As more and more baby boomers begin to consume health food, the need for more business people opening up a vitamin supplement store whether it is an online or brick and mortar location is ever increasing.
There is no distinct training or knowledge required. If you order your supplements online, you could be purchasing them from even a sixteen-year-old in New York or even Vegas or from a seventy-year-old man on a wheelchair.
Do not worry too and this should not concern you? After all, it’s safe as long as it’s sealed, right? Then again, it is wrong!
There are many people who do not realize that these vitamin supplements are not regulated like drugs, but they are regulated like food.
What that means is that unless and until a problem arises, the only thing we’re going to know about the product is what the manufacture wants us to know.
Although the FTC and the FDA work together on issues such as false claims, they usually don’t get involved until after there’s a problem. In addition, unlike drugs, vitamin supplements don’t have to be tested or offer any proof before marketing.
What other stores are doing? Beware of them.
There are some unscrupulous, unethical vitamin supplement stores whom have marketed dietary supplements that were actually fakes and not the product they claimed to be.
Also, there are others stores who had ingredients that were not disclosed on the label. However, between 2002 and 2004, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration had seized more than nine million dollars worth of dietary supplements including vitamin supplements that were either labeled with false claims or were unapproved drugs disguised as supplements.
There are even supplements that claims to be all natural, which can even interfere with medication you are already taking or a medical condition you have.
Sometimes a vitamin supplement is necessary. My doctor has recommended certain supplements to me. When he does however, he writes down exactly what they are and recommends the same store every time, of which he has no affiliation.
The most important thing I know and understand the vitamin health supplement store. I’ve gotten to know the person who owns it and familiar with the brands he or she is selling. There is a consistency there that helps me to feel safe when I shop there.
What you need to do?
In order to get a good quality vitamin supplement, that doesn’t mean that the store has to be a brick and mortar store in order to be considered safe. However, you can still do your homework before you purchase from an online store.
For one thing, if you can’t find any phone number or physical address for that online store you are surfing, just simply walk out of their virtual door! That’s simple and there goes for any online company. There are no strings attached.
Any legal vitamin store company will definitely display their contact information. In this way, not only can you contact them, but you can do some research about them.
Why you need to check on them?
Once you know a vitamin supplement store’s name and physical address, you can check with the Better Business Bureau in that city to see if any complaints have been filed with them and if so, if they have been resolved.
This way, it is also easier to search the FTC and FDA websites for any disciplinary action when you have their contact information.
Another reason is to shut them down virtually when you are visiting a vitamin supplement store online is if they are making any ridiculous claims. Claims such as this, “this cures everything, buy it now, it won’t last,” etc. is simply too good to be true.
In fact, once a supplement claims to cure or treat an illness or condition, it ceases being marketed as a dietary supplement and has become marketed as a drug. That’s when the FDA and FTC start sending out warning letters that can lead to more serious legal action against these operators of the store.
Please note that before making any purchase from any vitamin supplement store, whether online or brick and mortar, use your common sense and do your homework to ensure your safety.
Check the FDA and FTC websites if you have further questions or concerns about vitamin supplements or the stores in which you purchase them.
Now, you may now know how to identify and understand why you need to know your vitamin store when buying vitamins.
However, even we know how to choose a reliable vitamin store, but without a proper understanding of using and getting good vitamins to treat many chronic diseases, there will not be much disease free lifestyle to crave for.
