Dietary supplements are the cure for today’s nutrient-deficient bodies. It’s true: despite efforts to keep our nutrition in top shape, food is unfortunately not as nourishing as it used to be decades ago, due to soil depletion.

But don’t worry: whether you take them in powders, pills or gummies, supplements are here to put those vitamins and minerals back where they belong.

Still, not all supplements are the same, and active ingredients don’t make them similarly effective. Before adding them to your diet, you should take a few things into consideration.

Although their sale should be restricted to drugstores and the manufacturer’s website, we see supplements for sale all over social media with catchy ads and promising offers. Sadly, depending on where you’ve purchased yours, the purported benefits might not even be there, or you could be dealing with a fraud.

Your product should be manufactured with raw ingredients of the highest quality for consumers, and each of them should be clearly listed on the bottle. Don’t be fooled by the listings in front of a package--take your time on research.

Visit the manufacturer’s website for more information on the source of ingredients and the conditions in which they are handled. It’s something you’ll be putting in your body, so you have the right to know what goes in it. 

If a supplement isn’t FDA approved, forget about it. The US Food and Drug Administration has a mission of protecting public health by guaranteeing the safety and efficacy of drugs. If a drug hasn’t been approved, you can never be sure about its reliability or if it’ll work as promised.

Moreover, you should check that your product is GMP (Good Manufacturing Practices) registered. The NSF International registers manufacturers of dietary supplements and raw materials that meet the standards of purity, strength, composition, and quality, all of which will be rightfully stated on the product’s label.

As an existing example, Makers Nutrition is a manufacturing company that’s both FDA approved and NSF-GMP registered, meaning its products are qualified and beneficial for human and animal consumption.

Has the final product been tested before distribution? If you’re not sure, a quick visit to your manufacturer of choice might be necessary. 

Knowing whether your supplements have been through raw material testing and final product quality assurance will double your certainty of purchasing the best items on the market, and you shouldn’t settle for any less than that.

Product testing and analysis must be handled under ideal temperature and hygiene conditions in advanced laboratories. Research about your chosen company’s authority, manufacturing and distribution process, as they greatly affect the condition of your order. 

According to Harvard Health, an expired supplement bottle won’t be harmful. However, it still might not give you the 100 percent effectiveness you’ve paid for, and the product isn’t to blame. 

Expiration dates have been required by law since 1979, so as to certify the efficacy of drugs. It won’t hurt to check the date printed on the bottle and buy one that has at least six months before it expires, so you can enjoy the full benefits of your purchase.

If all issues from the topics above have been ruled out, then you have reassurance that what you’re consuming is high quality. However, depending on the state of your health, the benefits could still be dangerous. Contradictory, we know, but health should always come first. 

You shouldn’t take supplements for treatment or nutritional reinforcement without the supervision of a medical professional. You could be overdosing on vitamins, for instance, which could cause mild to severe side-effects. 

Additionally, taking more than your prescribed dose of supplements won’t make them work better or faster. And they may bring disadvantages in the long run, so stick to your daily dose. By doing it correctly, supplementation can be a much needed boost in your health. Your body will thank you.