Dietary Supplements – Purity and Potency

Dateline NBC Tonight aired a segment on March 18, 2012 entitled “ Are Dietary Supplements Safe? “.  This program revealed an astonishing amount of labeling and advertising misrepresentation.

Here is a simplified summary of tips and facts on the subject since there is so much being argued in the press and media. 

Dietary supplements (YES, this includes your multi-vitamin) are not tested by the FDA (Food and Drug Administration).   The FDA regulates dietary supplements but they do not have responsibly for purity, labeling or effectiveness.  Supplement manufacturers do not need to get government approval before producing or selling their products.  The supplement manufacturers are responsible for ensuring that the "Supplement Facts" label and ingredient list and content are accurate.   And guess what?  They frequently are incorrect!

To ensure you are getting what you think you are getting (and what is labeled) look for the third party testing seals of approval.   A few more noted sources of third party testing/seals are:   

    ConsumerLab.com  : http://www.consumerlab.com/seal.asp

    NSF International  : http://www.nsf.org/business/dietary_supplements/index.asp?program=DietarySups

    U.S. Pharmacopeia  : http://www.usp.org/USPVerified/dietarySupplements/

Examples of brands that seem to be accurately representing their product are NOW and Nature’s Herbs brands.  They have many dietary supplements on the market.  They post on their website as well as their products all of their 3rd party certifications and approvals.

Be informed and make sure you are getting the potency and ingredients you think you are purchasing.

Stay tuned……….