How to Make Sure Your Supplements Are Safe

Regulation Matters

One thing hardcore gym rats or workout newbies might not know is that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not tightly regulate dietary supplements like they do drugs and other foods.

“Essentially any supplement ingredients that we’ve been using before 1994 don’t require any sort of documentation to prove it’s safe,” says Emmie Satrazemis, R.D., C.S.S.D., nutrition director at Trifecta Nutrition. “You can basically create supplements using those ingredients and put them on the market without having to prove any sort of safety.”

The rationale is that they’ve been used for so long the ingredients are now considered safe and unlikely to cause any harm. This was codified with the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act passed by Congress in 1994, which essentially says that it’s up to the manufacturers and distributors to regulate themselves.

“Anything that is considered a new ingredient—it hasn’t been used prior to 1994 or it’s just new to the market—the company has to provide documents, research or evidence, to prove that that ingredient is safe for consumption to the FDA,” she says. “And then it’s up to FDA discretion to decide whether or not it’s OK to put on the market. Outside of that, the FDA isn’t going around and testing supplement brands; they’re not doing QA checks.”

The FDA will, though, intervene and remove any product that is found to be “adulterated” (e.g., that the product is unsafe) or misbranded (e.g., that the labeling is false or misleading).

Take Control

Since supplements aren’t that strictly controlled, it’s basically up to the consumer to make sure they’re taking something that’s safe and won’t be likely to cause any health issues. It can be tough to decide with the hundreds of supplement brands out there all clamoring for your dollars, but there are some strategies you can use and obvious red flags to watch out for that will help you navigate the supplement shelves.

One simple way to be fairly secure about your purchase is to go with a well-known brand with a track record of offering a solid product. “Unfortunately there are a lot of companies out there that appear and then disappear that just want to make a profit really quickly,” says D. Enette Larson-Meyer, Ph.D., R.D., C.S.S.D., FACSM, professor of human nutrition and director of the Nutrition & Exercise Laboratory at the University of Wyoming.

These fly-by-night companies usually don’t adhere to industry manufacturing standards, and impurities or other substances, including small amounts of prescription drugs, can get into the supplement. That makes its extremely important to select a supplement from a company that is legitimate and has a national reputation, and preferably one that does third-party testing.

“There are a lot of really good, reputable companies out there who are doing their due diligence and trying to produce something that actually improves people’s wellbeing and lives,” says Satrazemis. “I would say the majority of companies out there are trying to do that, but it’s very hard to say, yes this is 100% trusted, this is safe.” That’s where having clear labeling that shows third-party certification seals from reputable companies like BSCG Certified Drug Free, Informed-Choice/Sport, NSF Certified, ConsumerLab.com and USP Verified, will help you make sure you’re starting off with a quality product. ConsumerLab.com and USP offer certifications that make sure the supp has the active ingredients listed (and in the amounts indicated) and that it doesn’t contain any accidental or intentional substances that could be harmful. For competing athletes, BSCG, IC, and NSF all have seals that indicate whether something is also free of banned substances that will get you in trouble with anti-doping regulations.

You can also look directly on the company’s web site (or give them a call) and dig into their procedures, statements and claims. Search for whatever documents or certifications they have or are proud to clearly highlight. “It’s pretty easy to tell when you have a company that’s really legit and they’ve gone through a lot of different safety precautions and procedures to develop a solid product,” says Satrazemis.

Watch for Wording

Other red flags can include health and performance claims or the wording and language used to market the supplement.

“Look for anything that seems outrageous or crazy as a claim,” Satrazemis says. “They’re not allowed to claim that it’s going to prevent, cure, or decrease any sort of medical illness, so anything that sounds too good to be true probably is.” Claims pertaining to energy metabolism, body fat loss, and muscle mass/strength gains are some of the statements that are often exaggerated and can often indicate ingredients that may have dubious or harmful effects, or even be banned. Watch out for wording like “energizer,” “fat burner,” “metabolic booster,” “complex,” and “proprietary.”

“Beware if the ingredients list is looking crazy; a really, really long list that seems complex with a lot of substances that you can’t really understand,” says Satrazemis, “or has proprietary blends or special complexes that might be hiding things or not giving you specific amounts of what it’s actually containing.” If you can’t Google the blend or specific trademarked ingredients and figure out what it is, that should set off major alarm bells. “If it’s a proprietary blend of a specific thing that I actually want to get a good amount of, and it’s not telling me how much of that actual ingredient I’m getting,” she says, “then I’m going to look for a brand that is telling me exactly how much I’m getting.”

You should be buying supplements with the effective ingredient that will actually give you the results you want, not a big list of secretive selections that may be cushioned with a lot of other cheap ingredients or ones you’re not looking for.

“Have trust in taking singular ingredients that are proven to be effective and don’t go for big bottle with like 25 different things in it,” says Larson-Meyer. “And don’t look for that miracle effect—if it’s too good to be true, it’s probably overpriced and could be full of contaminants.”

The Truly Safe Supps

While navigating the supplement aisle can be daunting, it’s usually best to just hone in on simple, singular ingredients that have been shown to be safe and, more importantly, effective. In 2018, the International Olympic Committee released a study published in the International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise that identified the five supplements that have been found to directly improve sports performance and are generally safe: caffeine, creatine, nitrate, beta-alanine, and sodium bicarbonate.

Larson-Meyer was one of the researchers involved in the statement, and she says that this these five supplements rose to the top after finding enough evidence that they were safe and effective: “We really couldn’t ignore that, because the key thing is to use a supplement that has been proven.” But, she cautions, the studies show that they are clearly not good for all types of athletes or exercises.

For example, endurance athletes shouldn’t take creatine because it can cause body weight gain, which could actually reduce performance. “There’s definitely side effects of all of them and you have to know those and understand how it might be different for individual athlete’s body,” she says. “It’s almost like a drug—if you’re taking it in ways that haven’t suggested, then they may not work or could cause more side effects.”

• Caffeine obviously needs no introduction, but researchers found that taking 100–300 mg (about two cups of coffee) of the common stimulant can improve endurance and power output, and the potential side effects—nausea, anxiety, insomnia, and restlessness—were negligible.
• Creatine, which has been studied thoroughly for its muscle-strengthening attributes, was found to increase lean mass, high intensity exercise performance, and muscular power, with some possible anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant effects. No negative health effects were noted besides some potential body mass increase from water retention after creatine loading.
• Nitrate, found in leafy greens like spinach, beets, and celery, can enhances nitric oxide bioavailability in the blood, which helps get more oxygen to muscles and mitochondria (the powerhouses of the cell!). It has been found to enhance performance in high-intensity, intermittent exercises lasting from 12 to 40 minutes long. Few to no side effects besides possible upset gastrointestinal (GI) tract were noted.
• Beta-alanine is an amino acid that can increase the amount of carnosine in muscles, which they found may help stave off muscular fatigue during exercises lasting from 30 seconds to 10 minutes. The only negative side effects found were possible skin rashes or tingling in the extremities.
• Sodium bicarbonate—yes, common baking soda—can enhance the bodies’ ability to reduce lactic acid buildup during workouts. It has been shown to most effectively help performance during high-intensity exercise like sprints that only last around a minute. GI tract distress is the only potential side effect.

Other common performance/recovery supplements that are generally safe—provided you get them from a reputable and third-party tested brands—include protein powder (whey, casein, pea, hemp, brown rice), amino acids (arginine, BCAAs, betaine, carnitine, citrulline, glutamine, etc.), conjugated linoleic acid, carnitine, arginine, antioxidants (vitamins C, E and coenzyme Q10), beta-hydroxy-beta-methylbutyrate (HMB), ginseng, quercetin, ribose, and tart or sour cherry.

Supplement Research Resources

These sites offer well-researched, high-quality information about the whole range of dietary supplements, and can best inform you of the latest studies, most beneficial ingredients, and any new substances to stay away from.

• Examine.com
• FDA
• Harvard Medical School
• Labdoor
• U.S. National Library of Medicine
• NIH
• USADA