Many of us have probably ordered supplements online, especially immune support supplements since the recent pandemic. However, are those supplements being accurately labeled? Are you paying for the ingredients that will help boost your immunity? 

In a recent 2022 study published in October, researchers aimed to investigate whether top “immune support” supplements were actually misleading their consumers. 

To do so, researchers bought 30 immune health supplements from Amazon. They selected only those that rated at least 4 stars. They then analyzed each of these supplements using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry to investigate the true ingredients in the product and the amounts of each ingredient.

The researchers found that 17 out of the 30 supplements had inaccurate labels! In fact, 13 of those 17 were actually misbranded, meaning that the ingredients mentioned on the labels were not found to be present in the actual supplement. 9 of the 17 supplements also contained hidden ingredients, meaning that certain substances were found in the product, but they were not mentioned on the label. 

Before you throw away every immune support supplement you have in your medicine cabinet, consider the specific products that you have. Dietary supplements are often less reliable because they do not have to undergo as intense regulations and checks as other medications. 

For any supplement, there are some key steps you can take to ensure that you’re really getting your money’s worth AND you’re not ingesting something that could potentially be harmful. 

1. Look for certification labels. Labels such as “Informed Choice”, “Informed Sport”, and “NSF Certified for Sport” are a great sign that the supplement does not contain any banned ingredients.
2. Consider whether the supplement has had any clinical testing done. 
3. Shop from a reputable source– We love Wellevate, an online supplement dispensary that we recommend all of our clients use. 
   1. PS You can create a Wellevate account for FREE and shop all supplements for 20% off MSRP.

To learn more about supplements and finding the right supplements that will benefit your performance, click the link in bio to check out our Supplements that Improve Performance Mini Course!

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References:

1. Crawford, C., Avula, B., Lindsey, A. T., Walter, A., Katragunta, K., Khan, I. A., & Deuster, P. A. (2022). Analysis of Select Dietary Supplement Products Marketed to Support or Boost the Immune System. JAMA network open, 5(8), e2226040. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2022.26040