The Open Secret of Low-Quality Supplements

Look, let’s just call it what it is—mislabeling and contaminants in supplements is the industry’s open secret. Everyone who’s paying attention already knows this, but not enough is being done about it. Sure, we’ve seen some companies step up, but the truth is, low-quality supplements are everywhere, and they’re fooling people. The data speaks for itself.

😱 How Bad Is It?

Studies paint a grim and detailed picture. I’ve included a selection at the bottom of this page, but in summary:

• Levels of active ingredients are all over the place. Some have none, some have way too much. That shows it’s not simply cutting corners, obviously sometimes producers just have no idea what’s in their products. Wild, right?
• Contaminants? Everywhere. Some are slightly over the limit, but others are straight-up scary. We’re talking prescription drugs, and in some cases, unlicensed experimental drugs. How does that even happen? It’s mind-blowing.
• Studies show professional athletes failing drug tests due to unwittingly taking in contaminants from supplements. This is why many sports teams now work with highly credible suppliers only, more on that below.
  
  

🎙️ Are People Realizing?

Here’s the silver lining—consumer awareness is rising, thanks to thought leaders like Dr. Andy Galpin (host of the Perform podcast), Andrew Huberman (Huberman Lab), and Dr. Peter Attia (The Drive podcast, author of Outlive). Even fitness legends like 6-time Mr Olympia Dorian Yates are cutting through the noise, talking about supplement quality on platforms like his Shadow Talk podcast.

The conversation is shifting. People are starting to ask tougher questions, and that’s forcing some of the industry to clean up its act.

🏆 Who’s Winning?

Quality is hard to measure, but a few brands have built reputations – and businesses - on doing things right:

• Thorne: They pivoted to a high-quality message in the mid-2010s, raised venture funding in 2018, and IPO’d in 2021 at a $350M valuation. Not bad, right?
• Whole Foods Market: They launched their supplements line, which quickly became Amazon’s second-best-selling line. No surprise there.
• Momentus: This high-quality brand, endorsed by professional sports teams and wellness influencers, raised $6.5M in 2022 and made America’s fastest-growing companies list with over 300% year-on-year growth.
  
  

🤔 What Are People Doing Now?

Brands are catching on. Many are making their lab results public on their websites. It’s a trust-building move, especially for those without the name recognition of Thorne or Momentus. But here’s the catch—once a brand has built enough credibility, they stop sharing these results. Why? Because they don’t want consumers to start comparing cheaper but equally good alternatives.

Platforms like LabDoor, Examine, and Consumer Reviews have stepped in, trying to quality-check products. But the problem? Testing is expensive, and consumers are still too price-sensitive to cover the costs.

What Can Aletheum Do?

At Aletheum, we’re all about validated trust. We’re not trying to police the industry, but we can tell you when a product has lab results, and more importantly, whether those labs are third-party validated. This helps buyers quickly make the right choice. By doing this, we create a system where companies doing the right thing are rewarded. It’s simple—if you make it easy for people to find quality, the industry will step up. One transaction at a time, we’re driving that change.

The bottom line? Trust is the new currency in supplements, and we’re here to make sure that trust is backed by real data. Let’s raise the bar together.

🎓 The Evidence

1. E Sandalova, H Li, L Guan, et al. (2024). Testing the amount of nicotinamide mononucleotide and urolithin A as compared to the label. GeroScience, Volume 46 p5075-5083

The study found that NMN supplements had deviations ranging from -100% to +28.6% and urolithin A from -15.5% up to +28.6%.

2. Geller AI, Shehab N, Weidle NJ, et al. (2015). Emergency Department Visits for Adverse Events Related to Dietary Supplements. New England Journal of Medicine, 373(16), 1531–1540. doi:10.1056/NEJMsa1504267

This study analyzes data from emergency departments to assess the frequency and nature of adverse events related to dietary supplements in the United States.

3. Cohen PA, Avula B, Khan IA. (2017). Adulterated Dietary Supplements in the United States: An Analysis of the Food and Drug Administration’s Tainted Supplements Database. Drug Testing and Analysis, 9(3), 418–423. doi:10.1002/dta.2009

The researchers examine the prevalence of adulteration in dietary supplements, highlighting issues with undeclared pharmaceutical ingredients that pose health risks.

4. Maughan RJ. (2005). Contamination of Dietary Supplements and Positive Drug Tests in Sport. Journal of Sports Sciences, 23(9), 883–889. doi:10.1080/02640410400023258

This paper discusses how contamination of dietary supplements can lead to positive drug tests among athletes, underscoring the lack of quality control.

5. Martena MJ, van der Wielen JC, Konings EJ, et al. (2007). Monitoring of Mercury, Arsenic, and Lead in Traditional Chinese Herbal Preparations on the Dutch Market and Estimation of Associated Risks. Food Additives and Contaminants, 24(12), 1395–1402. doi:10.1080/02652030701509994

This study assesses heavy metal contamination in herbal supplements, revealing potential health hazards due to poor quality control.

6. Sarma N, Khatoon S, Rashmi HM, et al. (2018). Assessment of Microbial Contamination and Phytochemical Analysis of Marketed Herbal Supplements. Journal of Dietary Supplements, 15(4), 476–485. doi:10.1080/19390211.2017.1365748

The authors evaluate microbial contamination and the presence of active phytochemicals in herbal supplements, pointing out inconsistencies in product quality.