Dr. Jared Hanson, ND, LAc
Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine, Licensed Acupuncturist

50 Lexington Avenue, #LL2, New York, NY     tel: 917-607-5035     e-mail: drjaredhanson@gmail.com


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January Newsletter: How to choose good quality nutritional supplements

Over one-third of Americans take nutritional supplements in an effort to maintain or improve their health. Supplements are now readily available, not only at health food stores and specialty shops, but at every drug store, supermarket and sometimes even delis. It is important for consumers to appreciate however, that the quality of dietary supplements makes a huge difference in their effectiveness. Many people are taking several supplements and yet they don't feel any different. You should feel better from the supplements you take. If you don't, you either don't need them or they are of poor quality. How then do you choose the best quality from the wide array of available brands? Here are some general guidelines:

Capsules are preferable to tablets. Manufacturers use tablets because they can fit more in each pill, but they do this by binding everything together with wax-like substances (usually stearic acid or magnesium stearate) which make it difficult to absorb anything from them. In many people tablets actually pass through the digestive system completely unchanged, which means you didn't receive any benefit from taking them. The one drawback to capsules is that you will have to take more to get the same amount of nutrients. Liquids or powders are even better than capsules but many supplements taste awful this way, so liquid forms are not always available for every supplement.

Avoid generic brands. Drugstores and supermarkets buy prepackaged supplements and have their labels attached. The manufacturers of the prepackaged supplements buy the individual ingredients wholesale and then combine them. Throughout this process, there is no quality control: the manufacturer trusts the wholesaler, the retailer trusts the manufacturer and the consumer trusts the retailer. No one knows for sure if what is on the label is in fact in the bottle. Reputable brands of supplements analyze each batch of a supplement and can provide customers with certificates of analysis. This quality control accounts for a portion of the higher cost of premium supplements.

Never buy a product that lists a “Proprietary Formula” on the ingredients. By claiming that a formula is proprietary, companies are allowed to list only the names of ingredients and the total quantity of all the ingredients combined. This way they avoid listing the individual quantities of each ingredient. Therefore, in any given _proprietary formula_, the vast majority will be composed of the cheapest ingredient while an inconsequential amount of the rest of the ingredients (usually well-known but more expensive) is added to make the product sound impressive.

Some forms of nutrients are more effective than others. Manufacturers often use the cheapest form of a nutrient in their products. Calcium supplements are usually in the form of calcium carbonate. The calcium in calcium carbonate however is not very absorbable. Look for calcium citrate or calcium malate, these have been shown to be much more absorbable. Similarly, look for magnesium citrate rather than magnesium oxide. Iron supplements usually contain ferrous sulfate. Instead, look for ferrous bis-glycinate or aspartate. Echinacea is a popular immune-boosting herb. Unfortunately, most Echinacea products use the leaves and flowers of the species Echinacea purpurea, which have been shown to have little immune stimulating property, rather than the root of Echinacea angustifolia, which contains the immune stimulating properties that made Echinacea famous.

Look out for multivitamins that provide 100% of the daily value of everything. While this is a good rule for minerals like iron, calcium and zinc, recommended values for vitamins such as vitamin C or B12 are usually much too low for ideal therapeutic results.

Whenever possible try to buy domestically produced herbal supplements, many herbal formulas from overseas have been found to contain high levels of lead or mercury.

When buying probiotics, buy brands that have been refrigerated. This keeps the microorganisms alive, dead probiotics are useless.

Look for the GMP insignia. This stands for good manufacturing practices and guarantees that the manufacturers meet certain FDA standards.

With nutritional supplements you usually get what you pay for. The drugstore brands are cheapest but least effective. In my opinion, a multivitamin is a good idea for almost everyone. Most people would also benefit from probiotics and an omega-3 supplement such as fish or flax oil. For supplementation beyond this or for specific conditions, the best thing to do is to consult with a naturopathic doctor or other healthcare professional who has extensive training in the use of nutrition. The best quality nutritional supplements are usually only available through healthcare professionals such as a naturopathic doctor or nutritionist.




To schedule an appointment, or to get on my newsletter mailing list, e-mail drjaredhanson@gmail.com or call 917-607-5035.