Last updated September 30, 2023.
Edited and medically reviewed by Patrick Alban, DC. Written by Deane Alban.
Our 10-point evaluation checklist helps you choose health supplements that are effective and safe. Use it to get the best results for your money.
Unless you have the knowledge of a biologist, chemist, nutritionist, and clinical researcher rolled into one, it’s hard to know if a supplement will be helpful for you.
While we can’t claim these professional credentials, we have spent a lot of time over the last few decades learning what makes for a good nutritional supplement.
Based on that knowledge, we’ve created a 10-point supplement evaluation checklist.
Using our approach will help you find brands you can trust to give you the benefits you need.
How to Get the Most From Our 10-Point Supplement Evaluation Checklist
Use our checklist to buy any kind of health supplements, such as:
- Those that contain single ingredients, multiple ingredients, or proprietary ingredient blends.
- Those that include vitamins, minerals, amino acids, herbs, or phytonutrients.
- Those that focus on general health or target a specific area like brain, heart, or joint health.
Keep two goals clearly in mind as you work through the ten steps below.
You want supplements that are proven to work and you want good value for your money.
1. Look for Quality Assurance
There are organizations and seals of quality that can help you find effective health supplements.
Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) Facility
First, look for a product that is made at a Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) facility.
A GMP facility must comply with high standards, the same standards mandated by the US Food and Drug Administration for pharmaceutical manufacturers.
This helps ensure that these supplements are free from contamination and accurately labeled.
Labeling discrepancies happen more often than you might think.
For example, a study of vitamin D supplements found wild deviations with brands tested containing between 9% and 146% of what was listed on the label!
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Certificate of Analysis (COA) for Each Ingredient
Next, verify that the raw materials from which a supplement is made are of high quality.
One way of doing this is to confirm that the manufacturer has a Certificate of Analysis (COA) for each ingredient.
Having a COA means that the raw material is tested by an independent lab and deemed to be contaminant-free.
Contaminants found in supplements include mold, fungus, pesticides, lead, arsenic, mercury, and traces of prescription drugs.
A disturbing number of brain supplements have been found to contain illicit drugs that have not been approved for use.
Third-Party Quality Assurance Organization
Another sign of a good product is certification by a respected third-party quality assurance organization.
These organizations verify that a facility complies with good manufacturing practices and takes proper steps to ensure product safety and accurate labeling.
You can find health supplements that meet high quality standards here:
- Consumer Lab (you must be a paid member to access most reports)
- Informed Choice (sports nutrition products)
Or look for these quality assurance seals on supplement labeling:
2. Look for Therapeutic Dosages
You want to be sure that any supplement you take provides a therapeutic dosage — the minimum amount necessary to provide any real benefit.
With single-ingredient supplements, the amount contained in a serving should be clearly stated on the label.
In a multi-ingredient supplement such as a multivitamin, there are many nutrients and they should be listed separately.
However, many supplements contain several ingredients combined in a proprietary blend.
Health supplements using proprietary formulas are required to reveal only the ingredients in the formula and the total amount of all ingredients combined.
They do not have to list the amount of each ingredient separately.
Companies claim they do this to protect their formulations from competitors.
And while this may seem to be a legitimate argument, it does not help the consumer.
Less-than-reputable companies hide behind this kind of labeling to conceal the fact that there isn’t enough of any one ingredient in the blend to do you any good.
Supplements that contain multiple ingredients can work synergistically — where each ingredient enhances the benefit of the others — provided they are developed by knowledgeable scientists who know what they are doing.
For example, it’s well established that the absorption of turmeric supplements is greatly enhanced by the addition of piperine, a compound found in black pepper.
Unfortunately, some companies intentionally add a minuscule amount of an ingredient just so that they can legally include it on the label.
This is a common practice in both the supplement and cosmetic industries and is known as fairy dusting.
The label below is a good example of fairy dusting.
It contains several ingredients that are not present in a therapeutic dosage.
Also, notice the “synergistic and proprietary formulation” listed at the bottom of this label.
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3. Look for “Other Ingredients” on the Label
Besides listing the active ingredients, health supplements are required by law to list all inactive ingredients.
Binders, Coatings, Colors, and Flavorings
These ingredients include binders, coatings, colors, and flavorings.
Some are needed to hold the supplement together and allow it to be easily swallowed.
But others are unnecessary and unhealthy additives.
You’ll usually find these in small print listed as “other ingredients.”
Above is an example of a vitamin supplement label.
This one contains sugar (sucrose), artificial colors (Yellow 6), and artificial flavors.
These ingredients do not contribute to the effectiveness of this supplement.
Expiration Date
Look for an expiration date for your supplement.
The date may be on the label or the bottom of the bottle.
While not required by law, this is an indication of the supplement’s potency.
(Just the fact that there is an expiration date is a good sign that the manufacturer is conscientious.)
Precautions and Full Disclosure
Lastly, you may find other cautionary statements on the label, such as “free of soy,” “contains shellfish,” or “keep out of reach of children.”
If you are ordering supplements online, be wary of any product that doesn’t have a copy of its full label on its website, listing all active and inactive ingredients.
Some brands discuss (and show) only key ingredients, so you can’t know exactly what is in their product until you have a bottle in your hand.
This could be problematic or even life-threatening for people with severe allergies.
4. Look for Ingredients Proven to Work
Know why a particular ingredient is in a supplement.
Know whether it has been clinically proven to support health.
Some companies do this work for you and provide links to outside studies.
You can always use reputable third-party sources to see if there are any proven benefits for a particular vitamin, mineral, herb, amino acid, or other substance.
Here are a few reputable supplement databases that are consumer-friendly:
Patented Ingredients
Occasionally, you will find a supplement containing a patented ingredient with clinical studies to support its claim of effectiveness.
Examples of these are the cognitive enhancers Cognizin® (citicoline), Suntheanine® (l-theanine), Sharp-PS® Green (phosphatidylserine), and Cereboost® (American ginseng).
This is the sort of information you can find at the sites mentioned above and, of course, in the articles about supplements throughout Be Brain Fit.
5. Beware of Private Label Health Supplements
Many supplements on the market are sold as private label brands.
Private label manufacturers create generic supplements for others to sell.
Anyone can buy the rights to market and sell these formulas.
These businesses are often run by marketers who rarely have expertise in supplements.
They exist only to make money.
Disreputable Signs
How can you tell if a supplement is a suspicious private label product?
There is no single way to know for sure, but we think you will know untrustworthy products if you review them closely.
Signs of deception, hype, and unscrupulous intent to watch out for include:
- a website that has no phone number or physical address
- a supplement that is sold only on Amazon, with no other online presence
- a brand that does not have a guarantee or allow returns
- a company that makes outlandish claims of cure, relief, or industry standing (how many supplements can be #1 in the market?)
- misspellings and obvious grammatical errors on labels and websites
- policies that are not consumer-friendly
Here’s a screenshot from a private label brand’s website of its supplement guarantee.
Perhaps they were trying to be clever, but it’s not funny when your money and health are at stake.
Read #4 and #5 in the image below to see what we mean.
6. Price vs Value
With many things in life, you get what you pay for.
But that is not always the case with health supplements.
If a product has a huge marketing budget or uses multilevel marketing distribution, that will drive up its price with no additional benefit to you.
Look for signs that a company invests in the research and development (R&D) of safe and effective products, instead of marketing.
Some companies will discuss their R&D on their websites — this is a good sign.
As with buying anything, most supplements will be of mediocre quality, some will be worthless (or even dangerous), and only a few will stand out as excellent.
You can pay as much or as little for supplements as you want.
A quick look at Amazon reveals that you could spend as little as $5 or well over $200 for a bottle of multivitamins!
First, skip the bottom-of-the-barrel products.
We’re all for getting value for our money and we’re sure you are too.
But with your health at stake, this is not the time to go for bargain brands.
You can skip those in the $100+ range too.
Keep in mind that some products look like a bargain until you realize that one bottle, taken as directed, will last only a week or two.
Pay attention to price per day rather than price per bottle.
7. Herbal Remedies: Standardized Extracts vs Whole Herbs
There is another question to be answered when buying herbal supplements.
Should you look for standardized extracts or whole herbs?
Both sides of this discussion have valid positions.
Those in favor of standardized extracts point out that it’s impossible to know how effective an herbal remedy is unless it contains standardized active ingredients.
An herbal remedy with standardized ingredients contains a specific assayed percentage of what is thought to be the active ingredient in the herb.
On the other hand, traditional herbalists prefer the use of whole herbs, also called full spectrum extracts.
They believe that there is greater benefit from the synergistic effects of the untold number of phytonutrients contained in the whole herb.
Below is a label for a Ginkgo biloba supplement, one of the most popular herbal remedies.
This particular product contains both standardized and full spectrum extracts, which is a good way to cover all your bases.
Buy From a Supplement Company With an Established History
It is particularly important when buying herbal supplements and remedies to buy from a reputable company with a strong background in herbal medicine.
This usually indicates that quality control is taken seriously.
A few years ago, it was discovered that herbal supplements sold by big box stores, including Walmart, Target, Walgreens, and GNC, contained very little of what was listed on the label.
In fact, 80% of the products tested contained NONE of the herb being sold.
Herbs tested included valerian, St. John’s wort, and ginkgo.
What they did contain was cheap fillers, including ground houseplants.
In addition to being worthless, these products were also potentially dangerous, especially to people with allergies.
In one small sampling, the US Government Accounting Office reported that two out of three memory supplements marketed as containing ginkgo contained no ginkgo whatsoever.
8. Avoid Supplements That Might Be Unsafe
Just because a supplement is “natural” doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s safe.
Every year, tens of thousands of people wind up in an emergency room due to bad reactions to supplements.
More than half of these ER visits are caused by stimulant supplements taken to lose weight or increase energy.
The US FDA Does Not Approve Health Supplements
Contrary to what many people think, the US Food and Drug Administration does not approve supplements or test them for safety.
Alarmingly, supplement safety largely relies on an honor system.
It’s the responsibility of the company to make sure that a supplement is safe before it’s put on the market.
The FDA will investigate a product’s safety only if there are numerous consumer complaints.
However, the FDA does have the authority to remove a supplement from the market if they have good reason to believe it poses a safety issue.
Some Supplements Do Not Mix Safely With Drugs (or Other Supplements)
There are many supplements that are not inherently dangerous, but may be bad for you.
This is especially true if you take prescription medications.
The popular natural antidepressant St. John’s wort is known to interact negatively with more than 580 medications!
5-HTP is an example of a supplement that should not be randomly mixed with other supplements.
It can be dangerous when mixed with herbs that are natural relaxants or supplements that work by increasing serotonin levels, including St. John’s wort, kava, catnip, hops, valerian, l-tryptophan, and SAM-e.
If you have any doubts about mixing drugs and supplements, talk to your doctor, pharmacist, or other appropriate healthcare professional.
In the meantime, check any combinations of drugs and supplements with one of these reputable online interaction checkers.
Caution: Certain Forms of Some Supplements Can Be Dangerous
Lastly, taking certain forms of some otherwise safe supplements may make you sick.
For example, magnesium is a common mineral that is available in several supplemental forms — oxide, citrate, threonate, glycinate, and more.
The magnesium sulfate found in Epsom salts is great for easing the pain of aching feet when added to a foot bath, but when taken internally, it can cause dramatic diarrhea and disrupt your electrolyte balance, leading to a potentially serious condition known as hypermagnesemia.
According to the US National Library of Medicine, side effects of magnesium sulfate include stomach pain, nausea, mental confusion, irregular heartbeat, and more.
9. Company Reputation Is a Major Factor
A company’s reputation may be the most important buying consideration of all.
The importance of a company’s reputation and integrity cannot be stressed enough.
Buying decisions are ultimately based on trust.
We trust that our food is safe, our appliances won’t catch on fire, and our kids’ toys are lead-free.
But how do you know for sure?
Find Out What Others Are Saying
A good way to know what customers think of a product is to check out their product reviews on:
- social media sites
- e-commerce sites like Amazon
- health forums
If a company has an authentically loyal customer base and raving fans, you’re on the right track.
If a brand has also earned the respect of reliable healthcare professionals, you may have found a winner.
Be Cautious and Critical
As always though, pay attention to and be critical of what you read, see, and hear.
Watch for signs that the recommendations and reviews you see are not legitimate.
Positive reviews and comments may be bought or otherwise incentivized by the supplement seller or other interested parties.
Unfortunately, this is a common practice on Facebook and Amazon.
Amazon, in particular, can be a goldmine of information, but it is very important to know the situation of the commenters.
Are they getting free products in return for their supposedly unbiased review?
Did the reviewers actually buy and use the product? (Look for the Verified Purchase label.)
If you see lots of rave comments posted within a short time span and there are very few by verified customers, these comments are probably not legitimate.
You can also check Fakespot which ferrets out fake Amazon product reviews.
Other Sources to Investigate
Better Business Bureau ratings can sometimes turn up useful information about a brand or supplement.
Just do a Google search and skim through the results.
It’s surprising what can be learned in a few minutes.
For instance, some supplement companies, especially those that target senior health problems like memory loss, have complaints or class action suits filed against them.
If you have reason to be suspicious, search for “class action suit” and the name of the company or the supplement in question.
Check Out the Company Website
You can learn a lot about a company by visiting its website.
If a supplement company doesn’t have a website, that is a huge red flag.
You can imagine why they are making themselves hard to find.
Avoid them.
How to Determine a Company’s Integrity
First Impression of Website
Take stock of your first impression of the website.
It should look professional and not overly salesy, and should leave you with a good feeling.
“About Us” Page
Read the “About Us” page.
Who are the people behind the company name?
What are their credentials?
Are there any scientists, herbalists, doctors, or researchers on board?
Is there a physical location listed? There should be.
Customer Service Options
Check out the customer service options.
Some companies hide behind just an email address.
A reputable company will offer other contact options such as a toll-free phone number and/or live chat.
You should be able to talk with a knowledgeable customer service representative who is respectful and handles problems efficiently.
Guarantee
What is the guarantee?
The longer the guarantee period, the better.
This benefits you and shows that the company has faith in its products.
Check the guarantee carefully for weasel clauses.
These are the ways disreputable brands make it almost impossible to get a refund, no matter what.
These might include returning the original packaging, not accepting opened bottles, or not accepting returns before 30 days … or after 30 days.
But some companies accept opened items and have a 60-day or even a full-year guarantee. Now we’re talking!
Indicators of Quality
Is there mention of the company’s GMP production facility, R&D department, or Certificate of Analysis for raw materials?
These are all good factors that place the company a cut above most others.
Mission Statement
Is there a mission statement or a written commitment to customers?
This shows the company is at least thinking about their customers and very few companies even bother to appear to care.
10. Look at Independent Lab Results
Lastly, you can use independent research labs to do some of your due diligence for you.
Labdoor.com buys popular brand health supplements off the shelf, then sends them to an FDA-registered laboratory for analysis.
Each supplement is tested for label accuracy, product purity, nutritional value, ingredient safety, and projected efficacy.
They have currently tested 3 dozen categories of supplements and continue to add more.
You can create an account and access their reports for free.
ConsumerLab.com offers a similar paid subscription service that costs around $60 per year.
Recommended: Upgrading brain health is key to making your brain work better.
Mind Lab Pro is the brain supplement I recommend because, by boosting your brain health, it can help you:
- Improve your mental clarity and focus.
- Boost your memory and your ability to learn.
- Increase your capacity to think critically, solve problems, and make decisions.
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