EXPIRY DATES OF HEALTH SUPPLEMENTS: VITAMINS HERBS PROBIOTICS ENZYMES OILS

Expiration Date and Shelf Life of Health Supplements
Expiration dates serve as a guideline for how long a product remains potent and effective. However, if a product expires on February 2, 2018 will it still be good February 3, 2018? Of course it will. In fact, many products continue to hold their nutritional value years past their "expiration." The information provided here explains the details of expiration dates particular to the type of dietary supplement. Each supplement will vary on product efficacy, depending on the manufacturer and the quality of raw materials used. In order to avoid concern, always try to purchase pharmaceutical grade dietary supplements.
Herbal Products
Herbal products will slowly weaken with age; however, they maintain potency for approximately 3 years following production. Product efficacy diminishes approximately 2 years following expiration.
Vitamin Mineral Supplements
Vitamin and mineral supplements will slowly weaken with age. Quality B vitamins do not sustain potency following expiration date; however, most all other vitamin supplements maintain efficacy approximately 2 years following expiration.
Enzymes
Enzymes will slowly weaken with age. They will maintain potency approximately 1 year past the expiration date.
Amino Acids
Amino acid supplements slowly weaken with age. Quality amino acid supplements will maintain potency approximately 1 to 2 years following expiration.
Fish Oils
Fish oils are delicate dietary supplements. Be sure to purchase fish oil supplements that are free of heavy metals and pesticides. Also, be sure that they have been manufactured, stored, and bottled properly, because many fish oil supplements can be rancid prior to purchasing. Most fish oil supplements need to be refrigerated; however a 5 to 7 day shipping period should not hurt the supplements. Most of them expire approximately 3 months after the posted expiration date.
Probiotics
Probiotic supplements contain live organisms; therefore, most probiotic supplements should be refrigerated, with few exceptions. We recommend having probiotics delivered within 7 days of purchase, in order to avoid any temperature damage. Most probiotic supplements expire approximately 3 months after the posted expiration date.
Skin Care
Skin care product expiration dates vary. The more synthetic the skin care product is, the longer it will last; however, the more synthetic the product is, the more harm it can do to the body. Natural, quality skin care products maintain efficacy between 6 to 9 months, while cosmetics expire approximately 1 year from purchase.
Glandular Supplements
Glandular supplements are more delicate than vitamins. They maintain potency approximately 1 year past the expiration date. In order to optimize shelf-life, glandular supplements should be stored in cool temperatures.
Juices and Liquid
Liquid supplements will slowly weaken with age; however, they will maintain efficacy approximately 1 year past the expiration date.
Drugs
The average drug maintains potency approximately 2 years past the expiration date. Some drugs may even last longer. The only drugs that we recommend discarding shortly after expiration are drugs that can save your life in emergencies i.e. Nitroglycerin, Asthma medications, etc.
Important Notice
Never discard drugs by flushing them down the toilet. Most waste water treatment plants are not designed to remove or destroy drugs that have been flushed or washed down the drain. Flushing drugs and other dietary supplements will contaminate drinking water, as well as oceans, lakes, and rivers. This contamination in turn disrupts marine life, and when marine animals are caught for human consumption, the absorbed toxins end up back in our body. Every action has a reaction.
How to Extend the Life of Supplements
The higher the quality and grade of a particular supplement, the longer it will maintain potency following the expiration date. Do not refrigerate supplements unless the label advises to do so. All drugs and vitamin supplements should be stored in airtight containers. Keep all dietary supplements away from light, moisture, and heat.
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http://www.healingedge.net/store/article_supplement_expiration.html

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Supplement expiration dates can cause a whole lot of worry and distress. When your vitamins expire, do you immediately throw out the bottle, take the supplements for a few more days or even a few more months, or ignore the date altogether?
Then there’s the cost factor. If you haven’t used up the entire bottle, do you feel like you’re wasting money by throwing out your unused, expired supplements—even though they still look good to you?
UNCOVERING THE MYSTERY OF EXPIRATION DATES
First, let’s start by explaining what the expiration date actually is.
The expiration date is the last day an item will be at its highest level of potentcy. This means that the manufacturer can successfully guarantee the quality of a product up until the expiration date. A quality manufacturer will ensure that their vitamins are at the listed strength on the label at the time of expiration. If the manufacturer does not list an expiration date, then they are liable for the listed strength for the entire time the product is in circulation.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not require supplements to have expiration dates. However, quality manufacturers voluntarily list expiration dates because it is to their benefit. They test their vitamins rigorously to make sure they can successfully guarantee the label strength up until the expiration date.
So ultimately, just because a product reaches it's expiration date, that doesn’t mean it’s no longer any good; it only means that label strength may be lost over time.
Expiration dates are extremely conservative. All vitamins start to break down the day they are manufactured. Vitamins deteriorate at different rates, so manufacturers will beef up the strength of some vitamins that tend to deteriorate faster, in order to hit the listed strength at the time of expiration.
If you were to purchase vitamins on the day they’re manufactured, in some cases you’re actually getting a higher strength than what’s listed on the label (to allow for deterioration over time). Many expiration dates are also padded to factor in such things as shelf time and shipping time.
Vitamin manufacturers expect that their vitamins will spend some time traveling to their warehouse destination, then spend some time on stores shelves, before arriving in the customer’s hands. Vitamin strength and expiration dates are carefully coordinated to guarantee the listed label strength up until the day of expiration.
TIPS FOR STORING YOUR VITAMINS
The way you store your vitamins has a significant impact on how long your vitamins will retain their potency. Vitamins can lose their strength before their expiration date if they’re stored improperly.
Refrigeration is not always best. Contrary to common perception, it’s not a good idea to store vitamins in your refrigerator (unless the bottle specifically instructs refrigeration). The logic for this is that every time you open a cold bottle to get your vitamin, you’re allowing condensation inside the bottle that can lead to vitamin deterioration.
If you prefer storing your vitamins in your refrigerator, then stash them in refrigeration for long-term use. You can store vitamins in bulk in your refrigerator, take out a one-month supply to store in your cabinet, and then close the refrigerated container until next month. This will minimize the number of times you’re opening the vitamin container and allowing condensation. Overall, it’s a much better idea to store your vitamins in a cool, dry, dark place. They will last significantly longer.
Keep vitamins in their original containers. Some vitamins come in dark glass bottles or opaque containers. They are packaged this way to minimize vitamin breakdown due to light. Some people like to transfer their vitamins from a dark bottle to a clear baggie or some other clear storage container for easy access. Generally, if a bottle is designed to reduce light exposure, then it’s better to take these vitamins directly from their original container in order to minimize their deterioration.
Keep vitamins away from humidity and heat. Commonly, there’s a tendency to store vitamins in either the bathroom or the kitchen for easy access. These are actually not ideal locations because these rooms have higher humidity and heat levels than other rooms in the house. A bedroom drawer or linen closet would be a better location to preserve vitamin strength.
BEYOND THE EXPIRATION DATE
Stored properly, vitamins can last four or five years, although the conservative recommendation is that they can easily last two years. Taking vitamins beyond their expiration date is generally safe. The only difference is that you may lose potency over time, so taking extremely old vitamins may not give you the desired results that you’re trying to achieve. But in case you have doubts, some vitamins have been known to last 10 years or longer without losing their label strength.
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http://www.jigsawhealth.com/blog/expired-supplements/
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