Am I Just Pushing Supplements? (The short answer is no.)

One of the things we offer at Down to Earth Wellness Center is a wide variety of supplements. Clients might wonder if we are “pushing” those supplements onto them. So I wanted to take some time to explain why we offer our own supplements.

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Often supplements do not contain what the label says they should. Dr. Adrian den Boeh, a board-certified and licensed Naturopathic and Chiropractic physician in Grand Rapids, sent a batch of a vitamin C supplement in for testing. It revealed that there was only 10-20% of the active ingredient compared to what the label stated. Even worse were probiotics. Only two out of seven that were tested contained live activity. 

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It is critical to choose supplements that come from manufacturers who are monitoring for quality ingredients. If the client is not responding to the treatment as expected, I often find it is due to the quality of the supplements they are using. Offering the supplements at the wellness center from quality manufacturers ensures that this is not the issue when treatment is unsuccessful. If the patient is using an unvetted supplement and their symptoms do not improve, it is more difficult to identify the cause.

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Worse, some over-the-counter supplements can be contaminated. This can happen particularly with fish oil. Symptoms such as muscle aches/pains and chronic fatigue can be caused by taking contaminated supplements. 

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Offering supplements at the wellness center saves patients tremendous amounts of time on shopping and researching supplement products (and often end up with poorer outcomes). This delays healing and can lead to frustration.

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Quality supplements are more expensive. But offering supplements from reputable manufacturers will ultimately save time and money. For example, we know taking a fish oil supplement will improve cholesterol over time. If a patient is using a reliable source of fish oil and their cholesterol numbers are not improving, then it’s clear they need to find an alternative solution or investigate a deeper root cause. 

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Offering quality supplements is a service I choose to provide that has taken extensive time, effort, and knowledge to combine the best therapies and know when to use them. It is a critical part of the entire healing process. By providing this service, I can ensure patients are receiving safe, effective treatments in the right dosages for specific outcomes.

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In Health,

Sarah Godsave, FNP-C

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To purchase items from the Down to Earth Wellness Center shop, click here.