Should you trust menopause supplements on Amazon?
Expert
Dr Jen Gunter: OB/GYN, pain medicine physician
Claim
“Menopause supplements” sold on Amazon are beneficial
Reality
Using Amazon as a test case, Dr Gunter found that the top 10 menopause supplements sold on Amazon generated roughly $3.3 million in sales from 93,453 units in just one month.
None of these top-sellers contain a recommended ingredient by the Menopause Society. Many of the ingredients, by contrast, are associated with a range of risks, including liver failure. A number of them are susceptible to low quality manufacturing standards. And none of them have any clinically proven value for women going through menopause.
The problem? There’s virtually no oversight for selling supplements, on Amazon or anywhere else.
Given that no R&D is required, all someone has to do is email a company that makes these products, set up a Shopify site (and they will even hook you up with a designer for your e-store), and, if you have a large media or social media presence, you are on your way to making hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars a year with less than 40 hours of work. Everything can be outsourced to a 3rd party expert at a relatively minimal expense.
