What I Look for in a Nutritional Supplement by Dr. Pamela Frank, BSc (Hons), ND

Research, Research, Research – You want the ingredients in a product to be well researched for safety and effectiveness.  But you also want to know has the company done actual research on their own product to ensure that it does what it is supposed to do?  Usually manufacturers will research an ingredient, find a supplier throw it in their supplement and then hope for the best.  Unfortunately, the ingredient often doesn’t perform as it should due to poor quality, poor extraction methods or being in insufficient quantities. Product research provides some sense of security that an ingredient that has been shown to function a certain way in a lab actually does in this specific product. Often products that are well researched cost more, but it’s worth the reassurance that the product is actually going to do something.

Standardization – Herbs will often vary widely in their chemical composition.  If there is a particular component that we know to be the active ingredient, the herb should be standardized to that active ingredient to ensure consistent results.

Quality ingredients – It’s usually very easy to spot a poorly made multivitamin for example.  All you need to do is check the forms of calcium and magnesium used.  If it’s calcium carbonate and/or magnesium oxide, it’s not a good quality supplement.  These are cheap and poorly absorbed forms of these minerals.  Calcium should be at least partially in the citrate form as should the magnesium. 

Adequate Quantities – Sometimes manufacturers look to impress consumers by the vast number of ingredients in their product.  If any one ingredient is not in sufficient quantity to affect any kind of improvement or change, what’s the point? 

The Right Medium – In most instances herbs work better in an alcohol based tincture.  Consumers generally prefer tablets or capsules for convenience and taste, but the herb usually does work better in the alcohol form. The only exception I find to that is with MediHerb products, their tablets work just as well as tinctures do.

What Are You Treating? – I find that throwing in a whole bunch of stuff in the hopes that the body will sort out what you need and what you don’t is an ineffective means of fixing health problems.  For the same reason, multivitamins don’t usually reverse a health problem.  They are great for prevention, but not so much for treatment.  I much prefer to target treatment programs to what actually appears to be deficient.  It’s a much more efficient way of fixing the problem.