What's in Your Supplement?

March 25, 2016

Imagine you’re in the pub and you’ve just bumped into your friend Mario Roxas. Mario happens to be a naturopathic doctor and the director of research and development at Thorne, the Rolls Royce of supplement companies. Wouldn’t you want to know what supplements Mario takes? Me too, and so I couldn’t resist making that my first question.

But what is it that makes Thorne Research different? Why not buy your supplements from Costco? Two reasons: research and quality. Thorne employ a team of medical and naturopathic doctor scientists that spend their time studying the scientific literature on the lookout for evidence supporting the decision to manufacturer a specific supplement. Secondly, there’s quality. Thorne cater to the sensitive customer likely to experience allergic reactions. The raw materials used to make a supplement originate from trusted sources, but Thorne validate the content of all their supplements no less than three times during the manufacturing process. Surprisingly, the FDA laws only require a supplement manufacturer to list the ingredients they added to the supplement, and there’s no guarantee that one or more of the raw ingredients used are free of potential allergens like lactose even though they’re not listed on the label.

Are big supplement companies any different from big pharma?

Allopathic medicine is often accused of being bought, but what makes alternative any different? Are the naturopathic doctors simply prescribing Meriva in place of Humira? I would argue no, absolutely not, and the proof is in the name supplement. As Mario points out, supplement is the perfect word. You can’t supplement your way out of a bad diet or lifestyle, and so the supplement is but one tool in the extensive chest of a good functional medicine practitioner.

Three years ago I had never taken a nutritional supplement.

Now I have a cupboard full of them. The reason is simple: they work. I used to take regularly chlorpheniramine for allergies. Killing off overgrowths of opportunistic pathogens and parasites with herbs like oregano and noni got me most of the way there, now I stay symptom-free by regularly supplementing with methyl-folate. The supplement didn’t just mask my symptoms; it corrected a deficiency and as a result, my red blood cells have become normal sized.

Adverse events?

Do you know of someone who had a serious adverse event as the result of taking a nutritional supplement free of contaminants? I don’t think this happens very often, if at all. Please let me know in the comments section below.

Here’s the outline of this interview with Dr Mario Roxas, ND

0:00:42    Mario became interested in supplements whilst a resident at the National College of Natural Medicine.

0:02:12    Thorne Research are the Rolls Royce of supplements.

0:02:58    Mario takes the Basic Nutrients 2/day multivitamin.

0:03:15    Together with LipoCardia®, CoQ10, fish oil and NiaCel®.

0:03:58    Whey protein in a smoothie.

0:04:35    Interview with Bob Rountree on mitochondrial health.

0:05:15    Supplement design starts with research.

0:06:09    Thorne has a team of scientists and doctors, NDs, MDs and PhDs.

0:07:48    The product development cycle for nicotinamide riboside lasted two years.

0:08:43    Two years is a long time for a supplement.

0:09:30    When asked about supplements, what does Mario tell his friends?

0:09:37    Focus on the basics first, e.g. food.

0:10:12    Supplement is a perfect word.

0:10:41    Omega-3 fatty acids are important.

0:10:54    Also probiotics.

0:11:01    Things to help with digestion, e.g. enzymes.

0:11:25    Added fibre.

0:11:46    Chronic inflammation, curcum is helpful, e.g. Meriva-SR®.

0:13:08    What's the difference between a $60 per month Thorne multi vs. a $10 Costco multi?

0:13:45    Thorne use a capsule and there's multiple capsules.

0:14:03    The capsules easier to absorb.

0:14:23    Thorne uses no unnecessary additives, fillers or flow agents.

0:15:03    No tablets because binders.

0:15:54    There's nothing toxic about magnesium stearate, but it can interfere with absorption.

0:18:15    Flow agents and fillers may be a proxy for quality, but the type of ingredients used is probably more important.

0:18:43    The supplement manufacturer are only required to list on the label the things that they put in.

0:22:16    Thorne products are hypoallergenic.

0:23:23    The most expensive supplement is the one you don't absorb.

0:23:41    Methylcobalamin is an absorbable form of B12.

0:24:16    Originally I was iron deficient, I found out the hard way that cheap iron supplements don't work.

0:25:14    Are supplements hard on the liver?

0:25:54    By using the most bioavailable forms, the liver is unburdened of the job of conversion.

0:26:14    Some, like Meriva-SR®, are hepatoprotective (protective of the liver).

0:29:01    In the case of Meriva, the main ingredient is manufactured by a third party.

0:29:04    But even so, the raw material goes into quarantine.

0:29:27    Thorne evaluates through it's own lab to verify identity.

0:30:06    Every lot goes through at least 3 and sometimes 4 rounds of verification.

0:31:51    In house manufacturing provides a level of control.

0:32:33    If the manufacturer knows you don't have a QA department, what incentive do they have to deliver the goods?

0:32:47    Thorne calls this “trust but verify”.

0:33:19    The certificate of analysis (COA).

0:34:58    The COA shows what's in the product, and details of potential contaminants. Here’s an example for the AM part of the EXOS multivitamin.

0:36:51    The only way to make money selling supplements on Amazon is buy large quantities and then let Amazon do the fulfillment.

0:38:10    Thorne has been clamping down on Amazon sellers.

0:39:26    Thorne do keep track of adverse events.

0:39:58    This is part of FDA compliance.

0:40:17    Majority are upset stomach.

0:41:09    New IBD digestive support supplement EnteroMend®, Meriva, Boswellia, Aloe, partially hydrolyzed guar gum and glutamine

0:45:49    MCT powdered with bionic fibre.

0:47:52    Ketos OS gave me diarrhoea, KetoForce was fine (but tastes awful).

0:48:29    Creating palatability can cause problems with allergens.