Hi! I was just wondering how you guys store your supplements, it usually says "store in a cool dark place". I keep my arsenal of supplements on a top shelve in the kitchen, but I was wondering if that is a bad place... How about you guys?

If you have air conditioning in the summer? That may be okay.

Top shelves tend to be warmer than lower down, but with air, it should be okay.

What is really hard on them is moisture. Magnesium, Arginine,
for example will sweat in humid weather. I don't have experience with EVERYTHING... but the general rule is that if there is a moisture packet in the bottle, then moisture is a problem. I've had some supplements that came with TWO packets or little plastic drums, or whatever. In the "business" we called them "do not eats" because that is what is on the outside! LOL

The enemies are 1) moisture, 2) heat, 3) light

Antioxidants, like Vit E and Vit C are very fragile and will go bad quickly. Oils like fish oil, flax oil and Vit E can be kept in the Frig and only a few in a Pharmacy vial be kept outside (properly labeled). Your pharmacy will give you extra vials, if you ask. They rarely charge you money for them. Unless you ask for many like 10 or 20 or something like that. The pharmacy vials are nice because they protect from light, and moisture because of their closures.

You can also ask your pharmacy to save "do not eats" for you, mostly from drugs that are film coated... and not powdery. Many pharmacies will keep them for you and they can be recharged at low temps like a low setting on a hair dryer if necessary.

Thanks MrsD! Think I'll move the bottles to a lower cabinet which seems to be much cooler. I always try to keep the "do not eat's" in the bottle. I'll try to get a hold of some bottles from the pharmacy . You're such a treasure for this site MrsD, sometimes I just wanna give you a hug for your immense work, thanks a lot!

I'll share this funny story with you....

I had an intern once who wanted us to save the "do not eats" for his corvette when he put it in storage! Some logic missing on THAT ONE! LOL

I keep some "do not eats" with me upNorth on vacation. It is very humid up there on the lake sometimes. When the fog rolls in our mirrors inside go steamy even. No A/C or electricity up there!

But kept in a tight drawer, with protection, I've kept RX meds and some sensitive things safely even there!

I just cleaned out a drawer however with a large bottle of Arginine from NOW from last year, and it was all decomposed into a rock hard mess, of solid powder. That is the worst I've had go bad on me. Magnesium is the next most sensitive one after it is opened.. the "do not eats" don't seem to work after the seal is broken (this is for Mag64--generic for SlowMag).

We have to do the opposite - keep humidifiers in our musical instruments.

Doc

There are some meds that shouldn't be refrigerated, though, so read the bottle. Some of them, like some fish oils, actually should not be refrigerated. The refrigerator is a dry place, so I do keep many meds in there. The kitchen isn't a bad place at all, no matter how high the shelf if you have an air-conditioned home. The kitchen is not as humid as a bathroom.

Typically, though, if you're taking them regularly, and the bottle only lasts 2 months, humidity won't be a big concern. It's when you leave the bottle for a year or more and then tablets do start to break apart. Capsules may "weep" and some of them may feel oily.

Light can degrade medications, too, so keep the opaque bottles they come in.

Stacy

We've never had any problem putting them in the fridge. The containers have always been air/moisture tight enough.

Doc