Focus on Therapies
Natural Medicines: How to Find High Quality Supplements
Using natural medicines (herbal medicines and nutrients) as part of a comprehensive care plan:
Natural medicines can be useful when they offer greater therapeutic options. For example, they can be used to support the body's resilience to stress, or promote healthier digestion, or correct deficiencies. Sometimes they offer a gentler and safer therapeutic alternative to standard drug treatment. Safe use of natural medicines means that adverse interactions with drugs, disease processes and other supplements are carefully avoided.
How to choose a quality supplement:
The FDA sets high standards for the manufacture of food supplements but does not enforce those standards. Unfortunately that means that there are many poor quality, and even potentially harmful, products on the market.
However, numerous companies both comply with FDA standards AND arrange for an independent laboratory to inspect and certify their products. These are the safest and most reliable products to use. Other safe, quality supplements are those manufactured in the European Union and Australia where regulations are enforced by their governments. In the US, Emerson Ecologics is one distributer that employs a quality assurance program that is very useful.
The supplements I recommend:
Because of these quality issues, I will always recommend a specific product. Many of these are available through Emerson Ecologics. Emerson's online dispensary is called Wellevate. I always recommend comparison price shopping on to see if you can purchase the same formulation at a lower price. If you purchase through Wellevate you'll recieve a 5% practice discount.
Should you wish to order from Wellevate, ask us to register you. You will receive an email with user information (check you spam folder) directly from Wellevate. Click on the Wellevate icon below to go to the dispensary.
Natural medicines can be useful when they offer greater therapeutic options. For example, they can be used to support the body's resilience to stress, or promote healthier digestion, or correct deficiencies. Sometimes they offer a gentler and safer therapeutic alternative to standard drug treatment. Safe use of natural medicines means that adverse interactions with drugs, disease processes and other supplements are carefully avoided.
How to choose a quality supplement:
The FDA sets high standards for the manufacture of food supplements but does not enforce those standards. Unfortunately that means that there are many poor quality, and even potentially harmful, products on the market.
However, numerous companies both comply with FDA standards AND arrange for an independent laboratory to inspect and certify their products. These are the safest and most reliable products to use. Other safe, quality supplements are those manufactured in the European Union and Australia where regulations are enforced by their governments. In the US, Emerson Ecologics is one distributer that employs a quality assurance program that is very useful.
The supplements I recommend:
Because of these quality issues, I will always recommend a specific product. Many of these are available through Emerson Ecologics. Emerson's online dispensary is called Wellevate. I always recommend comparison price shopping on to see if you can purchase the same formulation at a lower price. If you purchase through Wellevate you'll recieve a 5% practice discount.
Should you wish to order from Wellevate, ask us to register you. You will receive an email with user information (check you spam folder) directly from Wellevate. Click on the Wellevate icon below to go to the dispensary.