By THE NUTRITION TWINS FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
Many of our clients confess that they’re supplement junkies.
Taking a vitamin, mineral or herbal concoction every day will supercharge their diet, helping the pounds melt away seamlessly, they tell us.
When they’re not taking them for weight loss, they’re popping the pills in the hope they will have more energy, reduce disease risk or send them to sleep.
Four in five Americans take supplements – and, as a nation, we spend $159billion on the stuff every year.
We’re about to save you a lot of cash – because, providing you’re eating a relatively healthy diet, many of the pills and powders on the market may not make much difference to your health at all.
Well, apart from a few exceptions (one of which we’ll come to later).A recent review of 84 studies by the United States Preventive Services Task Force concluded that supplements and vitamins do nothing to prevent heart disease and cancer.
But if you are going to embark on a regular habit, there are some golden rules you need to follow – as these virtuous-looking bottles are not always risk free.
Supplements are not regulated by the FDA, so vitamin manufacturers don’t need to adhere to strict safety regulations before their products reach the shelves, in the same way medicine does.
Below is our no-nonsense guide to choosing the safest supplements – and one that could well have a transformative effect on your health.
Most of our new clients turn to Amazon for their supplement supply. And our advice is, if it’s coming from a third-party retailer from Amazon, please stop.
The problem with online mega shops like Amazon is that you can never be exactly sure where your vitamins are coming from – even if the bottle looks like it’s coming from a brand you trust, counterfeit products are not uncommon.
Back in December, the FDA issued warning letters to Amazon about several of its supplements containing harmful ingredients that were not printed on the label.
For example, several pills and powders designed for men were found to contain ingredients in erectile dysfunction medications.
MANNERS Energy Boost, Round 2, Genergy, and X Max Triple Shot Energy Honey – were found to contain tadalafil, the active ingredient Cialis – which can cause a dangerous drop in blood pressure in vulnerable people.
Meanwhile, WeFun, Big Guys Male Energy Supplement, and Mens Maximum Energy supplement contained API sildenafil, which is used in Viagra and can interact with other medications, causing serious side effects.
In January, the FDA issued an alarming warning about weight loss supplements from retailers on Amazon and Etsy, which were found to contain yellow oleander – a poisonous plant that can cause potentially fatal heart and brain damage.
If you want to buy a supplement, we recommend getting them directly from the website of the brand you trust, or directly from dietitians, some of whom have a dispensary.
This minimizes the likelihood of products being tainted. Those sold directly from the manufacturer won’t be fake and are more likely to go through better quality control processes.
If you’re unsure about what’s in them or any health claims they’re making, you can ask the company for what’s known as a white paper.
This is a research-based report that details all the information and features about a product – it also provides the scientific evidence the company are basing their claims on and a full ingredients lists.
If the company doesn’t give it to you, it may be a sign to steer clear.