Your supplements might not contain what's on the label. The US's leading expert shared 3 tips for buying safe products that are right for you.

• Dietary supplements aren't FDA-approved like other drugs.

• The US's leading supplement expert recommended buying third-party-certified products.

• Health professionals can help you decide which supplements are right for you, Stefan Pasiakos said.

From colostrum and creatine to lion's mane, it feels like every few months there's a buzzy new supplement and ensuing debate over whether it works. But another equally important question — the ingredients and quality of the product you choose — often gets less attention, the US's top supplement expert told Business Insider.

Dietary supplements aren't FDA-regulated like drugs, and the onus lies on manufacturers to ensure their products are safe and accurately labeled. The FDA can remove a supplement from the market if it discovers it is adulterated or misbranded.

As such, dietary supplements aren't uniform, Stefan Pasiakos, the director of the Office of Dietary Supplements at the National Institutes of Health, said. One multivitamin, for example, could contain a few essential vitamins and minerals, while another could feature a huge number of micronutrients mixed with various non-required nutrients, he said.

This can lead to quality-control issues including contamination and inaccurate labeling, studies show. In a study published in JAMA Network Open in 2023, researchers tested for performance-enhancing botanical ingredients in 57 supplements and found that 89% of them didn't accurately list their ingredients and 12% contained at least one ingredient prohibited by the FDA.

A 2020 editorial published in Annals of Pharmacotherapy, meanwhile, highlighted "major quality issues" with dietary supplements, including contamination with microbes or heavy metals, the use of unapproved ingredients, and mislabeled products that don't contain the ingredients listed on the label or contain lower doses of ingredients than advertised.

Pasiakos encourages people to do their "homework" before taking a supplement. "All I would say is that people make sure that they become educated on these products, understand what's in them, and know that the industry is not out to get them," he said. "But there are certainly aspects of certain dietary supplements that may be considered unsafe."

He shared three tips for sourcing good-quality supplements and assessing whether they're right for you.

Look for supplements with third-party verification

If you're concerned about what's in a supplement, buy a product that has been verified by a third-party organization, Pasiakos said.

Several trustworthy organizations rigorously test supplements to ensure that they contain what's listed on the label and are not contaminated, he said. They also help companies ensure they're meeting government guidelines. However, these organizations don't test how effective supplements are or back the company's health claims.

Usually, if a product has been third-party verified, it will say so on the packaging or company website. Pasiakos recommends looking for products that are NSF-certified or verified by a US Pharmacopeia program.

Ask your healthcare provider for personalized recommendations

Pasiakos also recommends speaking to a doctor or healthcare provider before trying a new supplement.

He said they may be able to refer you to a dietitian or pharmacist who's knowledgeable about supplements or advise you based on your specific needs. For example, if you're already taking supplements or prescription drugs, they'll know about potential interactions.

A dietitian can also assess your diet as a whole and give you nutritional recommendations, which is important because supplements should complement, not replace, a healthy diet, he said.

Do research based on reputable sources

If you can't get advice from a medical professional, it's important to get information from a reputable source, Pasiakos said.

"There's information everywhere. You just type in a given supplement online and you'll get everybody under the sun with an opinion on whether a dietary supplement works or not," Pasiakos said.

The Office of Dietary Supplements has information on its website, including up-to-date fact sheets and evidence-based reviews of dietary supplements, he said. The site includes fact sheets for most existing supplement ingredients that explain what they are, how they work, and the evidence for or against their purported health benefits.

Pasiakos also said the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, which is part of the NIH, and the FDA's website are good sources of information on supplements.

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