DO buy professional-only supplements. DON’T buy grocery store supplements unless you have researched and verified the company’s quality program.
DO buy directly from the manufacturer. Certain professional-only brands have begun selling to consumers. DON’T buy from middle-men in the supply chain; there are more chances for product damage or fraud.
DO look for products manufactured according to FDA’s current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMP), which help ensure safe, clean, careful, and consistent manufacturing. DON’T buy cheap supplements. High-quality supplements cost real money to produce and test. Cheap supplements are likely fake, expired, damaged, or cut.
DO look for products that are manufactured according to U.S. Pharmacopeia (USP) standards. They set purity and identity standards for drugs, food, and supplements.
DO look for supplements that have undergone 3rd party independent testing. Example labs are NSF International, UL, ConsumerLab.com, International Fish Oil Standards Program, and the USP Verified Mark testing program. (Check out How to Read a Label.)
DO research the supplement company. Make sure they are a reputable company with a customer service number. Find out how they verify their purity and quality and if they use 3rd party testing.
DO buy from or through a trusted healthcare practitioner who is knowledgeable about supplement quality. DON’T buy supplements online. Supplements bought on Amazon or eBay can be counterfeit, expired, laced, or damaged.