As a Doctor of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine, specializing in Functional medicine, I’ve prescribed nutritional and herbal supplements for nearly thirty years, with positive results for several thousand patients. I use only professional grade nutritional and herbal supplements. The companies I work with sell their products exclusively to licensed alternative practitioners. They source the finest ingredients available and produce their products in GMP (Good Manufacturing Practices) certified laboratories.
Their laboratories are regulated by the FDA, their products are rigorously assayed for purity and potency by established third party laboratories, and they are periodically and randomly assayed. Each supplement that passes inspection contains exactly and only what the label claims in terms of the content, quality and dosage.
These professional grade nutritional and herbal supplements purchased through licensed health care providers are higher in quality, safer, more effective, and yes, more expensive than their unregulated counterparts.
The cheaper herbal and nutritional supplements sold in drugstores, supermarkets and health food stores are lower grade and unregulated. Random studies show that these supplements vary widely in quality. They often contain fillers absent in professional grade products, and some do not contain the primary ingredients advertised on their labels.
High quality herbs and nutritional supplements can be very helpful in recovering from an illness or injury. And they are becoming increasingly necessary for maintaining optimal health due to our compromised and contaminated food system.
But no doctor, method, supplement or drug can do what only you can do for yourself. A healthy lifestyle that includes a good diet, regular exercise, proper hydration and sufficient sleep will always be the best medicine. In the end, your health largely depends on your intelligent decisions, your healthy habits, and your commitment to provide yourself with the highest self-care possible.