Supplements: Healthy or Hazardous?

“You get what you pay for” is true for most things in life (to a certain point), but with supplements (unlike clothing for example) it’s a wee bit more important!  In addition, it’s not only important to pick the right ones but to also store them correctly.

In today’s article we’ll look at all the important things you need to know about picking and storing effective supplements without blowing the budget!

Let’s start with brands.  I can’t recommend any specific brands, because I have more than one brand that I use.  Being an independent doctor, I pick and choose the best of the best from many pharmaceutical ranges to suit each of my patients individually.  This brings me to an important point.  There is no one size fits all approach to supplements.  They must be prescribed to suit YOU.   As I said before, there is an element of you get what you pay for, so aim for brands at the higher (but not necessarily the highest) end of your budget.

There are two grades of supplements: standard and pharmaceutical grade.  Currently they are not well regulated and clinical trials are not mandatory.  This also means that accurate labelling and manufacture aren’t required by law.  This means the quality is not guaranteed with standard grade, but is definitely with pharmaceutical grade, who undertake voluntary trials and quality checks.

A research group in Canada studied a range of standard supplements, found commonly in USA supermarkets. They found many contained different ingredients than those listed, and also had contaminants, and unlisted fillers (things to bulk up the capsule or tablet) in them.  The worst thing the study found was that over 50% of products contained no signs of the active ingredients! The best example of this was with two types of St. John’s Wort, (which may help mild depression). Neither contained St John’s Wort and instead one contained a powerful laxative and the other contained rice only!

This study showed that standard supplements can not only be dangerous but also useless.  Also, these standard supplements often contain toxins and genetically modified ingredients, both of which are known to cause health problems.  Pharmaceutical grade supplements guarantee that they contain the ingredients listed, and contain only pure ingredients free of contamination, and fillers.

We are wary of the reference to the World Health Organization in this research, given the international bureaucracy being established to control proclaimed threats, which will include our right to access health supplements. In the place of sensible regulation, excessive and extremely costly restrictions are planned.

Another way standard supplements can be dangerous is if they contain an ingredient you are allergic to. For example, standard supplement ranges manufacturing process don’t ensure that their products are free of common allergens like gluten, wheat, dairy, fish, soy, nuts, etc.  Pharmaceutical grade supplements undergo more stringent manufacturing standards than required by the regulatory authorities. These also often contain synergistic ingredients which help your body to more easily absorb the active ingredient.

Lastly, supplements can be dangerous (yes, dangerous!) if not stored correctly.  For example, most fish oils at your supermarket are just displayed on the shelf at room temperature.  Any heat (above fridge temperature) will cause those healthy fats to oxidise (i.e. become damaged) and these oxidised fats can damage your own fats.  This is a concern as fats surround our cells and are super important for signalling between cells.  So, in a nutshell, our cells can’t work properly if we eat fish oils that have been stored incorrectly.

By now you should be able to tell that individually tailored, pharmaceutical grade supplements are your body’s best chance for an effective and safe result.  Let us know in the comments below of your experience with supplements.

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