Puritan’s Pride has more than 1,200 products to help customers achieve their health goals and is ideal for anyone who wants to boost their immunity, improve organ health, relieve joint pain, get better sleep or enhance their beauty routine. We recommend Puritan’s Pride for its vast assortment of vitamins and supplements and the company’s transparency about the ingredients it sources. Its generous return policy and cost-savings reward program are also nice benefits.
Puritan’s Pride vitamins and supplements are available as a capsule, softgel, rapid-release softgel, tablet, gummy, liquid, oil, crystal or microlozenge. The products feature several dozen vitamins and minerals, and you can select products with amino acids, cordyceps, magnesium, milk thistle, rhodiola, turmeric and zinc. Puritan’s Pride offers vitamin formulas for specific lifestyles and goals. Its most popular products are designed for:
- Active lifestyle
- Diet and lifestyle
- Digestive health
- Energy support
- Heart health
- Holistic health
- Homeopathic remedies
- Immune support
- Joint support
- Men’s health
- Sexual health
- Sleep and relaxation
- Women’s health
Additional products include organic options, nutritional snack bars, beauty supplements and pet supplements.
The Menace of Fake Supplements
Fake pharmaceuticals products are a big problem in public health, Pharmaceutical in the U.S. are required to go through Food and Drug Administration (FDA) testing before they can be brought to market. They are designed to treat a specific problem with controlled substances, and manufacturers need to back up their claims with research.
Supplements, on the other hand, do not need FDA approval to get to market, as long as they don’t contain a controlled drug or substance. People who purchase supplements take it in good faith that the product works in the way the company claims it does, whether it’s a weight loss pill or vitamin.
This presents a unique opportunity for counterfeiters and bad actors. The global supplement industry was estimated to be worth $123 billion in 2019 and growing. Specific products often spike in popularity when they are endorsed by celebrities or powerful marketing campaigns. Counterfeiters then ride the wave with fake products, the contents of which are a mystery.
Federal regulators continue to warn consumers about tainted, dangerous products that are marketed as dietary supplements. These fraudulent products can cause serious injury or even death. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has found nearly 300 fraudulent products that contain hidden or deceptively labeled ingredients.
These are masquerading as dietary supplements—they may look like dietary supplements but they are not legal dietary supplements. There are a lot of worrisome articles circulating about counterfeit supplements being sold on Amazon.com. The truth of the matter is, there’s little Amazon can do to protect you against fake products and fake reviews. Though they have a process for reporting and banning counterfeit third-party sellers, these can pop up overnight and it takes time for them to be reported.
Fortunately, you can buy directly from manufacturers on Amazon, manufacturers who are verified and should have a detailed manufacturer profile. You don’t need to fear buying from Amazon if you only buy from verified manufacturers.
Here are some of the shocking findings from the NYC attorney general’s report:
- A ginseng supplement sold at Walgreens contained only powdered garlic and rice.
- Six herbs sold by Target tested negative for the herbs listed on their labels. Instead, these supplements were made up of rice, beans, peas, and wild carrots.
- GNC had supplements with ingredients missing from their labels. These hidden ingredients included peanuts and soybeans, which can be very dangerous for anyone with allergies.
The bottom line is this—neither Amazon nor retail stores are sources you can blindly trust when it comes to supplements.
How to Avoid Fake Puritan’s Pride Vitamins and Supplements
Buy Directly from the Manufacturer: Buying Puritan’s Pride supplements directly from the company is the number one method you can implement to ensure your supplements are not only real, but high quality. Puritan’s Pride is a reputable, well-known company with a comprehensive selection of products. The company tests some products up to 15 times to ensure quality. Not all Puritan’s Pride vitamins and supplements are organic, but the company does offer a line of U.S. Department of Agriculture-approved organic items which have become very popular.
Sure, it may be a bit more expensive because you might not get the free shipping that comes from your Amazon Prime account. However, you’ll have the guarantee of product coming straight from the manufacturer without passing through any unnecessary and potentially dangerous third parties. For genuine products, Visit Their Amazon Page or their Website.
Never buy Puritan’s Pride vitamins and supplements from unknown websites or in a marketplace. Buy Puritan’s Pride vitamins and supplements only from licensed suppliers who display an authenticity certificate. If you are unsure about a supplier’s credentials, check the list of registered dispensaries at your local health regulatory body. This applies to suppliers both online and offline.
Keep your eye on the price: Check the price against products you usually buy or with reputable providers. If it is substantially cheaper, it is likely to be a fake. Do not supply any financial information to a website, unless you are sure it has a secure online payment system. The trade in fake medical products has also been linked to credit card fraud and identity theft. Do not reveal any personal information beyond appropriate medical details.
Compare the product: Compare the Puritan’s Pride vitamins and supplements against your usual purchase. A Puritan’s Pride vitamins or supplement is fake if:
- It contains too much, too little or any different ingredients;
- Claims to have different properties or side-effects;
- Has a different shape, size, taste or color;
- Is not correctly labeled or not labeled at all;
- Has an out-of-date or missing expiry date;
- Does not contain information on how to store the medicine;
- The packaging looks poorly constructed or appears to have been interfered with;
- There are spelling or grammatical errors on the packaging or instructions.
Ultimately, just like anything else you buy, you run some risk of it not being exactly what you paid for—especially when you get it online. You can check for red flags and signs of credibility but keep in mind many of these can be forged, and so it’s better to stick with a manufacturer and source you trust.
With supplements, you should be extra vigilant and spend a little extra time researching, along with possibly a few extra dollars to ensure you are getting exactly what you’re looking for—it pays off in the long run. Read: How to Spot Fake Puritan Pride Vitamin C
