A lot of ingredients go into a pill, a drug, or a dietary supplement. Many consumers don't know the real truth about all these ingredients and where they came from. Pharmaceutical companies should be transparent and clear about what goes into their products so that the consumer can make an educated decision before purchasing that product. However, certain regulations let companies get away with not giving away all necessary information to the consumer, and at the end of the day, you should put an effort to look into what you're putting into your body. Here are a couple of facts about that pill you're taking or the supplement you have to take daily that you probably didn't know.
1. There are more ingredients in your pill than just the active ingredient
I hope that everyone knows this because it's pretty straightforward, but you'd be surprised. For example, if you're taking a vitamin D3 supplement daily, that supplement doesn't only contain vitamin D3, but a slew of other inactive ingredients. If you're worried about this, don't be. If you look at the nutritional facts on the back of your supplement, you can see that the amount of whatever vitamin you're taking daily is more than enough of your daily requirement.
These inactives don't get in the way of the supplement, they help the pill to formulate. These inactives don't affect how you get your vitamins, they control how the ingredients in the pill stick together and help them bond. So don't be alarmed when you see 50 inactive ingredients for one active ingredient, just know that a pill contains several ingredients besides the active.
2. Many capsules contain animal gelatin
This probably doesn't matter if you're not a vegetarian or vegan and consume meat, but this is certainly something that I was shocked to realize. The supplement or pill bottles, for the most part, do declare this on the nutritional label, but many consumers just glance over this label instead of reading it thoroughly.
This is only applicable if you take a capsule. Most capsules are made of animal gelatin, which is derived from pig skin and bovine hide (cowhide.) Your bottle should list gelatin as an ingredient, and in parentheses, tell you if it's vegetable gelatin or animal gelatin. If you don't consume meat, it's important to know where the gelatin in your capsules is coming from.
3. A lot of supplements contain palm oil
If you look at the inactive ingredients on your nutritional label for your bottle, often times you will see either or both magnesium stearate, stearic acid, or some chemical containing palm in it. For me, this raises red flags. Magnesium stearate, stearic acid, and anything with palm in the chemical name comes from palm oil. And if the palm oil is harvested in Malaysia or Indonesia (where most palm oil is harvested) then there's a pretty good chance that the harvesting of that palm oil is contributing to the decline of the endangered orangutan, one of our closest ancestors, and to deforestation.
This deforestation results in a loss of habitat for the orangutans who live in these trees. Orangutans are already critically endangered, and besides the loss of habitat, the deforestation also results in entire villages having to move because their homes have been ravaged.
Before you freak out, not all magnesium stearate is from Malaysia and even if it is, if it's RSPO certified, it's safe for use. RSPO certified means that people have monitored the harvesting of palm oil from the beginning to the end and made sure it is safe and conflict-free. So always read your label and look into the whereabouts of magnesium stearate, stearic acid, or anything with palm in it to make sure you aren't contributing to the extinction of one of our closest ancestors and mass deforestation.
4. If you take amino acid supplements, know where they are obtained
If you take amino acid supplements, know that most amino acids are obtained from duck feathers or human hair. Duck feathers and human hair are loaded with keratin, a protein that has many amino acids, so it's fairly easy to extract it from there. This isn't alarming or new, just something to look out for if you are vegan, vegetarian, or stray away from animal-derived ingredients.
5. Know the difference between non-GMO, GMO-free, and GMO
Admittedly, this doesn't matter if you don't care if your supplements or pills come from genetically modified organisms, but some people have issues with GMOs, so this information is important to know if you are unaware. GMO obviously means that there are ingredients in the supplement or pill you are taking that have been genetically modified or have been tainted with genetically modified DNA.
However, the key difference is between GMO-free and non-GMO. Many consumers think these two terms are exchangable and one and the same, but they are not. GMO-free means that the product could have originated from genetically modified DNA and organisms, but through PCR testing, it does not have any genetically modified DNA.
Therefore, it may have originated from genetically modified DNA, but it no longer has this genetically modified DNA. Non-GMO means that none of the ingredients originated from genetically modified DNA at all and nothing GMO of the sort was involved in the process, production, and manufacturing.
6. Cross-contamination is a real threat
This applies if you are someone who is allergic to one or more of the US or EU's list of common allergens. Not just allergic, per say, but extremely sensitive. Some supplements and pills are made in factories that also produce items that contain certain allergens like shellfish, peanuts, soy, etc. Usually, you can find this information below or near the nutritional label. The statement will be something along the lines of, "This product was processed in a facility that also processes..." followed by the allergens.
If you are someone who is extremely allergic or incredibly sensitive to one or more of these allergens, I highly recommend looking into that product or just finding another product that isn't processed or produced in a facility that also deals with other allergens just to avoid cross-contamination.
These facts aren't meant to freak anyone out, they're just common knowledge on the internet and on your nutritional label. But I've found that a lot of consumers don't know this, and sometimes this information can be hard to find. Do your research and always look into things before putting them into your body.
