On this special episode, listeners get to hear a behind the scenes training session with podcast veteran Lindsay Dahl about the safety and efficacy standards in the supplements world and what questions we are all encouraged to ask. Stacy also gives us the lowdown on what California’s Proposition 65 is all about and how can be and is being used by companies, consumers, and advocacy groups.
Find Lindsay:
If you enjoy the show, please leave a review. Letting people know on iTunes or however you listen that it’s worth their time could change someone’s life!
Key Takeaways
Introductions
- Lindsay has worked at the forefront of environmental health campaigns since 2004, working to eliminate toxic chemicals in consumer products through policy and market shifts. She’s worked with some of the country’s finest policy experts, grassroots organizing pros, and social movement builders.
- Eventually she moved to Washington D.C. to help start, build and run Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families, the nation’s largest campaign working to remove toxic chemicals from consumer products and build a national campaign to update federal laws on toxic chemicals. After five years in Washington, she moved West to spearhead the mission, safety, sustainability & advocacy work for one of the fastest growing clean beauty brands.
- She also writes on topics such as environmental wins, science-based consumer safety guides, safer beauty products, how to find safer products for your home, and first-hand accounts about how democracy works.
- Lindsay current is the Chief Impact Officer for Ritual supplement company.
Prop 65
Find all the information and references about California’s Proposition 65 in Stacy’s recent article here.
Dahl About Supplements
So the long and the short of it is we have a safety and efficacy problem and the two questions that most consumers are asking when they’re shopping the supplement aisle are: Is this safe for me, and is it going to work? – Lindsay Dahl
- Supplements are regulated, they are just underregulated
- The last time there was a major update to supplement law was in 1994, and the market has grown exponentially since then. So wrap your head around this. In the United States at the time there are 4,000 supplement products on the market. In 30 years, that number is now over 9,500.
- There are three main areas of safety concerns in the supplement industry:
- contaminants (like heavy mental + pesticides)
- planetary health
- labor standards & safety of workers / supply chain
- Lindsay believes that quality matters because every single time that you purchase products that you are ingesting or using in your home it comes from somewhere. And quality often has an intersection of safety and sustainability and human rights concerns.
- Sometimes you can actually get better quality or more efficacious nutrients from lab-derived or what some call synthetically-derived ingredients than their natural counterparts.
Questions to ask companies selling supplements:
- What sort of safety program? Independent testing? What can you share?
- How do you design and create your supplements with efficacy in mind and what role do human clinical trials in that efficacy journey
- What certification are you currently seeking or do you have?
- What can you tell me about your sustainability program – How are you approaching packaging, ingredient sourcing, do you have publicly available report?
- Transparency – How transparent are you with customers?
- Ask for the clinical studies used to make the product. Best in class standards for clinical trials:
- Randomized
- Double-blind, create placebos that look exactly like the supplement being tested
- University-led or CROs
- Published & peer-reviewed
Studies, References, and Products
- The Whole View, Season 3:
- Realeverything.com: Prop 65 Warning: What is it and why does it matter?
- Realeverything.com: Should I stop eating dark chocolate because of lead and heavy metals?
- Ritual.com: How to Shop for a Science-Backed, Traceable, Clean Vitamin
- Certifications:
- Ritual’s 2023 Impact Report
- Paleovalley.com/wholeview (get 15% off your first order)
- Puori (use code WHOLEVIEW for 25% off)
Sponsors
- Realeverything.com/shaklee | Shop with me and get 15% off sitewide + get your personalized supplement recommendations by taking the quiz at Realeverything.com/meology
Want more info on our Real Life? Healthy recipes, parenting tips, and general lifestyle stuff goes out in our Real Everything newsletter, join here.
So never want to miss a post, sale, or deal? Join my Healthy Inside & Out e-mail list for more info on non-toxic living and safer skincare!
