February 2022 - 43

Strength-Training Equipment
ADVERTISEMENT
Seven Things You Should Look
For When Buying Supplements
Fast and wild marketing claims come and go, but if you want results in the long term from
your supplements then consider applying this set of criteria to guide your decisions.
P
retty much everyone you know
takes supplements. Your mum,
nine of your mates and Cheryle
from accounts has cupboard space
dedicated to their supplements. As
many as 86% of Americans take
supplements. It's safer and better to do
your supplement shopping using a set of
criteria that will protect your health and
the achievement of your goals. Here's
what you should look for when your Wifi
is live and credit card is in hand.
REPUTATION
There aren't as many barriers to entry
for the supplement market as you might
imagine, and the regulators can be slow
to catch up to the sellers of snake oil.
Rather go with a company you trust
and look for those that have done their
homework. Stay away from anabolic
stimulators, products advertising
stimulants for energy or weight loss,
outlandish health or disease claims or
other red flags. If products are labelled
'for research use only' don't use them
as these are often experimental new
drugs.
QUALITY
You're paying for a particular ingredient,
not fillers and other nasties. Rather
choose a company that' has gone above
and beyond industry standards by
participating in third party certification
and testing to verify the quality of
products. A seal like the Banned
Substances Control Group (BSCG)
Certified Quality seal conducts annual
testing to verify ingredient identity and
label claims meet specifications and
checks for heavy metals, microbiological
agents, pesticides, and solvents and
illegal drugs.
POTENCY
You want enough of the key ingredients
for it to create the desired positive
effects. How can you tell? Look for a
supplement company that complies with
audits to verify that they follow Current
Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP).
Many companies simply make up GMP
seals when manufacturers have not
been through an actual audit. Make sure
there is a company behind a GMP seal to
make sure it is legitimate. BSCG offers
a Certified GMP certification program to
manufacturers and brands that want to
demonstrate compliance.
INTERACTIONS
If you're taking any form of prescription
medicine, first check with your doctor
whether you can safely take a dietary
supplement. Part of this is being able
to trust what's in your supplements and
ensure they are free of any undeclared
ingredients, illegal drugs, or banned
substances in sport. The BSCG Certified
Drug Free third-party certification
program offers the best protection in
the industry against undeclared banned
substances.
EFFICACY
Read a product's marketing claims
carefully. When a supplement says it
" may " or " could " help with a particular
ailment, those aren't dead set
outcomes. Thanks to FDA regulations
manufacturers can't claim that their
product cures, treats or reduces your
risks of a disease or condition, unless
there has been very comprehensive
research that says it does, which is rare.
Stick with products that are backed by
science and third party certified to give
your body the best quality.
SAFE & TESTED
In today's world many products sold
as supplements can make you fail a
drug test, which can be catastrophic
for anyone in sports, military, first
responders or other workplace
environments. Some supplements
have ingredients on the label that are
illegal or banned. Others may simply
be contaminated by poor ingredients or
below standard manufacturing. Make
sure your supplements are third party
certified by a company like BSCG. The
BSCG Certified Drug Free program tests
for more than 500 drugs providing the
best protection in the industry against
drugs on the World Anti-Doping Agency
(WADA) Prohibited List as well as other
prescription, over the counter, and illicit
drugs not banned in sport.
TRANSPARENCY
The more open and transparent a
company is, the better off you'll be in
the end. Look for products that go the
extra mile and participate in third-party
certifications that review quality control,
GMP compliance, or test for banned
substances. BSCG's suite of third-party
certification programs including
Certified Quality, Certified GMP and
Certified Drug Free are available to help
consumers make better choices and
showcase brands that are committed
to quality. If a brand doesn't talk
proudly about their quality control and
compliance consider looking elsewhere.
Make sure there is clear contact
information on a product package in
case you have any issues, if it is missing
don't use that product.
training-conditioning.com | 43
http://www.training-conditioning.com
February 2022

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