Navigating Your Way Though the Herbal Supplement Industry
Herbal supplements are more accessible than ever before; in your local pharmacy, grocery mart, and even health food store. There are over 1,000 companies manufacturing plant products all claiming to support you in your health. Unfortunately, in the United States, herbal supplements are regulated by the FDA with the same lax scrutiny used to regulate the food system. What this means for the consumer is that the label doesn’t always match the contents. The World Health Organization has made a claim that herbal products are now a threat to consumer safety. Because clinical trials are not required for food products, oftentimes supplement manufactures can get away with diluting or replacing entirely the marketed product with cheap filler ingredients like powdered rice, wheat and soybeans.
Professional-grade supplements are the only herbal supplements which follow the guidelines for pharmaceutical manufacturing. Pharmaceutical-grade supplements are tested for purity, contaminants and guaranteed to be free of allergens and hidden ingredients. In addition to receiving exactly what is on the label, professional-grade products are often combined with synergistic compounds to increase the bio-availability, or percentage of substance that is absorbed and circulated in the body having an active effect.
Because professional grade supplements cannot be sold over the counter, the best way to access them is through a prescription from your Naturopath, Acupuncturist, or Integrative Doctor. Let us know if you would like a prescription or access to our -online pharmacy.
http://bmcmedicine.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1741-7015-11-222