Because Quality Matters; How to Get the Most Out of Supplementation

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When it comes to getting the most nutritional benefit out of natural supplements, there are three main considerations:

  1. Quality of the ingredients and manufacturing processes
  2. How the supplement is taken
  3. How the supplement is stored

When I speak with my patients, I explain that each is important for health. Even a quality supplement, if taken at the wrong time of day or with competing nutrients, will have reduced benefits. Or that same supplement, if stored improperly, can lose its effectiveness and not even last to the expiration date on the bottle.

Quality Supplements

It starts with the quality of the supplement. Oakway Naturals only carries brands whose supplements are tested for purity and potency and who maintain the research standards of professional brands. While there are other brands that we may be able to order for you, only the ones that have convinced us of being of the highest quality are sold at Oakway Naturals.

Quality supplements are generally not found in big-box stores. In 2015, the New York State Attorney General’s office accused GNC, Target, Walgreens, and Walmart of selling potentially dangerous herbal supplements. The investigation found many products contained little to none of the active ingredient listed on the label, and instead included fillers such as powdered garlic and radish.

Fly-by-night operations, like those that commonly appear on Amazon, have also been known to sell knock-off products to unsuspecting consumers. These problems are prevalent in the supplement industry, in part because supplements are not regulated as strictly as prescription medications.

How a Supplement Should Be Taken

Should the supplement be taken with a meal or without? Before bedtime, or upon waking? Can benefits be improved by taking supplements together, or does it not matter?

These questions are discussed in detail in a separate article, which can be found here .

How a Supplement Should Be Stored

Because quality is important, there are simple steps you can take to maintain a supplement’s effectiveness from the first tablet to the last. Potency is maximized by paying attention to storage temperature and humidity, limiting light exposure, and minding the expiration date.

Storage Temperature

Certain supplements, such as most probiotics, oils, and liquids, need refrigeration to ensure full potency. These products typically state “keep refrigerated” or “refrigerate after opening” on the label. Without refrigeration, they can lose potency well before the expiration date.

Although some probiotics are shelf-stable, many grocery and super stores do not handle transport and storage any differently than non-perishable household items. At Oakway Naturals, supplements are shipped directly from manufacturers or approved distributors who follow best storage and shipping practices. For this reason, probiotics are often shipped with cold packs and are not typically shipped on Fridays.

While most supplements do not require refrigeration, all benefit from being kept cool. A study published in the Journal of Dairy Science found that lower storage temperatures delayed vitamin C degradation in fortified milk.

Storage Humidity

Many supplements instruct users to store them in a cool, dry place. High humidity, such as that found in bathrooms and kitchens, can degrade supplements over time. According to Purdue University, crystalline substances—including some B vitamins, vitamin C, and other supplements—are susceptible to deliquescence, a process in which humidity causes water-soluble solids to dissolve.

Storing supplements in a climate-stable area such as a bedroom or office, away from heat and humidity, helps preserve their effectiveness.

Some people refrigerate supplements even when it is not recommended, believing it cannot hurt. However, unnecessary refrigeration can introduce moisture. Repeatedly opening a bottle, exposing it to warm air, and returning it to a cold environment can cause condensation inside the bottle.

A simple but often overlooked step is ensuring the bottle lid is tightly closed after each use. Another helpful practice is keeping the silica packet inside the bottle. Silica is a non-toxic, naturally occurring mineral that absorbs moisture. Studies have shown silica packets to be as effective as rice for absorbing moisture, making them valuable for protecting supplement potency.

Light Exposure and Storage

Light exposure accelerates the degradation of vitamins and supplements. A study in Food Chemistry found that vitamins A and D3 in fortified soybean oil degraded approximately two-and-a-half times faster when exposed to light compared to storage in darkness.

While daily pill organizers can help with consistency, many are transparent or semi-transparent and allow light exposure. Supplements are best stored in their original, opaque containers, which are designed to protect against light and allow easy reference to dosage and ingredient information. If a pill organizer is used, choose one that seals tightly and minimizes light exposure.

Minding the Expiration Date

A supplement’s expiration date represents the last day the manufacturer guarantees full potency when stored under optimal conditions. Poor storage can shorten that timeframe. Some manufacturers use preservatives, artificial colors, or additives to extend shelf life. These practices are not used by the brands carried at Oakway Naturals, because quality matters.

I hope this information highlights the importance of purchasing quality supplements, taking them at the right time, storing them properly, and paying attention to expiration dates. If you have questions about this topic or any other health-related concerns, please contact our customer service team at 888-460-3091 or email customerservice@oakwaynaturals.com .

Until next time, stay healthy!

Yours in health,

Dr. Gregg Gittins

Health Library

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When it comes to getting the most nutritional benefit out of natural supplements, there are three main considerations:

1. Quality of the ingredients and manufacturing processes to make the supplement

2. How the supplement is taken

3. How the supplement is stored

When I speak with my patients, I explain that each are important for health. Even a quality supplement, if taken at the wrong time of day or with competing nutrients, will have reduced benefits. Or that same supplement, if stored improperly, can lose its effectiveness and not even last to the expiration date on the bottle.

Quality supplements

It starts with the quality of the supplement. Oakway Naturals only carries brands whose supplements are tested for purity and potency and who maintain the research standards of the professional-brands.

Quality supplements are generally not found in “big box” stores. In 2015, the New York State attorney general’s office accused GNC, Target, Walgreens and Walmart of selling potentially dangerous herbal supplements. The attorney general found many examples of supplements containing little to none of the supposed active ingredient. Instead, the state found things like powdered garlic and radish. “Fly-by-night” type of operations, like those that commonly appear on Amazon, have been known to sell knock-off products to unsuspecting consumers.

How a supplement should be taken and stored

Should the supplement be taken with a meal or without? Before bedtime, or upon waking? Can I improve the benefit if I take the supplement with other supplements – or does it not matter? These are all questions that I have gone into detail in a separate article, which can be found by clicking here.

Because quality is important, there are some simple steps to maintain their full effectiveness from the first tablet out of the bottle to the last. Supplement potency can be maximized with a focus on storage temperature and humidity, preventing light from entering the bottle, and minding the expiration date.

Storage temperature

Certain natural supplements, such as most probiotics, oils, and liquids, need to be stored in the refrigerator to ensure full potency. These products will almost always say “keep refrigerated” or “refrigerate after opening” on the bottle. If not refrigerated, they will lose potency and will not last to the expiration date on the label.

Although there are some “shelf-stable” probiotics, the care shown for the transport and storage of these supplements at many grocery or “super” stores is no different than the care shown for a toilet plunger that you can also purchase at that store. At Oakway Naturals, supplements are sent directly to you from the manufacturer or their chosen distributors (who carefully adhere to the best storage and shipping practices). This ensures they are as fresh and potent as possible.

Storage humidity

Many supplements contain instructions to store them in a cool, dry place. The reason they mention dryness is to minimize the potentially harmful effects of humidity. It is common for people to store supplements in a cabinet in the bathroom or kitchen, but the high humidity levels (from showering and cooking) in such rooms can degrade the products. According to Purdue University, crystalline substances (which includes some kinds of B vitamins, C vitamins, and other dietary supplements) are susceptible to something called deliquescence — the term for when humidity makes a water-soluble solid dissolve. Storing those supplements in a climate-stable place, such as the office or bedroom, and away from warm, humid environments can help ensure they maintain their effectiveness throughout their life expectancy.

Some people like to keep their supplements in the refrigerator even if the bottle does not say to — thinking that although it’s not necessary, it can’t hurt. But unnecessary refrigeration may introduce harmful moisture to the bottle and its contents.

A simple (but often overlooked) place to start in the battle against humidity is to make sure the bottle’s lid is closed tight after every use. Another way to combat moisture is keeping the silica pack that the manufacturer places in the bottle. Have you ever dropped your cell phone in water and put it in a container of rice to dry it out and save it? A study from International Journal of Audiology compared the drying power of white rice with silica packs and found them to be statistically similar. Using the silica pack to keep your supplements dry is the same concept — so make sure to keep it in the bottle.

Light & storage

In addition to temperature and humidity levels, it is also important to pay attention to how much light your supplements are exposed to. Light exposure accelerates the degradation of vitamins and other supplements and can cause them to lose their effectiveness. A study in Food Chemistry looked at the stability of vitamins A and D3 in fortified soybean oil when being stored in either dark or semi-dark conditions. The oils that were exposed to some light lost about two-and-a-half times more vitamin content than the oil that was kept in the dark.

Some people use daily pill organizers as a tool to help them remember what to take each day. While organization is always good, most daily pill organizers are at least semi-transparent — which allows light to get in and potentially do damage. Supplements should be stored in opaque or dark-colored containers, like the ones the manufacturer puts them in, to ensure maximum lifespan and potency. It is also best to keep supplements in their original bottles so that you can easily reference the supplement facts and recommended dosage. But if you feel you must use a daily pill organizer instead, choose one that seals tightly and keeps out as much light out as possible to ensure the supplement stays viable until the expiration date.

Minding the expiration date

When a supplement reaches its expiration date, it is the last day the manufacturer believes the product will have full potency if it was stored under optimal conditions. If a supplement has been kept in less-than-ideal conditions, the time in which it will maintain full potency may be shorter than the expiration date. Some manufacturers may use preservatives such as artificial colors, BHT, and other additives to push their products’ expiration dates out further than the expiration dates of truly natural supplements. You won’t find those manufacturers at Oakway Naturals, because quality matters to us.

This newsletter should help you get the most of your supplement regimen and will hopefully lead to optimal results.

If you have any questions regarding the concepts discussed here or anything else, please feel free to fill out our Ask the Doctor form found at the Doctors Corner.

Yours in health,

Dr. Gregg Gittins