A licensed pharmacist has revealed which supplements consumers should not purchase at Dollar Tree- including one he branded a 'scam.'
Grant Harting, creator of East Meridian, posted a TikTok videoand discussed three products that are available to buy at Dollar Tree, and he revealed which ones customers shouldn't bother spending their money on.
'A lot of people don't know that Dollar Tree even has medicine here, but some of them are really good, and some of them are bad,' said Harting on June 8.
He used three supplements to support his statement: People's Choice Fish Oil 1000 MG softgels, People's Choice Ginseng 500 MG tablets, and Nature's Science Test Booster dietary supplement.
In his video, Harting called one of the products a 'scam' - and another he said is something that customers should always steer clear of.
Grant Harting, a licensed therapist in three states, explained what supplement a consumer should never purchase at Dollar Tree
Harting - who is licensed in three states - immediately walked over Dollar Tree's supplement aisle and grabbed the bottle of People's Choice Fish Oil.
The supplement is available to purchase online and in-store for $1.25, but the licensed pharmacist has warned consumers not to think highly of the product.
'This is a scam, and let me explain why,' he started.
He was happy to see that the softgels were manufactured in the US, but he wanted consumers to be aware that it is legally a supplement, not a medication.
'There's different regulations, meaning it doesn't have to prove it's effective,' said Harting.
Regarding the product's quality, he didn't say it was terrible, but he did say the softgels were 'the same' as other softgel supplements.
'It's probably just repackaged. I can tell that because I've been at this for so long, and I know what they look like,' said Harting.
The repackaging isn't what made Harting say it was 'a scam' - but instead he said that the MG amount in each softgel was a cause for concern.
'This is 1000 MG per serving, so if you're going to take fish oil for therapy, you're going to need one to three grams per day, but this is per serving,' he said.
'The serving size is two softgels and there's only 18 softgels. You would have to take two a day, that's only nine days of therapy.'
Harting advised people to be cautious about the dosage, and said that while he is okay with fish oil for therapy, he's 'not a fan' of that specific product.
The three supplements he talked about were People's Choice Fish Oil 1000 MG softgels, People's Choice Ginseng 500 MG tablets, and Nature's Science Test Booster dietary supplement
People's Choice Fish Oil 18 softgel tablets are available to purchase online or in store for only $1.25
The licensed pharmacist had nicer things to say aboutPeople's Choice Ginseng 500 MG tablets, which also costs $1.25 in store and online.
However, he noted that the 'Overall Energy' label doesn't matter as Ginseng can be used for everything such as diabetes and depression.
Harting went over the serving size based on the MG serving size, which is 500.
The bottle's label indicated that two tablets are what someone should consume daily, which means that each tablet individually only has 250 MG.
The good news is that the size of a tablet is not relevant and according to the TikToker, the dosage depends on what the consumer is using Ginseng for.
'You could probably need 250 MG per day, or you may need 500 MG per day - it depends on when you're using it for,' he said.
'Although this is kind of misleading, it's not a scam, it's just a little more difficult to understand how much you're taking.'
He was not able to judge the quality of the product, but he did not tell other TikTokers to not buy the Dollar Tree supplement.
People's Choice Ginseng 500 MG tablets, which also costs $1.25 in store and online. According to Harting, the 'Overall Energy' label doesn't make a difference
The product that didn't get any support from Harting was the Nature's Science Test Booster, which people use to increase testosterone.
The Test Booster, which has a 12-pack of capsules, costs only $1.25 at Dollar Tree - but the TikToker sternly said customers should 'never buy it.'
'The serving is three caplets, meaning you get four servings in this container,' he said while showing off the supplement facts.
He then chuckled while reading the supplement has 200 MG of Tongkat Ali Extract and 150 MG of Maca Powder in it.
'Don't buy that, whatever that is. I had to look up the products, and they don't do anything,' Harting said while laughing in his vehicle.
'I feel like anybody who walks in there and doesn't know what they're doing would not look at that and be like, "This is a solid purchase."'
Harting added that another issue he had with the medication was the Nature's Science website, which Harting claimed didn't load.
'Your website is your gateway into a representation of your company... So it's going to be a hard no on that testosterone thing.'
Harting has responded to multiple commenters and revealed some of his top supplement choices.
The licensed pharmacist recommended Melatonin for sleep and Butterbur for migraines, and he even praised fish oil for its effect of lowering one's cholesterol.
