Poor bioavailability

Individual nutrients are available in different forms which vastly affect the rate at which they are absorbed.  A good example is iron, recommended by doctors and pharmacists in the ferrous sulphate form.  It’s poorly absorbed in the intestines, leading to constipation and other bowel symptoms.  Iron in the form of amino acid chelate is a superior form which will prevent the occurrence of these symptoms.  Calcium and magnesium are two further minerals that are often available in inferior forms that provide very little health benefit.  Caltrate is calcium carbonate (essentially limestone) which can settle in the kidneys and gallbladder and form stones!

Strength may in fact be weakness

I recall a patient telling me she was taking 1000mg of magnesium per day – that’s huge!  The listed ingredients revealed a mere 91mg of elemental magnesium per day – far short of the amount she required. Especially true for many of the cheaper brands, the nutrient levels are often too low to have any therapeutic effect.

Challenging the label

When you pick up a supplement you would assume that what is printed on the label is in the bottle and that the ingredients have been tested for purity and quality.  Unfortunately, this is not always so.  There have been many cases of adulteration – the practice of substituting with a cheaper ingredient to drive up profit or due to a case of misidentification of the plant due to inadequate testing.

This has occurred in the food industry with olive oil that has been adulterated with the addition of cheaper oils such as canola oil and soybean oil.  In natural medicine, this is an abhorrent practice as it shows complete lack of regard for the patient in need of a therapeutic outcome.

Golden seal (Hydrastis canadensis) is an expensive herb to source due to the difficulty in its cultivation.  Golden seal is known for its yellow colour due to the berberine content and has been known to be substituted with other berberine containing herbs that are much easier to grow.  Although these other herbs have a valuable place in herbal practice, they are missing the active ingredient hydrastine that provides antimicrobial activity.

The manufacturers I source from undertake comprehensive testing on the raw herbal material to detect adulteration and the presence of the correct active ingredients to ensure the best therapeutic outcomes.

The little things

Excipients are supposed to be non-reactive substances, included to stabilise and bulk up tablets and capsules.  Some of these excipients contain allergenic substances such as lactose and/or gluten which can be counter-productive to treatment aims.

Oils aint oils

If something appears too good to be true, then it probably is.  This is certainly the case with many fish oils on the market, like deals that offer 1000 fish oils capsules for $30 or similar.  A 2015 report concluded that a massive 92% of fish oils did not meet the Global Organisation for EPA & DHA (GOED) international standards.  Good quality fish oils are free from contaminants such as mercury and have good levels of EPA and DHA.  Reputable manufacturers will independently test for these criteria and ensure stability to avoid oxidisation that causes oils to become harmful.

The take home from this information is to make sure you consult a qualified Naturopath to ensure you are getting the most suited and best quality natural health supplements for your body.

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Rhodiola is grown in high altitudes in the arctic areas of Asia and Eastern Europe. It’s an adaptogenic herb which means that it can help the body adapt to physical, mental and emotional stress. The Vikings used it to enhance physical strength and the Sherpas used it for high altitude climbing on Mt Everest. Its versatility also sees it being used as an antioxidant, for immune deficiency and as an anti-inflammatory.

Rhodiola is one of the most studied herbs. In one double-blind, placebo-controlled study, adults suffering from fatigue and stress that had been present for at least 6 months were randomly allocated either Rhodiola or placebo for 28 days. Those taking Rhodiola reported greater improvements in “burnout” and overall quality of life. They also experienced improved attention and concentration of a computer based test. And there’s more studies like this one, dishing up robust, positive support for this amazing herb.

It’s important to remember that with all natural medicines including herbs, quality matters. The quality and efficacy of herbal medicine is dependent on the content of the active ingredient, where it was grown, the season and weather conditions in which it was harvested and how it was extracted from the raw material and bottled ready for dosing. More often than not with natural medicine, it is often a case of you get what you pay for. Seeking advice from a qualified practitioner naturopath will ensure you are prescribed quality medicines that are safe for you and tailored to your specific health needs.

Reference: Olsson, E.M.G., et al. (2009) A randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group study of the standardised extract SHR-5 of the roots of Rhodiola rosea in the treatment of subjects with stress-related fatigue. Planta Med, 75, 105-112.

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