Choosing Quality Supplements

Choosing Quality Supplements

Purchasing Supplements: Are You Saving Money At The Expense Of Your Heath?

April Lam MSN, FNP-C

As Americans we’re known for our bargain hunting and Black Friday specials. With advancing e-commerce we can save more time and money by getting items same or next day online, and our “Big Box Stores” like Costco and Walmart make every day items affordable and accessible. 

But when does saving a few dollars or getting an item delivered same day come with unforeseen expenses? 

Supplements or Nutraceuticals are a great example of when bargain price doesn’t always equal the best deal. There’s a vast difference between the Omega 3 Fish Oil you pick up at Costco and what’s available at Keystone Natural Family Medicine. A number of studies published over the past three decades have found that a substantial portion of dietary supplements containing EPA and DHA on the market contain lower amounts of those components than what are stated on the label (Bannenberg et al., 2020). 

Rest assured all of the supplements offered at Keystone Natural Family Medicine are thoroughly vetted and meet strict pharmaceutical grade standards which include: 

• Accurate label claims
• cGMP auditing & certifications
• FDA inspections
• Finished goods quality testing practices
• Label and facility testing
• Quality assurance policies and processes
• Raw ingredient information
• Testing for adulterants and contaminants (e.g., heavy metals, chemicals, pesticides) (Full Script, 2021)

This is important because quality control and pharmaceutical grade standards ensures consistency with supplements/nutracuticals which improve bioavailability. Bioavailability of nutraceuticals are determined by their physicochemical characteristics, such as the physical state, chemical structure, solubility, and lipophilicity of ingredients (Dima et al., 2020). These factors can make the difference in both consistency of results and improvement of wellbeing. 

This is why it is important to discuss supplement options and formulate an individualized treatment plan with your Provider at Keystone Natural Family Medicine. Our Providers are speciality trained and here for you to discuss, recommend and provide supplements that meet the highest quality standards at an affordable price to support your wellness journey. You can purchase supplements in office as well as online www.keystonemedicine.com and click on “store”.

References

Bannenberg, G., Rice, H. B., Bernasconi, A., Ferrari, A., Mallon, C., Navarrete, L., Hughes, R., Igarashi, J., Persons, K., Latynski, L., Phung, A., Wang, S., & Ismail, A. (2020, January 28). Ingredient label claim compliance and oxidative quality of EPA/DHA omega-3 retail products in the U.S. Journal of Food Composition and Analysis. Retrieved November 5, 2021, from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0889157519305137. 

Dima, C., Assadpour, E., Dima, S., & Jafari, S. M. (2020, March 4). Bioavailability of nutraceuticals: Role of the Food Matrix, processing conditions, the gastrointestinal tract, and nanodelivery systems. Institute of Food Technologists. Retrieved November 5, 2021, from https://ift.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/1541-4337.12547. 

Full Script. (2021, October 18). Quality assurance at fullscript: New supplement brands & product handling. Fullscript. Retrieved November 5, 2021, from https://fullscript.com/blog/fullscript-quality-assurance.