Supplements & Safety

In recent years, nutritional products and supplements have become increasingly popular. Many companies are promoting their products all over social media, so you are constantly seeing ways to become “healthier”, “stronger”, or another form of these claims.

This may cause one to wonder how to tell if these companies’ claims are truthful? And how to determine if a supplement being advertised by a company or even recommended by a person is a reliable and safe choice?

The following are the best techniques to ensure you choose safe and reliable supplements.

• Talk to a healthcare professional: this can be a doctor, pharmacist, or homeopathic professional who knows and understands the importance of drug interactions and metabolism and can warn you of potential risks to your health if you have questions about a specific product.
• Visit reliable stores or sellers: make sure the sources you choose to purchase supplements or Natural Health Products (NHPs) from are reliable retailers and complete appropriate screening tests before selling a product. It is important to not always trust the site places a specific product because it is not certain if they have completed regulatory testing from the information they choose to provide.
• Avoid buying supplements from certain online sites: brands advertising a specific product may not be trustworthy as they want you to purchase it. They may make the seem like a product is “revolutionary” or a “miracle”, so it is important that you are able to verify these claims and know if it is approved and safe.

• Make sure the healthcare professional consulted is aware of other drugs you are taking to avoid drug-drug interactions.
• Check Health Canada’s Licensed Natural Health Products Database (LNHPD) to verify the authenticity of a product before purchasing and consuming it.
• Make sure to do your own research on ingredients before listening to claims a product is making.
• Report any side effects to Health Canada’s Adverse Reaction Reporting site, this allows for Health Canada to determine which products may need re-testing.
• Pay attention to advisories, warnings, or recalls from government officials or manufacturers.

The “Decoding Your NHP Label” Guide via Healthier by Nature on the right helps break down the important components of an NHP label. Key points include information about dosage, medicinal and active ingredients, and storage information. Also, the 8-digit government-issued “Natural Product Number (NPN)” allows you to search for products or ingredients in Health Canada’s LNHPD.