Robyn Openshaw: Behind the Curtain of the Supplement Industry - Is What's in that Bottle Eroding Health and Wasting Money?

Deconstructing Conventional

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The label says “natural,” but who’s actually making your vitamins—and what’s riding along inside each capsule? I sat down with Robyn Openshaw to follow the supply chains few consumers ever see, from GMO-corn byproducts turned into “vitamin C,” to deodorized fish oils engineered to hide rancidity, to wool-grease–derived cholecalciferol sold as “vitamin D.” The picture that emerges isn’t a quaint herb shed; it’s industrial chemistry optimized for shelf life, margins, and market growth. If you’ve ever wondered why so many supplements feel underwhelming—or why your cabinet keeps growing while your results don’t—this conversation hands you the map and a flashlight.
We trace how pharma and nutraceuticals became “kissing cousins,” why many ingredients come from the same factories in China or India, and how fillers, binders, and anti-caking agents sneak in under “other ingredients.” We unpack multivitamins and the co-factor problem, show why ascorbic acid isn’t the whole vitamin C complex, and question the over-reliance on the 25D vitamin D test that labels most people “deficient.” Robin shares the eye-opening moment at a Swiss clinic where blood filtration revealed a bag of solvent-like gunk—fueling a methodical, AI-driven investigation into base materials, manufacturing chemicals, and MSDS safety profiles you can verify yourself.
This isn’t a call to ditch everything; it’s a toolkit to cut waste and lower your toxic load. You’ll learn how to read labels, run smarter searches to uncover manufacturing practices, and decide where a thoughtful, targeted support may still make sense. Most importantly, you’ll rediscover the third path between drug and supplement: neither—paired with better food, sunlight, sleep, movement, and stress care.
If this episode challenges your assumptions or helps you save money, share it with a friend who loves “wellness” labels. Subscribe for more candid deep dives, and leave a review with one change you’re making after listening.

• Order Robyn's book - Take Daily: How Supplement Hijack Your Health
• Visit Robyn's website
• Robyn's Substack
• Vitamin D Supplementation: Panacea or Potential Problem
• An Ancestral Perspective on Vitamin D Status
• Are Some People Pushing Their Vitamin D Levels Too High?
• Medical Tests: Who's Interest Do They Really Serve?

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فصول

1. Robyn Openshaw: Behind the Curtain of the Supplement Industry - Is What's in that Bottle Eroding Health and Wasting Money? (00:00:00)

2. Setting The Stakes: Time, Money, Health (00:01:43)

3. Why Investigate Supplements Now (00:02:30)

4. Pharma’s Bigger Bet On Supplements (00:03:00)

5. Cultural Assumptions And Blind Trust (00:04:07)

6. Switzerland Detox Spark And Solvents (00:05:39)

7. Food Versus Pills: What’s Actually In Them (00:08:36)

8. China, India, And The Supply Chains (00:11:50)

9. Fish Oil Deodorizing And Rancidity (00:15:04)

10. Fillers, Binders, And Industrial Byproducts (00:19:36)

11. Using AI To Trace Ingredients (00:23:38)

12. MSDS Sheets And “Safe” Solvent Residues (00:27:54)

13. Multivitamins And The Cofactor Problem (00:33:22)

14. Vitamin D Tests, Sheep Wool, And Sunlight (00:39:32)

15. Bioidentical Hormones And Blurred Lines (00:45:49)

16. The Business Of Labs And “Test Don’t Guess” (00:50:43)

17. Practical Takeaways, Book, And Resources (00:56:42)