30 Questions to Find the
Best Dietary Supplement Company
Is there a best dietary supplement company?
This is the same question that I asked. When you’re looking for natural supplements for pain relief or other health issues, how do you know which brands are best?
There are so many and they all sound good--how can you be certain? Science behind the product is an important factor, but not more important than safety and efficacy.
When it comes to our health, we want to be sure we’re taking safe, high quality natural products that work in our bodies and aren't a waste of money. My husband and I have great confidence in the "company with a conscience", a leading dietary supplement company our research to which our research led us.
There is no industry regulation for product efficacy
Did you know a dietary supplement company is not required to do pre-market clinical testing for product efficacy?
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requires efficacy for pharmaceutical drugs, but not for supplements--they're classified as foods, not as drugs. There is no requirement whatsoever that a dietary supplement undergo clinical testing or trials to prove effectiveness before it's marketed. The FDA doesn't even see or examine the product!
Even the current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMP) announced by the FDA in 2007 lack the teeth to require manufacturers to prove that their natural products work.
I find it puzzling that the FDA legislates each industry so differently. After all, natural supplements are used by people to treat identical health conditions doctors prescribe pharmaceutical drugs for (arthritis pain relief, by example).
Beware the advertizing hype of dietary supplements
In 2017, an estimated 1,500 domestic and foreign companies registered with the FDA to make and sell dietary supplements to 200 million users in the United States, according to the interim FDA Commissioner, Dr. Stephen Ostroff. The vast majority of these manufacturers are classified by the FDA as "very small" (having less than 20 employees).
If you owned a very small dietary supplement company and were not required to prove the effectiveness of your product, what would you do? Would you go to the added expense of clinically testing your product's effectiveness if it's not required? Typically, the answer is "no".
And that, ladies and gentlemen, is the root of the industry's problem. That's why the old adage "you get what you pay for" is applicable perhaps more in the dietary supplement industry than most others.
You can find product efficacy in a dietary supplement company
Finding the number one natural nutrition company was as easy as finding one of the industry's oldest companies (Shaklee, 1956). They have the largest staff of scientists (75) and the most peer-reviewed published research (100+) and 135 other published papers. They are not just organic, they go beyond organic, conducting more than 100,000 quality tests on their ingredients each year. Most important, even though they're not required to do so, they make pharmaceutical grade products that are guaranteed to work.
When a product’s efficacy is proven, the science behind its formulation is the reason. Therefore, natural supplement companies that build products from a strong science base will likely also market the most efficacious products.
I believe that if you find the best dietary supplement company you’ll also find they manufacture the best supplements on the market.
30 standards of excellence questions
I’ve developed a list of 30 questions to determine what standards of excellence you should expect when choosing a natural or herbal supplement company. If the company you’re using (or thinking about using) doesn’t measure up with “yes” answers to all 30 questions, you haven’t found the best supplement manufacturer and probably not the best natural products.
Here is my list of 30 questions to try to find the most trusted dietary supplement company:
- Has the company been in business as many as fifty-years or more?
- Do they manufacture according to GMP or Good Manufacturing Practices (which the FDA requires for pharmaceutical companies, but doesn’t require for dietary supplement companies)?
- Are they beyond organic and insist that all of their products are manufactured as pharmaceutical grade supplements?
- Do they do clinical studies before they market a new product?
- Do they proudly make their clinical studies available online and in their product catalog?
- Do they have independent, double-blind, placebo-controlled studies by their own research staff that are published in peer-reviewed scientific medical journals?
- Do they have over 100 of these studies published to date?
- Do they have a clinical “landmark study” based on blood samples of their consumers (20 years or more of using their products) that’s published in a scientific journal proving safety and markedly better health bio-markers of long-term use of their nutritional products?
- Do they have a telomore clinical study proving from blood tests their nutritional product consumers have healthier cells that demonstrate a relationship to better health and to a long, healthy life?
- Do they have a ten to twelve million dollar annual research and development budget?
- Do they have seventy scientists on full time staff?
- Do they have and consult with a Scientific Advisory Board when developing new products and does the board consist of some of the top scientists in their field in the world?
- Do they only design products that emphasize good, solid science?
- Have they never had a product recalled by the FDA because of health and safety issues with the ingredients?
- Do they have a commitment to only make products with proven benefit and can do no human harm?
- Do they use a product design philosophy that emphasizes the Golden Rule?
- Do they make their products as natural as possible?
- Do they have such a high commitment to quality that they conduct over 100,000 quality tests every year to guarantee purity and safety of their formulations that is beyond any dietary supplement standard in the world?
- Do they conduct over 349 quality tests on one product alone (their signature multivitamin multimineral supplement)?
- Do they only make products that are friendly to the environment without containing phosphates, borates, nitrates or other substances harmful to the earth?
- Do they have a long list of ingredients that they won't use, even though their competitors do?
- Does the list include all artificial ingredients they refuse to use?
- Does the list also include some natural ingredients they refuse to use because of future safety concerns?
- Do they allow a concept to die on the drawing board, rather than to force a competitive product into the marketplace without scientific proof through clinical studies that the formulation works?
- Do they pride themselves on being able to go from concept to finished product in six weeks or less, or do they take their time in conducting a thorough and indeterminate-length literature review for both safety and efficacy? Of course, you want the latter.
- Do they have a scientific design process for new products?
- Do they not conduct animal testing?
- Do they guarantee each and every product they manufacture and is it a 100% money-back guarantee if not fully satisfied?
- Do they have the reputation as the #1 natural nutrition company in the U.S.?
- Are they the first company in the world to obtain Climate Neutral™ certification and totally offset its CO2 emissions resulting in a net zero impact on the environment?
One dietary supplement company answers YES to all 30 questions
Whether you’re looking for the best supplement brands or the best dietary supplement company, the 30 questions above should help you find the leader in the dietary supplement industry.
Over the years, I’ve found only the Shaklee Corporation that meets all standards of excellence. For me, this qualifies them as the best dietary supplement company.
In 2003, they developed a trio of natural joint pain products that I recommend based on personal use.
Click the following link for background information on the three natural pain products helpful for relief of arthritis symptoms:
Dietary Supplement Company Disclaimer: Health statements on this dietary supplement company page have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease
Find Best Supplements. How to find the best natural health products as not all dietary supplements are equal. Herbs and other natural substances are useful for arthritis if used wisely, per The Arthritis Organization. Click here for more information
CGMP Current Good Manufacturing Practices. New cGMP regulations bring more strict control on quality and safety of dietary supplement industry, but some lament there’s no requirement for product efficacy. New rules fully phased in by June, 2010. “Buyer beware” remains the watchword. Click here for more on the industry and latest regulations
Osteoarthritis Relief. Osteoarthritis is the most common type of arthritis. It affects joints of the knees, hips, fingers, lower spine and neck. Click here for more on osteoarthritis
Rheumatoid Arthritis Relief. Many of the natural or herbal supplements for osteoarthritis are also recommended for rheumatoid arthritis. Click here for RA natural treatment options
Herbal Pain Relief. Herbal pain relief supplements are popular complementary or alternative treatments used effectively for all symptoms of various types of arthritis. Click here for more on herbal pain relief.
Arthritis Products. Three safe natural products scientifically designed to fight pain and reduce dependency on pharmaceutical medicines. Each is unique for rapid relief and joint health...Click here for details
Joint Pain Relief. Wouldn't it be great if you could have a drug-free future with no harmful side effects and have complete control over your joint pain? It's not a dream--all of this is.... Click here for more on natural joint pain relief
Glucosamine Hydrochloride. The first authentic natural helper to appear in arthritis treatment in years. As a nutritional supplement it’s thought to help repair damaged cartilage. Click here for more on glucosamine
Fish Oil. Studies validate that fish oil supplements reduce joint inflammation in rheumatoid arthritis and other arthritis types. Fish oil contains omega-3 fatty acids, EPA and DHA. Click here for more information
Borage oil - GLA. Several studies confirm borage oil GLA, an omega 6 fatty acid, as an effective treatment for joint pain, stiffness and grip strength in RA patients, with few side effects. Click here for details
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