A-Fib Patients Ask: Which Brands of Vitamins and Minerals Can I Trust?

Supplements, minerals and vitamins are of interest to many A-Fib patients and are often discussed on this website. So, I wasn’t surprised when I received an email from Seila J. with this excellent question about purchasing supplements.

 “I don’t know what brand of vitamins and minerals to take. Is there a type of organization that inspects them and puts it on the label?”

In general, don’t look for much help from the U. S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). In the U.S. the FDA does not regulate natural products or supplements but does require that supplements be produced in a quality manner and ensure that they do not contain contaminants or impurities and are accurately labeled. Supplements are not allowed to be marketed for the purpose of treating, diagnosing, preventing, or curing diseases.

In the European Union, food supplements are regulated as foods. Learn more at the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). In Canada, see the Natural Health Product Regulation. In Australia, see the Therapeutic Goods Regulations 1990.

Independent Organizations Test and Certify Supplement Brands

In the U.S., there are several independent organizations that test branded supplements. Supplement manufacturers pay, on a voluntary basis, to get their supplements tested and certified (many supplement brands don’t participate so don’t carry any of these test lab seals).

The purpose of testing is to verify that the product contains the amount of the ingredient(s) advertised on the label and that it isn’t contaminated with dangerous substances, such as arsenic, bacteria, or lead.

ConsumerLab.com

ConsumerLab.com (CL) is a leading provider of independent test results and information to help identify the best quality health and nutrition products. CL has tested more than 5,600 products, representing over 850 different brands and nearly every type of popular supplement. Look for specific CL Seals to identify products that have met ConsumerLab.com standards.

CL tests products purchased from retail stores (not products supplied by the manufacturer/distributor). For the full list, see Brands Reviewed and Tested at ConsumerLabs.com.

ConsumerLab.com is probably the most useful site for the average consumer. Though not every product produced by a specific brand has been tested and approved, the following brands are judged reliable and good choices when selecting a supplement. This is a partial list of the brands ConsumerLab has tested and rated:

Doctor’s Best, Dr. Sears, Dr. Whitaker, Garden of Life, iHerb, Integrative Therapeutics, Jarrow Formulas, Julian Whitaker, Life Extension, Metagenics, Natrol, Natural Factors, Nature Made, Now Foods, NutriCology, Nutritional Science, One-A-Day, Optimum Nutrition, Ortho Molecular Products, Perque, Physiologics, Pure Encapsulations, Puritan’s Pride, ReMag, Solaray, Source Naturals, Swanson, Thorne Research, TwinLab, VitaCost, Vitamin Shoppe.

Private brands: ConsumerLab also lists retail companies which sell supplements under their house or private brand including:

Albertsons, Costco, CVS, GNC, Herbalife, Kirkland, Kroger, Rexall, Target, Trader Joe’s, Walgreens, WalMart.

The Value of ConsumerLab.com Membership: There is much free information on the ConsumerLab.com website. But to access the comprehensive testing reports, ConsumerLab offers membership that gives you instant access to comprehensive, unbiased testing reports including quality ratings and CL’s Top Picks. (Testing reports contain information you can’t find anywhere else). Cost: $42/year or $69/2 years. Go to membership page.

Other Testing Organizations

US Pharmacopeia (USP) tests and certifies products provided by the manufacturer. They currently have certified only over 100 products which can be found on the USP website. Most products are from NatureMade and Kirkland Signature.

NSF International is an independent, accredited organization that tests and certifies products and writes standards for the food, water and consumer goods industries. Products that earn NSF certification will display “NSF certified” or “NSF listed”.

NSF Certification helps confirm that what’s on the label is in the product and that the product contains no unsafe levels of contaminants such as heavy metals, pesticides and herbicides. Certified For Sports products have also been tested for banned substances, which is particularly important for college and professional athletes.

The NSF search engine can be checked to see if a particular product is NSF certified. (I wasn’t able to find many products with NSF certification.)

Bottom Line About Brands

To select a brand of reliable supplement with the ingredient(s) and amounts as advertised on the label and not contaminated with dangerous substances, your best resource may be the Brands Reviewed and Tested at ConsumerLabs.com. (Read more at ConsumerLab Brands.)

Bonus: Recommended Sources for Reliable Info on Vitamins and Supplements

The three directories we recommend don’t sell supplements (or anything else). They just offer information on vitamins, herbs, natural products and supplements.

In our review of each database, we’ve included a screen shot and a link to our test search. To read our recommendations, go to: Our Top 3 Sources for Reliable, Unbiased Info on Vitamins and Supplements References