Three Questions I Ask Before Considering The Use Of A Supplement (Part Two)

March 31, 2009 by JD
Filed under Health, Information

If you’re just joining us, you may want to check out Part One of this supplement series.

The second question I ask myself when considering the use of a supplement is:

Does it work?

The nutrition industry is currently not regulated. And the FDA needs to clean up it’s own house before taking on any additional oversight responsibilities. So, we are left with an industry that releases semi-medicinal products that is not required to verify quality, results, or safety. And we just look at a label and shove those pills down.

It’s up to us to do the homework.

There are really two components contributing to the effectiveness of any supplement: quality and efficacy. These are the same measurement standards applied to regulated pharmaceutical drugs.

Quality refers to the quality of the ingredients used, the quality of the manufacturing facilities, and the quality of the testing that was used to evaluate the product. Efficacy refers to the power or capacity of the product to produce the desired effect. For example, the efficacy of a particular fish oil supplement refers to it’s effectiveness in supplying the stated dosage of raw omega-3 fatty acids to the blood.

Some supplements dissolve in stomach acid and are destroyed before their ingredients, good or not, can be released into the blood. These supplements effectively have an efficacy rating of 0.

The reality is that not all supplement manufactures are producing “true quality” products. In order to assure the highest quality product, manufacturers must be able to document and verify the following:

1. Comprehensive scientific evaluation of ingredients.

2. Comprehensive safety reviews.

3. Human clinical evaluations to assess safety and efficacy.

4. Advanced scientific staff, equipment and facilities.

That’s alot of effort to produce an economically priced supplement. So, many manufacturers don’t undertake such stringent controls. They instead trust the quality of the ingredients that are delivered. And maybe they skimp a little on having the latest, greatest, and cleanest in facilities and equipment.

Quality manufacturerers who do perform testing on their ingredients often send batches back due to low quality. Sometimes they’ll even receive a batch of something that contains none of the substance that was represented on the packaging. It happens.

So, what do the supply houses do with these returned batches? Throw them away?

Nope.

Remix them to improve quality?

Not usually.

These defective batches get “Walmart-ized”. That is they get sent to low quality supplement manufacturers who don’t typically test the quality of their ingredients.

Some people are tempted to purchase their supplements from discount suppliers or commercial supermarkets because the prices are better. I have always said “if you want to save money, buy toilet paper in bulk”. Don’t compromise on the quality of your supplements just to save money!

It requires three major metabolic functions (digestion, absorption and utilization) to occur to get any kind of benefits from a supplement. You need the supplement to be of a high enough quality to make it through the processes intact in order for it to work. There is usually a very legitimate reason why a supplement is higher in price than another. Bargain nutritional supplements are often made with poor-quality, low-cost ingredients.

So, take a look at the supplements you buy. Go online and check the manufacturer’s web site. Quality suppliers will publish information around there manufacturing processes and quality assurances.

Do your homework.

Next, the third question I ask before considering the use of a supplement.