Buyer BeAware

 

The global nutritional supplements market size was valued at over $310 billion in 2020 and is expected to expand by 6.2% annually from 2021 to 2028. Over 70% of Americans are regular users of dietary supplements. Some of these are useful, many of them are not. And many are not even what you think they are. If you use or plan to use supplements, here are some things you should keep in mind in order to be a savvy consumer.

If you buy or are shopping for supplements, know first that the US FDA does not verify in any way that a supplement actually contains what its label claims it does. Numerous store brand supplements aren't what their labels claim to be. An investigation led by New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman determined that only 21 percent of the products on the shelves of retailers such as GNC, Target, Walmart and Walgreen actually contained what was advertised on the labels. Tests by Consumer Reports found that supplements are not uncommonly contaminated with lead and bacteria.

The best defense is to look for products that have been tested by a reputable third party - ConsumerLab, NSF International, Underwriters Laboratory (UL) and US Pharmacopeia are all reliable independent testers. Such a seal does not necessarily mean that a product is safe to use or that is does what it claims to do. But you at least have some assurance that what you are buying is what you are getting.

Remember that quality is not free. Shopping by price alone is generally not a good idea. That is not to say that the most expensive products are always the best but the cheapest products almost certainly are not. A little bit of on online research into the company producing a product is also a good idea.

Supplements can indeed be helpful in ensuring that you are getting the complete nutrition that you need. But they rarely "cure" anything and are "buyer beware" products. A good guideline is that if a product claim sounds too good to be true, it probably is.