In my profession, I have opportunities to interact with a crowd that usually goes unnoticed: the raw ingredients/material manufacturers & suppliers of our supplement and beauty industry. Until you actually have the chance to talk to someone in that field, it’s a job that’s given little thought, one that’s behind the scenes. We have a tendency to trust what we don’t see – a strange human phenomenon – like sitting in a chair without a clue of its stability or the manufacturer’s quality control. It’s just there and those people that make chairs must know what they’re doing, so we believe…
As a former natural foods/beauty store manager & buyer, always a consumer and in recent years a public advocate for health and wellness, it is always a fascinating experience to meet with the companies, individuals and resources that are behind the scenes in supplementation. In hope of attaining even more healthy living tips, I recently attended a national expo where many of the raw ingredient distributors were on display.
What I noticed while walking the isles & taking in the vast amount of herbs, vitamins, gel caps and powders is an industry like most others in the world – a garden of good & evil. The suppliers of raw materials that make-up your supplements and OTC’s provide amazing products that are pure and potent, matched with a technology that utilizes their fullest potential. AND, there are companies that are full of inconsistencies and corporate structures trying to plump up the pockets of their execs at the expense of product integrity, and your health.
So, how can we be sure what we are taking is actually healthy and not just a chemically derived substance produced to mask as a “natural ingredient” that may be harmful to our health? It’s difficult, but with research, can be done.
We live in a nation that distributes supplements freely – a positive and a negative – so all ingredients do not have to be listed, noted or approved by a governing agent. Anyone can formulate a product, most anything goes (with the exception of a few banned substances) and there’s not a national watchdog with any great authority on behalf of the consumer, unless of course you’re a highly visible athlete and have irregular testings. Clearly, it’s up to you to be the gate-keeper of what goes into your body.
With research, most substances on supplement labels have a name that will register somewhere on the internet with a definition, link-to or English name for the Latin or otherwise listed. However, some companies use a “proprietary blend” of which the ingredients don’t have to be revealed. You’ll often see this in herbal formulas, sports supplements and energy or weight-loss products. In my opinion, I would steer clear of such concoctions. If a company can’t disclose exactly what is in their product, why should you trust them? Any supplement I take I know not only the specific ingredients, but usually the background of the company itself.
It can be hard to catch some of the long, multi-hyphenated compounds or amino acids complexes, but you should be able to find at least the main part of the ingredient and what it does, its history, reactions, uses, etc, on the web or in reference. If not, it may likely be a chemically modified substance that may or may not be safe to put into your body.
For a synergistic, effective product that works with the body, I recommend food-based supplements. The technology we have allows for our food sources to be dried, extracted, powdered and combined in a way that provides a safe and reliable product – one that is in greater harmony with the natural chemistry of our bodies. There are some amazing supplement formulas that contain full disclosure, real food ingredients and you will get the right amount of nutrients your body needs with proper dose.
I love the natural food and supplement industry, but no industry is perfect. Just because a bottle looks inviting and prints words like “All Natural” or “Cold Relief with Echinacea” does not mean that someone that resembles your grandmother is in a large kitchen concocting beautiful, natural ingredients and fancily labeling them with love. You have to use discernment, do your research and see if what you are ingesting is actually beneficial to your health or just a chemical agent that will line the pockets of some obscure CEO of a “dietary supplement company.”