The consumer demand for natural health supplements is on the rise and is being met with a surplus of supply. It's one of the fastest growing, multi-billion dollar industries throughout Canada and The U.S - and it won’t be slowing down anytime soon.
But with so many new brands and products emerging with beneficial claims, setting foot in a supplement store can be extremely overwhelming and beg the question: How do you, as a consumer, know what you are really getting when you purchase a supplement?
Furthermore, as of February 2015, research emerged on falsely labelled supplements distributed by major retailers. The results were devastating, with supplements found to match their labelled ingredients as little as 4% of the time. It took no time at all for this information to go viral, with supplement integrity being on our radar stronger than ever before.
But perhaps this is the perfect storm to encourage consumers to dig deeper before making a purchase, and will provide leverage for legitimate natural health companies who’ve had extremely high standards all along.
Building Trust
When looking for a reputable supplement, it’s important to consider these key factors: Manufacturing processes, third-party testing, transparency with proven extensive scientific research and quality control.
AOR consistently delivers on each of these, which is suggested in its abbreviated name: Advanced Orthomolecular Research.
Research
If you’re unfamiliar with the term "orthomolecular research", it can be defined as, “the right amount of the right ingredients to the right place at the right time.” Although categorized as natural health products, AOR follows the same protocol as the pharmaceutical industry when it comes to research and third-party testing. Through years of exhaustive research, AOR has recognized that many beneficial plants and herbs found in nature are difficult for the body to absorb and assimilate.
The need for truly effective supplements using advanced technology became obvious. This research lead to the formulation of bioavailable forms of herbal supplements, such as free-form curcumin.
As you can see, AOR’s mission is to bring pharmaceutical standards to the natural health industry by conducting in-depth research at the cellular level. Manufacturing and Testing
Pharmaceuticals undergo extremely careful manufacturing with equipment, sterility and delivery technologies within their facilities. AOR believes that in order to become a leader in the natural supplement industry, it is mandatory to follow suit. AOR is one of the only supplement companies to use state-of-the-art equipment similar to that of the pharmaceutical industry. This equipment is crucial to providing a sterile environment and current research on appropriate dosages and optimal delivery methods for each supplement, such as liquids, capsules and tablets. Once formulated, each supplement undergoes third party testing for honest and unbiased results.
AOR also states that samples are taken from each production run to ensure the stability and accurate expiration date of each supplement.[4]
AOR’s testing and manufacturing process is a crucial part of their mission statement, which delivers pure and ethical supplements based on current research and relevant results. This allows ingredients to consistently achieve advanced results, putting AOR’s supplements in the lead for quality and research.
Regulation
Regulation, previously a grey area in the natural supplement industry for many years, is now becoming relevant. All of AOR’s products are regulated through GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice) and follow the NHPD (Natural Health Products Directorate) Guidelines.
You won’t find an AOR product without an NPN number, which means it has passed the standards regulated by Health Canada. Aside from AOR being a brand we are proud to distribute, hopefully you were able to take away a few tangible tips on what to look for the next time you choose to purchase a supplement.
Some of AOR's top products include:
- Ortho Sleep,
- Ortho Core,
- Advanced B Complex,
- SAMe,
- Vitamin K2 ,
- Curcumin Active.