Are Your Supplements Worth the Price You Paid?

Are Your Supplements Worth the Price You Paid?

Not all supplements are created equally. There are generally three FDA grades of nutritional supplements based on the quality of the ingredients they contain.

FEED GRADE:
These are produced for veterinary use.

FOOD GRADE:
These are typically sold in health food stores, retail pharmacies and grocery stores. You cannot rely on these to be quality controlled through testing for absorption, dissolution, purity or potency. Additionally, these supplements do not always have the same concentrations of active ingredients as pharmaceutical grade. Food Grade supplements can have up to 30% impurities, fillers and binders. These can be bleached or radiated to kill any contaminants. Up to 88 different chemicals can be added to these supplements and none of them have to be included on the label. Food Grade supplements are often processed with high heat which is not good for oily supplements.

PHARMACEUTICAL GRADE:
These are the highest quality grade of vitamins and supplements. The purity, dissolution and absorption meet the highest regulatory standards verified by an outside lab. Pharmaceutical Grade supplements must be 98-99% pure, meaning they cannot be full of fillers and binders. To meet Pharmaceutical Grade standards, raw ingredients must be quarantined before production. Pharmaceutical Grade supplements undergo testing at several stages throughout the process for purity and potency and are typically only sold by a licensed health care provider, such as a physician or Compounding Pharmacy.

Some of the most popular Pharmaceutical Grade supplements are:
Metagenics
Thorne Research
Nordic Naturals
Pharmacy Solutions
Protocol
Twin Labs
Xymogen
Enzymatic Therapy
Pure Encapsulations
Gaia Herbs
Designs for Health
Douglas Labs
Integrative Therapeutics
DiVinci Labs
Transformation Enzymes
Master Supplements
Nu Medica

Comments

ABCDEs of Melanoma

Melanoma is one of many types of skin cancer, but it is the most serious type we can develop. It starts in the melanocytes, which are the type of skin cells that produce skin color. However, there are other cells that can develop melanoma, including those in the eyes and internal organs. Risk factors for Melanoma include being someone who: has had exposure to UV rays from the sun and/or tanning beds has a history of sunburns has a lot of moles has fair skin, blue or green eyes, or blonde or red hair has a family history of melanoma has a personal history of melanoma has a weakened immune system from autoimmune disease, another cancer, chronic stress, diabetes, heart disease, etc. is of older age. Most Melanomas are black or brown, but they can also be flesh-colored, pink, red or purple. Men tend to have Melanomas on the trunk. Women tend to have Melanomas on the arms and legs. Check your skin once a month, especially if you had sunburns as a child. If yo...

Breaking Your Sugar Addiction

Confused about Vegetarianism? Here's an easy primer.

A plant-based diet can be an excellent way to reduce your risk of heart disease and many cancers. The vegan diet has been proven to reduce the plaque within the coronary arteries in those who have already developed heart disease. Avoiding animal sources of protein also an excellent way to reduce your carbon footprint and to be kinder to animals. Regardless of your personal philosophy, a plant-based diet is a healthy option. Some choose to avoid all animal sources of food & clothing [vegan] or food only [vegetarian], while others rely on eggs and dairy products for additional protein and convenience [lacto-ovo vegetarians], some include seafood as a source of protein [pescatarian] and others choose to eat the occasional animal proteins when alternatives are unavailable, on special holidays or weekends [flexitarian]. Many people have implemented Meatless Mondays into their households as a way to reduce their intake of a...

Not Just Your Doctor

Search This Blog