August 7, 2017
Why Everyone Should Be Using Pharmaceutical Grade Supplements
Vitamins and supplements can be a hugely beneficial and convenient way to get necessary nutrients that you may be lacking or not otherwise easily get in your daily nutrition. But, as we have often seen, not all supplements are created equal. In fact, many studies have found that what you think you are getting in your supplements may not be what you are actually getting in your supplements. The New York Times points to some startling research about what is contained in many over-the-counter supplements commonly found in big box stores, “Americans spend an estimated $5 billion a year on unproven herbal supplements that promise everything from fighting off colds to curbing hot flashes and boosting memory. But now there is a new reason for supplement buyers to beware: DNA tests show that many pills labeled as healing herbs are little more than powdered rice and weeds. Using a test called DNA barcoding, a kind of genetic fingerprinting that has also been used to help uncover labeling fraud in the commercial seafood industry, Canadian researchers tested 44 bottles of popular supplements sold by 12 companies. They found that many were not what they claimed to be, and that pills labeled as popular herbs were often diluted — or replaced entirely — by cheap fillers like soybean, wheat and rice… Shelly Burgess, a spokeswoman for the F.D.A., said that companies were required to adhere to a set of good manufacturing practices designed to prevent adulteration, but that many were ignoring the rules. ‘Unfortunately, we are seeing a very high percentage — approximately 70 percent — of firms’ noncompliance,’ she said, ‘and we are very active in taking enforcement actions against such violations.”
Unlike many over-the-counter brands of nutritional supplements and vitamins, pharmaceutical grade supplements have a higher and more pure concentration and do not have the same “fillers” that other supplements have. Further, many over-the-counter nutritional supplements contain the cheaper, less effective version of the ingredient they claim to have. In many cases, those cheaper versions of the ingredient are not as easily or effectively absorbed, making them virtually useless. Pharmaceutical grade supplements contain higher quality ingredients that are better absorbed in the quantity that you need. Though pharmaceutical grade supplements may be a bit more expensive than cheap, over-the-counter supplements, you actually get what you pay for. Often, taking those other brands that you can buy at the big box store is essentially like flushing your money down the toilet but pharmaceutical grade supplements will actually support your health and wellbeing. There may be serious health hazards or dangers hidden in the common fillers that are in most over-the-counter supplements. But, with pharmaceutical grade supplements provided by DC Ranch Family Medicine, you can rest assured that what you are getting is what is on the label.
