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How To Choose A Good Quality Vitamin Supplement For You And Your Family Without Getting Ripped Off
As you may have already experienced, figuring out how to choose a good quality vitamin and mineral supplement can be a confusing and time consuming task. The purpose of this article is to look at several important factors that you should consider when looking for a good quality vitamin and mineral supplement and to provide you with resources where you can learn more. CONSIDERATION #1: ABSORPTION Here is one of the first questions you should keep in mind: Will the ingredients in the vitamin and mineral supplement you are considering actually be absorbed by your body? There are many steps that the ingredients in your vitamin and mineral supplement (referred to as supplement from now on) have to go through in order to make it all the way through your digestive tract, into your blood stream and ultimately to the location where your body can use them. It's a complex process and there are many opportunities for the process to not go quite right and prevent your supplement ingredients from getting to where they are supposed to. Let's look at some factors that can affect the journey your supplement takes and also affect how well your body can absorb a supplement's ingredients. WHAT IS BIOAVAILABILITY? Bioavailability is the degree to which a nutrient is available to the body for use. More specifically, for a nutrient to be bioavailable it must be within physical proximity to the cell so the cell can use it. Also, for a nutrient to be bioavailable it has to be dissolved in some sort of solution so that the nutrient can be transported across the cell membrane. From a non biochemistry perspective, here's a simple way to picture what needs to happen; the nutrient has to make it all the way from your mouth to the cell and be in a form the cell can use. For bioavailability to occur, certain things have to happen once you put that supplement into your mouth. Here are two of those processes. One is dissolution which refers to how fast a supplement dissolves. An example to help you picture this process would be taking some sugar, putting it in a glass of water and stirring it with a spoon until the sugar disappears. Another process is disintegration. This is similar to dissolution only disintegration refers to how fast the capsule or tablet breaks into smaller pieces so that the dissolution process can take place. HOW TO TELL IF YOUR SUPPLEMENT WILL DISSOLVE So how in the world are you going to be able to tell if the supplement you are considering does all this dissolution and disintegration stuff? Fortunately, it's pretty straight forward to figure out. A good way to know that your supplement is meeting these standards is to make sure there is some sort of "USP" designation on the label of the product. USP refers to U.S. Pharmacopeia, an organization that was established to create state-of-the-art standards to ensure the quality of medicines that humans use. This includes vitamin and mineral supplements. An example of the kind of USP designation that you want to look for on the label of a product you are considering would be something like, "this product conforms to the USPXXVII requirements for disintegration and dissolution". WHAT CHELATION DOES Chelation is very important when it comes to making sure that the minerals in your supplement are bioavailable. Chelation refers to a process that increases the absorption of minerals such as chromium, copper, iron, magnesium, manganese, molybdenum and zinc. It can be hard to get minerals all the way to that bioavailable state that was discussed earlier. Chelation involves wrapping the mineral in an amino acid so that the body can more easily absorb it. This can improve the absorption of some minerals from only 10% absorption for a non chelated mineral to 45% and more for a chelated mineral. So when you are looking at the label of a vitamin supplement and you find a trace mineral such as manganese as one of the ingredients, you want to see something like "Manganese (as Manganese Chelate)" on the label. This indicates that the manganese mineral has been chelated. WHAT CAN HAPPEN IF YOU PICK THE WRONG SUPPLEMENT If the vitamin supplement you are considering doesn't meet the standards discussed above, it can pass right through your body and do you no good at all. To give you an example of this, I have actually seen a photo of an x-ray taken of a person's colon area with the vertebrae of their backbone off to one side. In this photo I could clearly see two supplement tablets, still intact, looking like they had just come out of the bottle. These supplement tablets were poorly made, never disintegrated and would soon end up in the toilet. Photos like these are a graphic illustration of the fact that just because you swallow your vitamin supplement doesn't mean your body is going to be able to use it. ARE YOU WASTING YOUR MONEY? With this in mind, let's look at this useless, undissolved supplement from a another perspective; a financial one. Let's say you find a great deal on a supplement and start taking it. We'll call it Supplement X. Let's also say this Supplement X costs $20 for a sixty day supply. You think you've found a great deal, however what if it turns out that your Supplement X has been poorly manufactured and is only 10% bio available. What this means is that your body will be only able to use $2 worth of this supplement ($20 times 10%). And what happened to the other $18 you paid for the supplement? It went right through your body, that's what. Looking at it another way, you paid $20 for your sixty day supplement supply yet ended up completely wasting 90% of that $20 you spent. You literally flushed $18 right down the toilet. Just like everything else in life, there is no free lunch. When it comes to choosing a supplement, don't be cheap. Do your homework and find a good quality supplement that your body can actually use. OTHER FACTORS TO CONSIDER - Are the health benefit claims being made by the supplement company provable? Vitamin supplement companies may claim that their product will do certain things or that the way they put their product together or package it will create a particular health benefit. This claim may very well be true but the only thing that matters is have they proven it. Are there proven health benefits from taking their supplement? In other words, have there been clinical trials that prove the health benefit claims? - Is the supplement you are considering safe to consume? Just because the supplement is in a bottle, the bottle has a fancy label and it looks like it comes from a big company doesn't mean the ingredients in the supplement are pure and safe. There can be many substances in that capsule that can have an immediate harmful effect as well as a harmful effect over the long term. WHERE YOU CAN LEARN MORE Specific details on health benefit claims and whether or not the supplement you are considering is safe to consume are beyond the scope of this article. However, if you would like to learn more about these health benefit and safety subjects, details on these topics can be found on web pages that I have provided a link to below. http://www.ajpip.com/vitamin_supplements/res/ind.htm On these vitamin resources pages you will also find: - Organizations that can help you figure out what kinds of vitamins, minerals and other supplements may be right for you - Where you can get unbiased evaluations on the product you are considering - Some more interesting facts on absorption - Surprising information on colloidal minerals FINAL THOUGHTS If you have gotten to the point where you are looking for a vitamin and mineral supplement to take, congratulations. You have taken a positive step towards improving your health and taking better care of your body. However, make sure to continue that commitment to yourself by doing your homework and making sure that you choose a good quality supplement. It makes no sense to go that far then end up wasting your money on something that your body can't even use. After years of extreme fatigue, severe digestion problems and frequent sickness, Andy Long now enjoys energy levels that allow him to windsurf in 30 mph winds for 3-4 hours at a time. He now shares with others what he did to completely regain his health through his health related web sites and newsletter. To see a list of the topics covered in Andy's newsletter, click on the following link: http://www.ajpip.com/rbopi/ancrb.htm
MORE RESOURCES: Supplement pill that contained mold recalled after 2 deaths, over 100 hospitalizations in Japan CBS News Japan health scare: Drugmaker reports two more deaths linked to supplement Al Jazeera English 2 more deaths linked to Kobayashi Pharma supplements Kyodo News Plus Japan drugmaker reports two more deaths in supplement scare Medical Xpress Explained: What is Japan's dietary supplement that killed 2, left over 100 hospitalised? Hindustan Times Beni Koji: All about the ingredient in Japanese supplements that is said to have killed 4 and hospitalize The Times of India What we know so far about Kobayashi Pharma's supplement deaths The Japan Times What are perimenopause supplements—and do they work? National Geographic Do Gummy Supplements Actually Work? Triathlete It's Tricky to Know Which Supplements Are Safe — Here's What to Avoid DISCOVER Magazine Best Vitamins and Supplements Recommended by Pharmacists | U.S. News U.S. News & World Report Dr. Vegan: startup spotlights supplements for men's health NutraIngredients.com Japan dietary supplement recalled amid investigation into two deaths and 100 hospitalisations The Guardian The FDA doesn't test dietary supplements before they hit the shelves. Here's what you need to know. Denison Bulletin Review Best NMN Supplements in Canada 2024 Healthnews.com Japan pulls red mould supplement pill linked to deaths and hospitalisations Al Jazeera English Postbiotic Supplements Market is projected to reach US$ 30.5 million by 2034, growing at a CAGR of 10.90% from ... Yahoo Finance Food and Dietary Supplement Safety and Regulation Conference Food and Drug Law Institute Antioxidant-rich diets linked to lower type 2 diabetes risk, supplements less effective News-Medical.Net 7 Best Creatine Supplements for 2024: Thorne, Klean Athlete Everyday Health Organic Athletic Supplement Ranges Trend Hunter Are supplements a scam? Dazed UPDATE2: 2 more deaths linked to Kobayashi Pharma supplements Marketscreener.com The 7 Best Folate Supplements of 2024, According to a Dietitian Verywell Health Learn more about the power of supplements at Life Time KSAT San Antonio One dead after consuming Kobayashi Pharma's health supplements The Japan Times NaturEra Debuts Sugar Crush, the Ultimate Blood Sugar Management Supplement Duo with Innovative Liquid Formula StreetInsider.com Best Hair Growth Vitamins of 2024 Healthline DrGo launches DrGo Me+ Ready Pack portable nutritional supplement pack Mid Florida Newspapers 5 Best weight loss supplements for men to try in 2024 Longevity.Technology Microbiome-balancing products are on the rise in the gut health category. - Natural Products Insider Microbiome-balancing products are on the rise in the gut health category. Natural Products Insider Ecommerce, sports nutrition, women driving the “really strong” $63 billion supplements industry New Hope Network The Medical Minute: Vitamin supplements versus a balanced diet? No contest Penn State Health News Subcontractor sees no quality-control problems with 'beni-koji' supplements | NHK WORLD-JAPAN News NHK WORLD Japan drugmaker reports two more deaths in supplement scare atchisonglobenow.com Hawaiian Vegan Dietary Supplements Trend Hunter Japan's health ministry to convene expert panel on 'beni-koji' supplements | NHK WORLD-JAPAN News NHK WORLD Do vitamin D and calcium supplements work? Deseret News Dominate The Male Enhancement Niche Today with Aizen Power Supplements - Health #videoshort - ECOWAS Pyramid Wholesale recalls sexual enhancement supplements ConsumerAffairs The dark side of daily vitamin D supplements: After a man died from an 'overdose' in the UK, experts explain how much ... Yahoo Finance Japan drug firm reports two deaths The Manila Times Precision medicine doctor's 6 daily supplements to boost longevity Business Insider Calcium, vitamin D supplements can affect women's risk of cancer Medical News Today Two more deaths reported in Japan of people who took 'beni-koji' supplements | NHK WORLD-JAPAN News NHK WORLD Longevity supplements conference unlocks advancements in aging research Longevity.Technology Japanese supplement pill recalled after 2 die, more than 100 hospitalized - Honolulu Star-Advertiser Japanese supplement pill recalled after 2 die, more than 100 hospitalized Honolulu Star-Advertiser FDA Issues Warning About Certain Supplements Substituted with Toxic Yellow Oleander (January 2024) FDA.gov The 8 Best Magnesium Supplements of 2024 EatingWell 5 things you should know before trusting that supplement National Geographic Is it worth taking collagen supplements? The Washington Post |
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