Ever wonder how your supplements REALLY get made? I cover the actual process, and give some tips on how to get best quality for your $$$. How the supplements you take are actually made in most cases, no longer a mystery! 
Will Brink is the owner of the Brinkzone Blog. Will has over 30 years experience as a respected author, columnist and consultant, to the supplement, fitness, bodybuilding, and weight loss industry and has been extensively published. Will graduated from Harvard University with a concentration in the natural sciences, and is a consultant to major supplement, dairy, and pharmaceutical companies.
His often ground breaking articles can be found in publications such as Lets Live, Muscle Media 2000, MuscleMag International, The Life Extension Magazine, Muscle n Fitness, Inside Karate, Exercise For Men Only, Body International, Power, Oxygen, Penthouse, Women’s World and The Townsend Letter For Doctors.
He’s also been published in peer reviewed journals.
Will is the author of the popular e-books, both accompanied by private members forum access , Bodybuilding Revealed & Fat Loss Revealed.
You can also buy Will’s other books on Amazon, Apple iBook, and Barnes and Noble.
Will, that's an insightful video. I too agree that there is nothing inherently wrong with that type of manufacturing, but I think consumers are too trusting and naive and many supplement companies put much more emphasis on marketing than they do producing a quality product. I will be more careful and look for more details the next time I am looking at supplements.
I agree Tom, that's why I did this vid. People need to pay more attention, and be less trusting, and spend a little time doing some research on products they use, etc. 😉
Good to have this clarified as per process. I'll start reading labels more closely.
It would be terrific if you would name brands of the major suppliments that meet your quality standards.
Tks…
Yes. Good content and good idea. But how does one go about checking how a company produces their product?
Will,
How do you know which supplements are the best quality manufacturers to take from? I know that you said you can ask the supplement company and/or read labels to see what they are using, but what products SHOULD they be using to be considered good quality? The only one I know is for creatine, and as you mentioned, that is creapure. On a related note, do you have a list of supplement (not manufacturer or supplier) companies off the top of your head that you know are reliable sources?
Would appreciate any information you have.
Its interesting you have a video on this, because this topic was brought up in forums in the uk, about the credibility of some supplement companies. A group of folks took brand named supplements they bought to get independently tested, and what do you know, there were some dodgy ones to say the least, talking about a product that claimed 80% protein content that when tested, was only 20%!!
Yes, on third party testing, many products don't live up to label claims. o.0
Another great post by Will – keep up the good work mate! Very few companies out there actually go through with their promises. Buyer beware… do your research first.
I've been studying about supplements long enough now that I feel I have a pair of BS goggles now. Although not as well versed as you Will, I have found a supplement company who freely mentions their sources for at least some of their supplements. Still, if you could fill me in on companies that freely offer souce information I'd be grateful as well as many others. Thanks for the tip on Creapure. I was just going to begin creatine this month.
Hi Will,
Great video. Which companies do you buy from and recommend?
You got me worried with this post and your articles about creatine purity.
Thanks!
Carl Juneau
There's too many companies out there which I have no idea how they work internally. There's no master list that tells you X company does Y, and so forth. Two, listing companies I know to be following the above, opens me to accusations of bias, and potentially, legal issues (next vid is actually going to cover that BTW) and is unfair for the many companies I don't know. A level playing field is important. Yes, I know that makes it much more a challenge for you (the end user) but doing some research on the companies you use, worth the effort.
My goal is to educate, not promote one company over another per se.
Finally, if you read my stuff and or watch my vids, it's not real hard to figure which brands I tend to use personally.
I hope you can understand my position on that.
Even if you do ask them where the supplements are coming from and what the sourcing company is, how would I know if the sourcing company is good?
Hi Will,
Thanks much for your answer. Will look around your blog to find which companies you buy from.
Best,
CJ
'My goal is to educate, not promote one company over another per se'.
Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.
Great info as always Will. As you have said many times, "buyer beware".
Thanks Will, I appreciate your information. It will definetly influence my furture purchases. I suppose that in an "information age" one can have too much info of the misleading kind through ads etc. and not enough of the straight goods like what you illustrate here. So thanks again and Happy New Year.
The supplement industry is very loosely regulated, so it's really important that you so some research to determine which companies produce high quality products and which ones don't.
i like it
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Thanks Will . . . as always, very much appreciate the information and insight!
What products do you recommend? How do you know what companies are transparent? I know that looks can be deceiving, and not sources are truthful. My problem is that my doctor is against any supplement, and says that I should just exercise naturally without any potentially harmful additives.
Your video had no sound?
great info Will thanks.
Hey Will, all your educational contents are much appreciated. What is your opinion of the NOW company. They have been operating since 1968 and is family run. Also if a company says cGMP quality, can they lie about that?
Thanks
Thanks Will I enjoyed this and learned something. I was wondering why some companies made a point of saying Creapure vs other creatine, like Animal/Universal.
Creapure made in Germany = the good stuff. All the rest, made in China. Draw your own conclusions…. 🙂
Another great Brinkzone! I was told, many years ago, from a supplement expert, that there are five laboratories in the world who produce the “core” vitamins that in turn are sold to the supplement companies. That “core” is basically synthetic but, because of FDA regulations, the supplement companies can claim their products are 100% natural, as long as that “core” is surrounded by organic, or “natural”, casings or liquids. Once the tablet or liquid is broken down by the human body, the synthetic core is still recognized as such and only a fraction of the vitamin is absorbed. Is any of that true? Thanks.
Depends on the ingredient, so no general comments can be made there. There’s probably hundreds, perhaps thousands of manufacturers for various ingredients, “Natural” is not a science term, it’s a marketing term (see my other vids and articles here on that…) so no FDA regulation required for the term.
Hi Will, was wondering,I know that there are some ex pro bodybuilders who have recently come into the supplement market for a few year now, would you say there companys are reliable.?
Thanks Will, for all your work, enjoy, reading and trying to educate myself on the bodybuilding fitness world, I find the supplement cartoon you made very funny etc.
Hey Will,
I am interested in buying a workout supplement in bulk from a company that claims to be a GMP compliant facility. However, when I asked them to provide me with the name of the manufacturing facility that makes this particular supplement they responded with “[We are] not able to give you our supplier’s information.” Should this raise any red flags? Thanks in advance.
Few to no companies are going to tell you where they have their supplements manufactured.
Hey Will. Interesting video. I’m assuming even for the supplement company’s that make their own,that they source any raw materials for supplements,elsewhere.
Didn’t Weider at one point manaufacture their own supp’s a number of decades ago?
I know at least one canadian supp company has a facility in Toronto. Can’t remember who though.
I’ve always wanted to do a tour of a protein powder operation and see it from the lab all the way to the finished product. Do any supplement company’s give tours of their plants?
Thanks again Will.
Another great vid as usual.
I use a lot of BCAAS in a flavored powder form. Can you recommend a source and or a company that I can use and be assured that I’m getting quality product?