Deciphering Nutraceutical Labels

Did you ever go to the tack store and try to figure out the exact amounts per serving of each ingredient contained in some of the nutraceutical products? It can be an important issue if your horse’s joint supplement, vitamin supplement, and food product contain duplicate vitamins and minerals, some of which can be harmful if given in excess doses. But when ingredients are labeled as X parts

Share
Favorite
Close

No account yet? Register

ADVERTISEMENT

Did you ever go to the tack store and try to figure out the exact amounts per serving of each ingredient contained in some of the nutraceutical products? It can be an important issue if your horse's joint supplement, vitamin supplement, and food product contain duplicate vitamins and minerals, some of which can be harmful if given in excess doses. But when ingredients are labeled as X parts per million (ppm), and you don't know how many ppm are in a one-pound container, let alone a one-ounce serving, how the heck do you know what ingredient amounts your horse is getting? And that's just one of the problems with nutraceutical labeling! It makes you want to go home and reach for the aspirin (from a clearly and accurately marked bottle with an easy-to-understand ingredient list).

Problems Plus

The trouble with labeling begins with a somewhat vague definition as to what nutraceuticals actually are, coupled with regulations that strictly limit manufacturer claims, and complicated by some products that don't always contain exactly what they say they contain.

Nutraceuticals are often described as a combination of nutrition and pharmaceuticals. Nick Hartog, president and co-owner of Grand Meadows Nutritional Products, Inc., and president and founding member of the National Association of Equine Supplement Manufacturers, has been an advocate of raising ethical and manufacturing standards in the equine supplement industry. Hartog defines nutraceuticals as a "step beyond vitamins, in that they are sold with the intent of having an effect in some way on the body's ability to heal itself, to help support the horse's ability to fight diseases, utilizing a non-allopathic, or non-drug approach. They are not pharmaceuticals because they haven't gone through a drug application process through the FDA (Food and Drug Administration), but they are more than vitamin supplements

Create a free account with TheHorse.com to view this content.

TheHorse.com is home to thousands of free articles about horse health care. In order to access some of our exclusive free content, you must be signed into TheHorse.com.

Start your free account today!

Already have an account?
and continue reading.

Share

Written by:

Marcia King is an award-winning freelance writer based in Ohio who specializes in equine, canine, and feline veterinary topics. She’s schooled in hunt seat, dressage, and Western pleasure.

Related Articles

Stay on top of the most recent Horse Health news with

FREE weekly newsletters from TheHorse.com

Sponsored Content

Weekly Poll

sponsored by:

Where do you primarily feed your horse?
315 votes · 315 answers

Readers’ Most Popular

Sign In

Don’t have an account? Register for a FREE account here.

Need to update your account?

You need to be logged in to fill out this form

Create a free account with TheHorse.com!