Preventative Health Is Key

I have spent my life empowering people to take charge of their health. 

My early years as a heart surgeon were spent listening to the concerns of patients, many of whom wanted to learn less aggressive medical approaches to their ailments. I heard the pleas and started inventing devices to fix heart valves in minimally invasive ways. 

Low-tech solutions can also help prevent illness. Patients who choose healthier foods and supplements, exercises, and meditations frequently felt stronger, perhaps because they were empowered. This led to big businesses with wide variations in quality. 

My Growing Quality Concerns With Supplements

This year, independent analyses by ConsumerLab.com and NOW Foods revealed widespread variations in the astaxanthin content and price in widely available products. Remember that Astaxanthin is a red carotenoid with antioxidant activity that is naturally produced by microalgae and provides the pink coloration of shrimp, krill, salmon, and trout. It is not produced by the human body and been argued to benefit cholesterol, inflammation, skin health, and sports performance. But if the product quality is low, it cannot have the desired positive benefit. 

In April, NOW Foods reported that 13 out of 22 products sold almost exclusively on Amazon.com and Walmart.com provided less than 1 mg of astaxanthin per serving despite indicating that they contained 10 mg or more. More than half of the supplements were fraudulent, meaning many consumers would incorrectly assume that astaxanthin did not help them when a higher-quality product might have helped. 

ConsumerLab.com founder Dr. Tod Cooperman, M.D., was a frequent guest on my show and has impressed me with his meticulous analysis of products. He picked more reputable astaxanthin brands and showed that 6 of 7 had the claimed ingredients, but the costs ranged 2 to 4 fold, which is difficult to justify. In case you are curious, California Gold Nutrition, BioAstin, and Healthy Origins astaxanthin products offered the best value. 

For consumers to be empowered to ingest products for their health, they need to trust the sources of these items. I spent years on my show highlighting the abuse impacting the health industry. I confronted fraudsters trying to sell fake products using my name while reassuring my audience that I have never sold any supplements, so these had to be counterfeit. Meanwhile, I searched for trusted partners who could help my viewers.

Why I Partnered With iHerb

I began collaborating with iHerb on my show several years ago in order to offer a high-quality option for viewers, many of whom were unaware that iHerb is so highly regarded in the industry. Working with my colleague Dr. Michael Murray, we reviewed approaches to avoiding illness and highlighted very affordable options. Thanks to dedicated team members, iHerb sets the standard for ensuring customers all around the world get what they expect. 

Unlike many competitors, iHerb carefully selects the brands featured on its online store and ensures strict standards, including climate-controlled storage, are met. They show customers their meticulous testing results on iHerb House Brand products,  for ingredients and toxicology, so you know that the inside of the bottle has exactly what the outside promised. All at an affordable price. Plus, they have tons of customer reviews and blogs from top doctors, so you are up to date. That’s why iHerb is the world’s leading eCommerce store dedicated to trusted health products. So stay empowered to live the healthy life you deserve by picking the right partners for your health journey. 

References: 

  1. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5946307/ 
  2. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7696511/ 
  3. https://www.nowfoods.com/about-now/press-room/press-releases/now-discovers-impersonator-fraudulent-products-sold-amazon 
  4. https://www.consumerlab.com/reviews/astaxanthin-supplements-review/astaxanthin/