Recently, the Ad Standards Council (ASC) issued Circular 2015-006 requiring manufacturers and marketers of dietary supplements to drop the disclaimer “No Approved Therapeutic Claim” from their promotional and sponsorship materials and change it to the more explicit “Mahalagang paalala: Ang (product name) ay hindi gamot at hindi dapat gamiting panggamot sa anumang uri ng sakit.”
While the move is indeed helpful in terms of educating consumers, it is also best that we go beyond product labels and warnings in terms of choosing a particular supplement. Because there are indeed products out there that mean to deceive people who only want to be better. And in the end, we end up wasting our hard-earned money.
But not all brands of supplements deserve bad raps. There are a number of supplements out there that do deliver their promises. Some manufacturers even adhere to the same strict standards as those involved in the production of pharmaceutical drugs when developing supplements to ensure quality and effectiveness.
It just boils down to choosing the right brand. But with an overwhelming selection of supplements available in the market today, doing this could get confusing and difficult. That is why before buying a supplement, it is best to know more about them:
Absorbability and Scientific Basis
Supplements are not magical pills. These are based on a series of credible and reliable scientific studies and research. It requires relevant clinical researches to prove its absorption and other factors such as bioavailability, concentration, in vitro and in vivo effects that significantly affect how a supplement can help your body. These information may help you determine if the formulation is absorbable, enabling the supplement’s optimal efficacy and effect.
Best Liked by Olympians and Athletes
Perhaps it is an unarguable fact that if anybody will fully affirm the effectiveness of a supplement, it will have to be athletes — even Olympians. Supplements refill the nutrients loss during their events and practices thus, most athletes are very careful in choosing the supplements they take so that they are assured that they can perform at their best and optimal ability. But not only do their healths depend on it, but using unreliable and deceitful products can also cost them their careers and credibility.
Certified by the Philippine Food and Drug Administration
As a regulating body in the Philippines, consumers should be taking products that are FDA certified. As a helpful note, you can check if your supplement product of choice is registered by visiting their website, www.fda.gov.ph.
Doctor and Pharmacist Recommended
Doctors and Pharmacists have the power to choose the supplements that suits your needs and most physicians choose a supplement that is absorbable, bioavailable, compatible and has the capability to disintegrate. Always remember, the quality of the supplement is not only dependent on how many content ingredients there is in the bottle, but rather, how much of it was totally used by the body to bridge the nutrient gap.
Evaluated by Third Party Standard Certifiers
It is imperative that supplement manufacturers adhere to third party certification to ensure the quality, purity, and effectiveness of its products. In a nutshell, this is because supplements are certified from food model to pharmaceutical model, which cater Good Manufacturing Practice Certifications. Examples of third party certifiers are the National Sanitation Foundation (NSF); Consumer Lab, the Philippine’s Food and Drug Administration.
FDA Registered Facility
To ensure the effectiveness and stability of your supplements, consumers has to make sure that their supplements are made from an FDA registered facility as they say, good research and even good intentions to give better health products is destroyed by bad manufacturing.
Clearly, we as a society puts health as one of our topmost priorities, just as it should be. And while there are a number of ads and information materials out there, it is up to us to be more vigilant in studying and selecting the supplements that we will need. After all, this is an investment and nobody wants to be shortchanged or even blindsided when it comes to our health.
This article was written by Gen Blasurca, RPh; Corporate Pharmacist, USANA Philippines