Ingredient Sourcing

The most influential component of any supplement is its ingredients. Several factors need thoughtful consideration for each ingredient to come together and produce a quality supplement.

Each ingredient’s unique feature influences the efficacy and quality of the supplement they’re part of. At FIQ, we thoughtfully deliberate over these factors for every ingredient we use.

1) Where is it from?

The part of the world that ingredients come from matters. American consumers might generally assume that American-based ingredients are best, and while this is true for some ingredients, it’s not ideal for all.

We source most of our ingredients from America when it makes sense to, like lavender, chamomile, and others that grow well in these climates. However, some ingredients offer more health benefits when cultivated in their native environment.

Adaptogens are a great example. These herbs have been shown to support health regardless of their country of origin. What makes them unique is the various stressful climates they grow in.

  • Adrenal IQ contains a blend of adaptogens from around the world as well as from America to offer full-spectrum stress support.

Due to lax agricultural practices, other American-based ingredients are inferior in quality to others from different regions.

  • Beef liver from grass-fed cows in New Zealand or Argentina is far more nutrient-dense than that of American-bred and raised cattle.
  • Cod is a cold-water fish and can only be sourced from deep, cold waters of the northern Atlantic or Pacific oceans. Cod liver oil from Icelandic cod has higher levels of vitamins A and D than other codfish.

Regardless of where the ingredient is from, the agricultural processes used to harvest it are foundational to producing an effective supplement. Quality ingredients are:

  • Grown in rich soil
  • Are pesticide/herbicide-free
  • Cultivated in appropriate climates,
  • Harvested at the appropriate time for the desired active constituents to be present.

We ensure the highest quality processes for our ingredients.

2) What Part of the Plant is Used

Different parts of plants contribute differently to health. It’s essential to use the appropriate part of the plant that supports the desired outcomes:

  • For the anti-inflammatory properties of turmeric, extract of the root should always be used. This is true for many other herbs like valerian, maca, ginger, etc.
  • For anxiolytic effects, the flowers of lavender or passionflower should be used.
  • The leaves of Ginko biloba contain this plant’s therapeutic properties.
  • Some plants have multiple indications for use. The leaves of nettle are anti-inflammatory, while the root is often used to support prostate health.
  • Other therapeutic parts of plants include the seeds, sap, bark, bulb, oil, fruit, hull, husk, stamen, all arial parts, fruiting body or micellium (mushrooms),

Each part contains distinct active phytochemicals that evoke varying physiological changes in the body. It goes beyond the ingredients themselves. The part of the plant must align with the desired outcome to produce an effective supplement.

Synergistic Ingredients

For the collective effects of combined ingredients, the supplement should only contain nutrients that support the problem it aims to address.

  • You wouldn’t want to see caffeine in a supplement meant for anxiety support.

It’s not enough to understand herbology; it’s also essential to have a solid understanding of human physiology as well. Hundreds of plants (and their various parts) that have anxiolytic effects, but their mechanisms of action can vary widely.

Adaptogens are excellent at supporting stress by helping the body adapt to it via modulation of the HPA axis, but this is different than calming the nervous system via GABA-ergic responses. GABA is the most calming and anti-anxiety neurotransmitter. Some plants specifically induce GABA-ergic reactions to:

  • Enhance GABA synthesis,
  • Increase GABA release,
  • Sensitize receptor function
  • Modulate the GABA pathway.

GABA-ergic herbs include lavender, hops, passionflower, and chamomile. These are the herbs chosen for Anxiety IQ as they work together to modulate and tonify the nervous system’s response to stress and anxiety.

Potency

Once ingredient sourcing and synergy have been thoughtfully laid out, the next step is to enhance the potency of the ingredients.

Active ingredient Amounts

Just as with ingredient synergy, it’s necessary to ensure the amount of the ingredient used is clinically relevant – this will likely appear as milligram or micrograms on the label.

More isn’t always better for some nutrients, while others may not offer any effects unless a specific amount is used.

  • Some supplements pack so many ingredients into tiny capsules that there’s not enough of each to have much if any, impact.
  • Others use far more than necessary.

Integrating the findings of clinical studies is imperative for ensuring an effective amount of each ingredient is used in every formulation. Regarding the number of total ingredients used, less is often more to enhance a supplement’s quality.

Active Ingredient Concentrations

Different extraction methods are used to isolate plant compounds. A quality supplement will use the appropriate extraction and concentration methods for the desired outcome, for example:

  • High heat extraction is not ideal for ingredients that wish to retain naturally-occuring vitamins.
  • Alcohol extraction does not work for fat-soluble compounds.
  • Water extraction may not be potent enough to isolate certain alkaloids.
  • Other extraction methods include decoction, digestion, infusion, maceration, percolation, and more (source). If the incorrect extraction methods is used, the supplement may end up with the wrong active ingredient from the plant.

Minimal to No Inactive Ingredients

The “inactive ingredients” list includes the emulsifiers, fillers, flow agents, stabilizers, and preservatives. Some supplements have an extensive list of inactive ingredients, which begs the question, “How much room is this taking away from the active ingredients?”

One of our top concerns with manufacturing our supplements is minimizing or eliminating non-bioactive ingredients. Many of our supplements have no additional fillers or flow agents, allowing us to max out the amount of bioactive ingredients that can fill the capsule.

Due to the nature of some ingredients and manufacturing processes, some flow agents are necessary for blending and encapsulation. When we have to use them, we only use 100% natural, plant-based options.

We only use isolated cellulose from plants, vegetable-extratced magnesium stearate, and anti-bacterial monolaurin from coconut oil in minimal amounts where necessary to produce clean and potent supplements.

Quality control testing

The last pillar that makes a quality supplement is following the top tier quality control procedures:

  • All of our products are made in America in FDA-cleared cGMP-certified facilities.
  • We perform non-biased third-party testing on individual raw ingredients before blending them into formulas (i.e., free of heavy metals, chemicals, contaminants, bacteria/fungi, and PCBs).
  • We also perform third party testing and produce a certificate of analysis on each formula after the blending and completion. This ensures maximum potency and purity of the product and confirms that it contains precisely what the label states.

All of these processes plus the fact that we charge fair prices for our supplements are what sets FIQ apart from other supplements.

When you calculate the cost per serving and the miligram amount of highly-concentrated active ingredients, FIQ comes out on top as the most affordable and highest quality supplements available. You can truly get so much more with far less with FIQ.