I have shelves and drawers full of supplements that I have taken - and in some cases stopped taking - after reading information posted here on this Forum over the last five - six years.

My question is: What is the shelf - life of supplements? Should I discard most of those that I am not taking, or hold on to those that might come in handy in the future ?

Thanks,
Carol

Carol,
Every bottle has an expiration date printed somewhere on it. I am assuming that the manufacturers know something about how long their product should last.

However, common sense and logic would say that minerals will last longer than vitamins, and that any supplement that comes in a fat base won't last as long as a tablet. For example, vit. E (in a gelatin capsule) will go bad rather quickly, compared to mag-ox (which contains virtually nothing organic). I've opened a bottle of fish oil that was nowhere near it's expiration date, and it was rancid, but I'm betting that bottle of mag-ox will still be as potent (which is a joke in itself), years after the expiration date.

That being said, consider why you are no longer taking them. There must have been a reason, and chances are that reason still exists.

lisa

Lisa,

Of course I have noticed the expiraton dates. But many of the bottles do not have expiration dates and furthermore, I remember reading somewhere that many drugs and supplements are still fresh after the expiration dates.

Maybe Hans can weigh in on this.

Carol