If you watched the Four Corners program on supplements this week you might be confused about the quality and efficacy of supplements in Australia. I thought I’d highlight a few key concepts that may answer any questions you had and reassure you.

1. Australia has one of the most stringent regulatory frameworks for complementary medicines in the world. The quality and safety of supplements in Australia (which fall under the category of complementary medicines) must comply with standards set out by the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods (TGA). In fact, the Australian regulatory regime for complementary medicines is such that it is viewed by most countries as the consumer protection benchmark.

Take home: Only buy products that are labelled AUST R or AUST L as these have been registered with the TGA.

2. There are supplements and then there are supplements. Before I studied Nutrition I was not even aware that practitioner only supplements existed. Why is that important? Practitioner only supplements are prescribed to you by a qualified practitioner after a thorough consultation to meet your specific needs. They are supplied by companies who have strict parameters around safety, efficacy, and quality who are monitored to ensure they maintain these strict standards. They are guaranteed to contain appropriate forms of the active ingredient in the quantities required to support a desired outcome, contain minimal or no additives and are backed by evidence based research.
Often a client, so happy with the results of a supplement that has been prescribed specifically for them, has asked me to supply it to their family and friends. I politely refuse as to prescribe a supplement without knowing the history of a client is negligent.

Take home: Only use products that are manufactured by companies that practise strict quality control and that are recommended to you by a qualified health professional. Practitioner only products are a preferable choice.

3. Buyer beware. Products purchased online from overseas are not subject to the same regulations as those enforced in Australia, which means there may be no surety that the product contains what it says it does.

Take home: Online purchases should only be made on the recommendation of a qualified healthcare professional or from a known and reputable source.

 
4. A statement often thrown around is that complementary medicines lack scientific evidence. As a person with a strong scientific background I tend to take this personally. Its true that not all complementary medicines are supported with research based evidence but that is changing – and fast. In the past the money was simply not available to fund research. However, as the demand for complementary medicines increases so is the financial support for research. Any blanket statement that complementary medicines aren’t supported by scientific evidence simply cannot be accepted. A quick search of one database (PubMed) for any particular popular micronutrient or herb will produce dozens of scientific studies linking these products to research on a wide range of health conditions. A significant amount of scientific research has been conducted looking at the direct health benefits of using complementary medicines, forming part of an ever-developing evidence profile.

Take home: If you are concerned ask your healthcare professional for research based evidence on a supplement before taking it. Chances are they will delight in sharing it with you.

I hope this information has been helpful in clearing up some of the confusion around supplements. For more information talk to a qualified complementary medicine professional who has the training required to answer your questions or follow this link NIIM response to ‘Swallowing it’.

‘The well-meaning intentions of the general public taking self selected off-the-shelf products that contain potentially insignificant amounts of nutrients in highly synthetic or unideal forms, along with numerous potentially conflicting additives, simply cannot be compared to the individual expertise of association qualified healthcare practitioners giving specific advice to individual patients, in clinically significant amounts, of appropriate forms, with minimal use of additives, based on specifically indicated needs, and monitored for efficacy and safety over time.’ – Research Nutrition