The Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America states that 8% of American adults, or around 15 million people, have a food allergy. For people with allergies, the supplements you buy may be more important than you think.
This is because many of the ingredients found in supplements are derived from dairy, nuts, different types of vegetables, animal parts, and so on. Supplements may also contain non-food ingredients like chemical coatings, sweeteners, colorings, shellfish, gluten, and similar synthetic or natural compounds.
Interestingly, people who don’t report food allergies may still have a sensitivity to certain food ingredients and chemicals. For these people, when taking a supplement, they may experience minor digestive discomfort, flushing, itching, or other temporary discomforts.
While minor discomforts like the above may not seem like a big deal, the Pure Encapsulations brand wants you to think about the secondary and potentially long-term effects of ingesting those ingredients, as you will see below.
Pure Encapsulations Allergen Free Supplements
According to research done by Pure Encapsulations, common allergens, additives, and contaminants in supplements may contribute to:
- A negative mood
- Headaches
- Rashes
- Breathing problems
- Stomach and digestive problems
- General fatigue
- Aches and pains in joints and muscles
To try and reverse the trend of supplements using what Pure Encapsulations defines as “unnecessary,” the brand has decided not to use the following ingredients, unless otherwise stated on the product label:
- Chemicals
- Eggs
- Nuts
- Gluten
- Lactose
- GMOs
- Hydrogenated fat
- Artificial sweeteners, fragrances, and colors
- Binders, fillers, and preservatives
- Coatings
- Stearate
Supplements that seek to remove these ingredients are sometimes referred to as “hypoallergenic,” but this is not an official or regulated term, meaning that not all hypoallergenic supplements are the same. So make sure to always check the label before use to determine what is in the product, and consult with your doctor if you think you have an allergy or sensitivity.Additionally, it can take up to 2 months to experience both the positive and negative effects of some supplements. Some supplements deliver “micro-dosages,” so if you start using a supplement and later you notice a change you don’t want, check the label for the above ingredients or consider if there is a food ingredient that is causing issues.
Why Some Ingredients are Good
When looking at the supplement label, you will find ingredients you may not recognize. While at first these may appear negative because of the name, they may be necessary for several reasons.Here are a few examples:
- Coatings and glazes – Used in tablets to help them slide down your throat.
- Coloring and flavoring – Often used in kids products; try to find products that use coloring and flavoring from natural sources.
- Preservatives – Natural preservatives like rosemary extract, for example, are okay.
- Excipients – Processing aids that help the supplement manufacturing processes for capsules, tablets, or capsules; they may be necessary for the supplement to retain quality while still in the bottle or to function inside of the body.
- Fillers – Magnesium stearate and cellulose are common and safe, helping to lubricate the formula or keep the compounds in the supplement together.
- Binders – Hold tablets together.
- Flow agents – Helps to keep loose powders from becoming hard.
When looking to narrow down the causes of your sensitivity and allergic reaction, make sure to keep track of every supplement you take, when you take it, and any other dietary information so you can quickly and easily share this information with your doctor.
Shopping Pure Encapsulations supplements is one way to make sure you are limiting exposure to different types of common allergens. But all of us are different, so while one ingredient doesn’t give one person any problems, another might. If the current brand of supplements you use isn’t providing the support you want, try Pure Encapsulations and see if it makes a difference in your health.
