Since 1995, dietary supplement sales have tripled nationwide and are predicted to grow at an even greater pace as we move into the millennium. Almost 70 percent of Americans are using natural substances, and many of these supplement users are members of health clubs across the country. This increased use of natural substances has resulted from some clear benefits with few risks.

Help or Hype?
As a reaction to the supplement industry regulation and standards, certain criteria has been applied in an attempt to help consumers make better buying decisions. This criteria has led consumers to trust the USP United States Pharmacopoeia symbol, or USP, as an endorsement for the proper manufacturing of dietary supplements.
The USP was developed so that synthetic compounds in drugs have an established manufacturing and testing protocol. When this protocol is followed, it will yield a finished product with consistent results. Following this protocol then produces drugs, and each drug product is given patent protection.

There is no significant patent protection for natural substances; so innovative manufacturers hesitate to disclose their trade secrets. If all dietary supplement producers manufactured according to USP, all products would be the same. With no variables, the industry would stand still and businesses would lose their competitive advantages.

Because the vitamin companies would have no reason to continue research and development, consumers would never experience new and improved products.

By complying with the USP for dietary supplement production, a manufacturer is allowed to incorporate a minimum production and testing process while giving them a stamp of approval.

The addition of the USP on the label may help sell the products but it is a little assurance of label and ingredient compliance based on elementary standards. Because the USP is still in its infancy in the field of supplements, the symbol is not necessarily a standard for efficacy.
If the consumer looks for the USP as a stamp of approval when purchasing dietary supplements, they have only eliminated the companies that may not be following the minimum guidelines.

Unfortunately, they may have also decreased their chances of acquiring a product that had incorporated the latest science and technology during manufacturing, giving the compound the greatest potential to yield the desired result.

The appearance of the USP stamp on a label may also be a reason not to buy the product. In the same vein a consumer should exercise their right to ask the manufacturer for their in-house manufacturing and validation methods.

How Do Consumers Protect Themselves and Gain Confidence in the Benefits of Dietary Supplements?

Okay, so the USP is not the best endorsement for a product. How does the consumer gain confidence in the proper use and production of dietary supplements?

Educate yourself or don't use dietary supplements. If you choose to incorporate dietary supplements into your life, don't buy based on advertising, price or friendly advice.

The following points are what consumers should expect and demand before choosing a brand of supplements:

Only use dietary supplements for non-medicinal purposes such as health improvement and maintenance, hastening fitness goals, and to increase athletic performance. Match claims or uses only to these goals.

The product manufacturer should have Good Manufacturing Practices, or GMPs, in place for quality assurance so the products can't vary from batch to batch.

Manufactures that follow GMPs generally make pharmaceuticals, which means they operate under a drug license and therefore have the ability to test every substance from the raw materials to the finished products for purity, potency and consistency.

Tests include disintegration, dissolution, stability, purity and potency, and the finished product's certificate of analysis.

In-house product validation and testing methods are based on all available certified protocols including applicable USPs.

Proof of "equivalence"-that is a given dose of a product must contain a certain amount of key ingredients in order to produce a known effect.

The manufacturer or supplier should have the appropriate peer review research that supports the dosage and purpose of the compound.

Proof that products actually will be absorbed and utilized by the body.

Disintegration and dissolution tests.

Assurance that the substance is nontoxic, along with a list of any potential side effects and interactions with drugs.

The product should be incorporated into a program that maintains the user's nutrient intake in a safe, optimal range by considering food, drug, and other supplement intake through the use of appropriate screening processes.

The distributor or the manufacturer should have qualified personnel and support documents made available to all consumers.

The aforementioned process can be performed with a five minute phone call or visit to a web site. Following your investigation you can request the supporting documents and review them.

If the documents sufficiently meet the criteria and needs that you were after then you have found your family's dietary supplement supplier and information center. Once you get comfortable with a brand you have investigated, stay with it!