Some herbs or supplements provided by your naturopath can also be bought over the counter without a prescription. However, there can be BIG differences between what is prescribed to you in clinic VS what you can buy off the shelf in a bulk pharmacy.
When you purchase a practitioner only product:
The amount of active product written on the label is guaranteed – practitioner only products test before, and after, to ensure that active compounds are present in the quantities required for consistent and effective clinical results. You wouldn’t take a ¼ of a Panadol and expect your pain to resolve. Herbs and nutrients work in the same way; a therapeutic dose needs to be achieved!
The quality of the product is guaranteed. Some supplements may be vulnerable to things like heat or oxygen. For this purpose, practitioner only products are manufactured and transported from factory to clinic, in a manner that ensures their stability and protects products from going rancid and having negative affects to health. Fish Oil in particular is vulnerable to oxidization, the $9.99 bargain bin fish oils are exposed to heat, light and oxygen and therefore FULL of nasties by the time they get home to you, not achieving desired results!
They are free of contaminants. Some nutrients and herbs can be difficult to administer in isolation, as such they need to be attached to compounds called ‘excipients’ which help to bind products together. Practitioner only products utilise excipients that assist in supporting absorption and utilisation. This means that you have more of the active ingredient and less binders or synthetics. Supermarket Vitamin C is often bound with glucose (to give it that orange flavour), which competes for absorption meaning you not only don’t get the vitamin C you need but heaps of other junk alongside it.
When your naturopath prescribes you a herbal, or nutritional supplement, they are doing so with the intention of providing you with the HIGHEST QUALITY ingredients in THERAPUEIC DOSES, to ensure you get the best RESULTS! If you have questions about your supplements, it is always best to speak to someone who has been industry trained and can guide you in the right direction—like us!
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