Aloe Vera Health Benefits: An Update on Our Recommended Supplement Companies

Concentrated Fiber Capsules OR Fresh Salad In September we offered a list of supplement companies recommended by the experts. Our readers responded with their suggestions, and after further research we have expanded our list. If readers have further thoughts and suggestions, please continue sending them in! All companies listed are high quality supplement producers and known for their manufacturing standards, testing, and nutrient potency. Their products are often, although not always, derived from whole foods (such as taking vitamin C from acerola). In our listing, we also note whether the supplement company’s products are certified organic or in a few cases contain mostly complete vitamins. These terms are defined as follows: Certified Organic supplements are those that use USDA Certified Organic source ingredients. The USDA’s organic certification is the only official set of criteria for organic products. To be labeled organic, 95% of the supplement must meet the following standards:

All produce grown in soil free of synthetic pesticide and fertilizer

No synthetics at all, unless on a USDA-certified list

No GMOs

No antibiotics or growth hormones

To be fully organic, a food or supplement must say both “USDA Certified” and “100% Organic.” Organic ingredients are particularly important for some whole food-based nutrients to avoid too many harmful chemicals. Supplements using green tea, for instance, may contain residues from pesticides unless the tea has been Certified Organic. Some mainstream, non-organic tea companies were independently tested and found to have harmful pesticide chemicals in nearly 100% of their products. Mostly complete vitamin companies offer exclusively or almost exclusively whole foods vitamins that are made from whole food sources and don’t contain fractionated or isolated nutrients. For instance, a product listing vitamin C on its ingredients label would offer a whole foods source ingredient like papaya. A fractionated vitamin C would be listed as “ascorbic acid,” since the nutrient is synthetic, isolated, or both. A complete vitamin is not necessarily superior or inferior to a fractionated vitamin. It depends on which supplements and how they are being used. For example, mostly complete vitamins are rarely high potency. Here, then, is our updated list of supplement makers recommended by leading integrative doctors with whom we have consulted: Advanced Bionutritionals (Drs. Nan Fuchs, Robert Rowen, and Frank Shallenberger) Allergy Research Group Ayush Herbs Beehive Botanicals Bio-Alternatives Bio Innovations Bio-Tech Pharmacal Biotics Research Bronson Laboratories Carlson Laboratories CHI Health Products Country Life Craig Nutraceuticals Designs for Health Douglas Laboratories Eclectic Institute Ecological Formulas EcoNugenics Enzymatic Therapy Essential Formulas