ConsumerLab.com Questions & Answers

Absolutely. Contact us within 30 days for a full refund on any 1 or 2 year membership if you are not satisfied. There is no refund, however, on purchase of a single report. Our policy is posted here: https://www.consumerlab.com/useragreement.asp

Our latest ratings of CoQ10 are found in the CoQ10 Supplements Review at https://www.consumerlab.com/reviews/CoQ10-Ubiquinol-Supplements-Review/CoQ10/. You can also look up brands on our site using the search box.

Hi Rita - If you are member of ConsumerLab.com, see our Top Picks in the Multivitamin Supplements Review (https://www.consumerlab.com/reviews/multivitamin_review_comparisons/multivitamins/#whatCLfound). In general, these Top Picks 1) contain what they claim without contamination, 2) provide the right amount of vitamins and minerals -- not too much or too little, and 3) are a good value. The report is broken into categories, so you can, for example, find the best multi for women vs. men.

Hi Wanda - ConsumerLab.com has tested many products from these brands. Those which we have Reviewed in recent years can be found in the reports at https://www.consumerlab.com/Search/Spring-Valley-Review and https :// www.consumerlab. Com/Search/Puritan%27s-Pride-Review. We don't give an "overall" rating to a brand based on our tests, just product-by-product ratings.

Hi Rita - Technically the term "dietary supplement" includes vitamins, as well as minerals, herbs/botanicals, amino acids, and certain other sustances, like fish oils, CoQ10, probiotics, etc.

Hi Iras - ConsumerLab.com does not sell supplements, but independently tests, compares, and rates them for quality and cost. Our Ashwagandha Supplements Review is found at https://www.consumerlab.com/reviews/ashwagandha_supplements/ashwagandha/ and is available to online subscribers to ConsumerLab. The Review includes extensive information about how to properly use Ashwagandha.

For products tested and Approved by ConsumerLab.com, see our Probiotic Supplements Review at https://www.consumerlab.com/reviews/Probiotic_Supplements_and_Kefir/probiotics/. In general, be sure you probiotic provides at least 1 billion cells (or "CFUs") per day. As explained in the Review, certain strains of organisms have stronger evidence than others depending on the use, whether it be prevention of antibiotic-related diarrhea, IBS, anxiety, etc.

No, all the products we review must be purchased by us at retail, just as a consumer would; they can not be sent to us. If you want to suggest a product for us to test, you are welcome to email us at info@consumerlab.com. We also conduct a survey of our readers each year to determine which products are of greatest interest to them -- and this plays a major role in guiding our product selection. The testing we do is very expensive, so we need to choose products which we think will be of interest to many.

We have written a review article about Prevagen at https://www.consumerlab.com/answers/does-prevagen-really-improve-memory/prevagen_memory/, but we don't have information on where to buy it locally.

Thanks for your questions, Beth. ConsumerLab.com purchases and tests hundreds of supplements each year, but it is not possible to test every brand -- as there are more than 30,000 supplements sold in the U.S. Instead, we focus on those which tend to be most popular while still getting a good representation of the different sales channels,. E. g, mass market, supermarket, pharmacy, health food and vitamin stores, professional brands, direct distributor, etc. The number of different products we test in category ranges from about 10 to more than 50 depending on the popularity of the category. The testing is expensive and comprehensive, typically involving many tests and employing the most accurate analytical methods. Our information regarding the use of supplements is based on extensive, ongoing review of clinical studies, which we reference. We point out what supplements have been shown to do, what they don't do, the form and dosage used, and potential side effects and drug interactions. In our Product Reviews, we select, purchase, test, and report results -- pass or fail -- for every product selected for the review. These reviews are funded by our subscribers - over 70,000 individuals as well as libraries, colleges, and universities. Our mission is to help consumers identify high quality products through independent testing. We also operate the olderst 3rd party dietary supplement certification program in the U.S. (started in 1999), in which any company can voluntarily have its product independently tested to determine if it meets our standards. The company pays a testing fee and the product gets purchased and tested in the same manner as those we select for our reviews. If it passes, we include it on our site, identifying that it was tested through the voluntary program. You can find more information about ConsumerLab.com athttps://www.consumerlab.com/aboutcl.asp. We are also the only 3rd party verification group to publicly disclose our testing methods and criteria, which you can access, by category, from https://www.consumerlab.com/methods_index.asp I hope that helps answer your questions. Sincerely, Tod Cooperman, M. D. President and Founder ConsumerLab.com