Staying Healthy with Your Library: ConsumerLab.com

Research and select the best quality health, wellness, and nutritional products, based on test results published by an independent laboratory with ConsumerLab.com. Since 1999, ConsumerLab.com has tested more than 5,600 products, representing nearly every type of popular supplement for adults and children (and yes Seattle, pets too).

To access this database from your own device, sign in with your library card number and PIN, then select ConsumerLab.com from our list of Online Resources.

Like many websites, ConsumerLab.com allows for multiple ways of discovering information, so no matter your style, it’s got you covered. The homepage includes a search bar and a menu bar across the top of the screen, and more content-rich areas below with previews of the main pages of the website that are better for visual browsing.

The search bar in the top right corner of the screen has the place-holder words “search brand or name” but I’ve found that the results will also include the site’s Q&A responses to popular questions and more. Just enter a keyword search for your topic and the results page will include products reviews, Q&As, recalls, and anything else that includes your search terms.

The main menu bar includes all of the primary pages on ConsumerLab.com:

• • Product Tests takes you to the product review page, with detailed pages on particular supplements and reviews of particular brands.
  • Select a Review is a dropdown menu that allows you to select a known supplement, then takes you directly to a page with a summary of the supplement, an explanation of CL’s process for reviewing the products, and finally brand reviews in a table at the bottom. Each review has an “initial posting” and an “updated” date.
  • CL Answers takes you to the Q&A page that gives answers to common questions on supplements.
  • Warnings takes you to a page that lists FDA recalls.
  • Encyclopedia takes you to CL’s Natural and Alternative Treatments Encyclopedia, which includes information on Herbs & Supplements, Conditions, Drug Interactions, Alternative Therapies, Functional Foods, and Homeopathy.
  • Where to Buy lists a few options for purchasing supplements, with the important caveat that CL hasn’t reviewed everything these merchants carry in their stores.
  • News lists recent news stories on supplements, from the New York Times, CNN, Consumer Reports, and other outlets.

Importantly, CL includes the pages How Products were Tested and Quality Certification Program, which detail for users how they’ve reached the conclusions that are presented on the website. These can be accessed at the bottom of any page.

You’ve done it! These are the basics for using the ConsumerLabs.com about as well as your trusty community librarian!

While all Library locations are closed to the public, we will continue to provide the many digital services you have come to love:

• • • e-books and e-audiobooks
    • streaming TV and movie services
    • streaming music services
    • digital subscriptions to newspapers and magazines

You can find all these and more compiled on our Staying Home page. As more library services become available, we will make announcements on our website.

Please be sure to contact us through our Ask Us reference question platform with any questions you may have. Be well.

This post is part of our Staying Healthy with Your Library series featuring online consumer health resources available from The Seattle Public Library. Read our previous post on Proquest Consumer Health database and stay tuned for more posts. Databases require a library card number and PIN for remote access.

~posted by Mychal L.