Potency and Purity
For
herbs, potency depends on the quality of the
raw herb used and the care taken in manufacturing.
A tremendously wide range of quality is found
in different products. A poor quality product
may have no effect whatsoever; the same dosage
of a superior product may work wonders.
The
herbal products I most often use and recommend
are liquid
alcohol extracts and encapsulated dried
herbal extracts. I use and recommend alcohol
extracts made by the Eclectic Institute of
Sandy, Oregon, because the company uses organic
alcohol and is committed to growing and securing
the finest quality herbs. A number of fine
companies make encapsulated dried herbal extracts,
including Eclectic, Herb-Pharm, Gaia Herbs,
and my own company.
How
potent a given vitamin or mineral product
will be depends on what forms the vitamins
and minerals are in, and how much of the product
is actually absorbed and utilized. Vitamins
and minerals may be complexed in various forms,
as described above; forms identical or close
to those found in foods are generally better
absorbed and utilized.
There
are two issues relating to purity. First,
are the raw ingredients pure? Reputable manufacturers
insure that each batch of raw materials is
laboratory-tested for purity and can provide
users with copies of certificates of analysis.
The other issue concerns the additives nearly
all manufacturers use in the production of
supplements.
