutrient (what form is it).
4.
Directions for use. How many to take to get the label
potency?
5.
A
listing of the fillers, binders, and
excipients or any other potential allergic
substances.
6.
A
code date.
7.
Any
warnings or cautions.
8.
Manufactured by or manufactured for.
So what are some of the
questions you need to ask to assure good quality
supplements?
·
Quality of Ingredients: There are approximately 40 to 50
raw material suppliers to the entire vitamin industry.
Everyone buys from these folks, but what do they do with it
once purchased?
·
Trademarked Substance Guarantees Quality. Example, chromium
picolinate is made by a company
called Nutrition 21. Any product with that name will be
that company’s product.
·
Tablet Processing: Are the fillers, binders,
excipients and coatings
natural? Many companies use cheap ingredients that are very
low cost but affect how the tablet will break down. Some
coatings are made from a form of shellac.
·
Manufactured Date. How long has it been
since manufactured? The normal shelf life of a supplement
is two years, but it can be sold up for to six years.
·
Natural vs. Synthetic: The word natural can be misleading.
A good example of this is with vitamin E. A manufacturer
can use a blend of 10% natural E and 90% synthetic E and
still label the product as natural vitamin E. It is
important for manufactures to list the chemical name.
Natural vitamin E is listed as d-alpha
tocopherol, d-alpha tocopheryl
acetate or d-alpha tocopheryl
succinate. All synthetic E
products are listed with dl before the alpha.
·
Quality. Price is not always reflective
of quality: If a price seems too good to be true, it
probably is. For example, if a reliable brand falls between
$9-$12 dollars per 100 and you find the same ingredients
for $4-$6 dollars per 100, you might be suspicious. On the
other hand if the same ingredients are listed on a higher
priced brand, you may be paying too much.
It is important to judge by comparing apples to
apples and oranges to oranges. Hopefully, this will help
you.
Another question I
frequently get is how to store vitamins and minerals.
Most products are stable at room temperature, but we
recommend a cool dark cabinet away form direct heat. Do not
refrigerate them as they will attract moisture and lose
potency quicker. We also recommend not buying more than
what you can consume within a three- to six-month period of
time.
Always remember that a
supplement is only as good as its ingredients. When you are
looking for results, be aware that what you are taking is
the right substance. A good manual to help you is a book by
Shari Lieberman: The Real Vitamin
And Mineral Book.
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