Choosing High Quality Vitamin Supplements

If you want to supplement your diet with vitamins, minerals or other products, you probably want to know more about the supplements you are choosing. The choice to use a dietary supplement may provide health benefits, however sometimes these products may be unnecessary for good health or they may even create unexpected risks.
Not all vitamins and dietary supplements are created equally. There are no standards that require that the ingredients listed on the label match what is actually inside the capsules or tablets inside the bottle.
It is also important to remember that claims made for the effects of dietary supplements are not approved by the FDA. This lack of approval doesn't mean the supplements are not effective, however, and choosing the right ones will impact your health a great deal.

Which Supplements to Take
If you are pregnant, nursing a baby, or have a chronic medical condition, be sure to consult a nutrition specialist or doctor before purchasing or taking any dietary supplements. He or she will take your medical history, your diet, and your current medications into consideration and choose any diagnostic tests necessary to prescribe a dietary and nutritional supplement program. Please don't try to do all this on your own, when there are so many qualified professionals available.

If you are in good health and you are simply searching for some extra vitamin supplements to ensure that you getting all the nutrition your body needs, then start with a simple vitamin supplement program like this:

- Multi-Vitamin Supplement
- Calcium and Magnesium
- B Complex
- Omega-3 Fatty Acids

Unless you have consulted with a health care provider, please follow the dosage instructions on the labels.

How to Select a Brand of Vitamins
When you are ready to shop for supplements, please take the following points into consideration:

Join ConsumerLab.com to find out which brands of supplements they have tested.

Read the label on the bottles. Ingredients for the supplements should be from organic sources whenever possible.

Dietary Supplements should be tested for toxic substances and any kind of contamination such as lead or mercury.

Look for hypoallergenic products if you have sensitivity problems. Avoid wheat, yeast and corn.

Look for an expiration date and make sure the product is fresh. If there is no expiration date on the label, buy something else.

Dietary supplements are not regulated, so the amount of the nutrients that are claimed on the label might be different than what is really in the pills. Contact the lab that makes the vitamin supplements and ask them how they test their products. A good company will have professionals who can answer your questions. If you don't get an answer, you may wish to find another company.

You may also check with the store to see if they are sure of the supplements' quality.

If you have questions about a certain brand, don't be afraid to look up their contact information, call them and ask about the five points above. Reputable supplement labs will have answers and documentation available for all your questions. Keep in mind that some of the highest quality products are only available through health care providers.

If It Sounds To Good To Be True
It probably is. Use caution and good sense when you come across inflated claims for vitamin supplements. Your e-mail spam box is probably filled with e-mails making these claims for various herbs and supplements. Also keep in mind that cheaper often means poor quality. Buy your vitamin supplements from health care providers, nutrition stores and whole foods markets.

Source:
U.S. Food & Drug Administration Center for Food Safety & Applied Nutrition. "Dietary Supplements."