26 Oct Quality Supplements
Not all supplements are created equal.
Often patients are taking supplements that do not offer therapeutic results, and are self-prescribing – with supermarket brands
Quality supplements are more expensive because they are formulated with specific ingredients to target specific conditions.
At NatMed we only use evidence based CAM products that are Pharmaceutical grade.
Many retail brands contain “fillers “and adulterated nonspecific herbal medicines. In fact often times a herb bought at retail level may not even be the same genus as on the label.
Excipients are inactive ingredients which are added to supplements to help with manufacturing and stabilization.
Fillers are mainly used as bulking agents, to add substance or fill a capsule where the actives do not or to improve the manufacture process. These are often not required to be TGA listed or tested.
Common fillers include starch, calcium, salts, and sugars like lactose, silicon dioxide and magnesium stearate.
We also believe in “open book” transparency, and that you deserve to know everything that goes into your body.
Not all supplement companies list inactive ingredients on their product labels –
We work with sustainably community minded companies who supply herbal medicine sourced from all over the world. Whose mission statement mirrors our values
“Wherever possible we aim to source organically grown and wildcrafted herbs, and work with growers to help cultivate endangered species, for example Golden Seal we also source herbs from overseas where the climatic conditions and specific handling requirements are the optimum, for example Devil’s Claw from the Kalahari Desert and Cat’s Claw from Peru. It is particularly important for these indigenous communities who depend on the income of the herb crops for their wellbeing that they understand the quality issues and how best to grow or sustainably harvest the herb” Mediherb liquids.
It is essential that the herbs go through an identity and purity check as often herbs are adulterated in medicines from unscrupulous companies where inferior products which may have detrimental side effects are being used
Quality assurance testing includes:
- Colour
- Aroma
- Texture
- Content of specified actives
- Thin Layer Chromatography fingerprinting
- Microbial levels
- Amount of extraneous matter
- Pesticides and herbicides
- Heavy metals
- Aflatoxins
- Radiation levels
- Chromographic testing for genus and standardization of active compounds in herbs.
Testing regimes guard against
- Substitution of species: one herb may be substituted for another less costly herb.
- Adulteration of herbs: a high quality and expensive herb may have a cheaper herb or even a pharmaceutical mixed in with it.
- Poor quality of herbs: herbs can vary enormously in quality and this means the effect patients feel, can vary enormously.
An example of the difference, between quality brands and inferior supplements is seen in the ever-popular omega 3 fish oils, one of the most evidence-based Natural Medicines in existence.
We only stock a range of sustainable fresh, purified and concentrated fish oil capsules and liquids, which are manufactured using sophisticated technology, to produce a finished product that exceeds industry quality standards which follows;
- Sustainable- eco-friendly fishing practices
- Clean small cold-water fish – lower levels of heavy metals and pesticides, put through a further purification process to remove any other remaining contaminants
- Concentrated increased content of specific DHA, EPA fatty acids, for high strength and potency
- Fresh – TGA approved,
- Minimum exposure to light, air and heat, protection against oxidization
- Nitrogen flushed – nitrogen displaces oxygen – removing deterioration over time
- Extensively tested- to ensure freshness, purity, concentration for therapeutic results, removal of plasticisers (phthalates), non-GMO, purification of 200+ pesticides
The message is not all supplements are created equal.
Reputable Qualified Naturopaths dispense, and prescribe quality products
If you would like to further discuss quality supplements or which ones you should be taking, contact us at 9339 1999 to book a free 15-minute scoping session on how we can help you.
