How to Choose A Nutritional Supplement; A "Multivitamin" Safely And Wisely

Please know that all vitamin and mineral supplements are NOT alike! You may be tempted to buy the biggest bottle of Vitamin C from the "big box" store pharmacy. But the perceived value may not be reflected in your desired outcome or result.

What follows are some questions and answers on HOW TO CHOOSE A NUTRITIONAL SUPPLEMENT. There will be a brief mention as to why you need to start taking supplements, but mainly this will be how to buy something that will help you support your immune system. And this immune system is the very framework for your health and ultimately your life. It should be treated like gold!

Why Do We Need To Supplement If We Eat Carefully?
Your body needs macronutrients as well as micronutrients. That means the broccoli (macro) and carrots (macro) you eat must have adequate amounts of both vitamins (micro) and minerals (micro). But our food value isn't nearly as abundant as it was 20 years ago. Many studies are available. These studies also include why your foods are so depleted in the appropriate nutrients.

What Are "Free Radicals" And "Anti-Oxidants"? Why should you know about them?
The most important medical discovery of the last half-century concerns "free radicals" and "anti-oxidants". Free radicals have been linked to (at last count) to at least 60 diseases. And we now have evidence that anti-oxidants can stop and (in some cases) can even reverse the damage done by free radicals" Dr. Robert D. Willix Jr.

Here is a definition of the term: "chronic": A chronic condition is continuous or persistent over an extended period of time. A chronic condition is one that is long-standing, not easily or quickly resolved.

"Chronic" is the opposite of acute. Do you go to the doctor for fatigue, diabetes, heart problems, elevated cholesterol levels? Those are chronic illnesses.

The American Medical Association (AMA) has already reversed its position on the use of supplements. 'Policy-Reversal' of the American Medical Association - who now consider supplements to be a very important aspect in preventing disease.
JAMA Recommends Taking Supplements! Please draw your own conclusions.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?CMD=search&DB=PubMed

Your challenge is to find the supplement best suited to your needs. To make this a little easier, I am including information from Lyle MacWilliam's highly respected 'Comparative Guide to Nutritional Supplements' (3rd edition) Lyle MacWilliam, BSc, MSc, FP ( http://www.comparativeguide.com/about.html ). I suggest you get a copy if you are serious about your health. He shares a lot of essential background knowledge, which allows you to make better-informed decisions.

Some people are willing to settle for " piecemeal" (individual products) and then create their own formulation. However, you may not know how to do this. You need a firm foundation of a balanced, complete supplement to complement your regular daily meals. Maybe then you can adjust the "add on' to fill in the "deficits".

No matter which way you choose the fact remains that you are "buying" the expertise of the manufacturing company! (And don't kid yourself to think that because it's called a manufacturing company, the products are "unnatural" ...all products are manufactured somehow.)

This field of supplements, vitamins, minerals, herbs, etc. is unregulated. In Canada supplements are required to carry a DIN Drug Identification Number. So regulation is implied, but the important question is "does the manufacturer meet those standards. And if there are no regulations, how will you know what is safe to eat...

In order to see how to understand what you are trying to do, it would be a good idea to pretend that you are standing in the health food store or drugstore, ready to buy. (Please remember that there are many other providers of such supplements, and the same standards will apply. Your health is at stake.) Now you are faced with this row upon row of bottles, all labeled with words you aren't sure you understand. Some names jump out at you: Vitamin D, folic acid, Glucosamine sulfate. And then you see all these boxes of "multivitamins". You recognize names from TV ads. Surely they are safe and helpful. Please continue your research by reading on.

Your basic concern should include three things: the company's ability to provide the expert scientific knowledge, the required quality of the manufacturing process, and the ingredients of the highest quality that allows the cells require to grow and to remain healthy and vibrant. )

I guarantee that unless you are an expert, you will be very confused and frustrated.

Pick up a bottle of what might be classified as nutritional supplement. (I am not speaking here about individual vitamins the vitamin or minerals, although the same process could be applied to them.)

What Wording Are You Looking For?
The label should say something like: "LABORATORY TESTED, QUALITY GUARANTEED, MEETS USP SPECIFICATIONS FOR POTENCY, UNIFORMITY, DISINTEGRATION WHERE APPLICABLE."
These are your safeguards. This is the industry standard to follow. (Right away, you will have some difficulty finding supplements to choose from.)

What does "LABORATORY TESTED" mean?
It means testing all raw materials and the finished product for potency, contamination, dosage, stability, and dissolution. (To do that all raw materials are quarantined until samples have been taken and tested for Salmonella, E. coli, total plate count, molds, yeast, fungi and Staphylococcus Aureus (Staph A).) Only after passing all these tests are these raw materials approved.

What does QUALITY GUARANTEED mean?
This is obvious. You want a guarantee that you are buying a quality item. You need assurance that what you think you are buying and is labeled as such, is in fact in the bottle. Vitamin manufacturing may not be regulated, but responsible manufacturers choose to meet the FDA standards. They also choose to follow "Good Manufacturing Practices" (GMP) established for drug manufacturers, in order to provide the highest quality of products in the industry. ) They will produce pharmaceutical-grade products designed to much higher standards than what the law requires.

What does MEETS USP SPECIFICATIONS FOR POTENCY, UNIFORMITY, DISINTEGRATION WHERE APPLICABLE mean?"
USP stands for United States Pharmacopeia and this is another set of standards dealing with such things as Bioavailability. This is the degree and rate at which a substance (as a drug or other products) is absorbed into a living system (you) or is made available to the body. Through scientific research, it had been determined what your body needs and how all this fits together. It is not a guessing game. And it is a scientific fact that some ingredients won't work well with others in one form, but will be fine in another. The disintegration times of tablets are also tested to ensure that they will break down while in the gastrointestinal tract enabling your body to absorb them.

Poor manufacturing can destroy great science, and you really want these supplements to be scientifically "designed". The Quality Assurance teams keep detailed records of all activities including all testing and evaluation of raw materials, shipping, and storage procedures.

Is There An Expiration Date On The Container?
The potency has to remain past the expiration date.

Does The Label Say "Natural"? (Did you know that it is legal to say 100% natural, even though they just have 4% of the natural product in the container? Are mushrooms natural? Beware of the term.)

Are the supplements complete and balanced? "A supplement must supply in the correct balance and at potential shown to promote lifelong health. Avoid nutritional fads - insist on balance, completeness, and quality. Your health depends on it." Lyle MacWilliam.
http://www.comparativeguide.com/about.html


They should provide all of the essential nutrients to the cell at optimal levels, not RDA levels. Incidentally you will not find a manufacturer going to al the trouble of meeting strict regulations and standards voluntarily, and not apply these parameters or guidelines to all their other products. That would be foolish and a waste of money. After you have chosen the foundational products, stay with the same company for all your other needs. You have already done your research.

Why Shouldn't You Buy On Price?
Recognize that price doesn't dictate quality and safety. Be aware that the cost of the scientific manufacturing does increase a cost of the product. And as the famous ad says "aren't you worth it"? So don't give your body's nutritional needs to the lowest-priced bottle.

Does The Company Do It's Own "In-House" Manufacturing? It may be fine for your mushrooms to come from a generic manufacturing location, but it's important that your supplement can be checked and validated at every point. Trust the process. Your health is at stake.

Does The Company Encourage Independent Testing? The more objective and professional processes the company participates in, the better the end product.
Does the company provide technical support?

Is There A 1 800 Number On The Container? If you had a reaction to the product, you may need to contact them about the ingredients. So the number is important. They will not be able to give you any medical advice, but they can give you all the answers to these questions.

Lifestyle & Nutrition: Key Factors In Health
How do you know what to take unless you are an expert? Chances are you won't know how to combine all the required items, including all the co-factors. Trust someone who knows...it will most likely be the manufacturer who has already done the initial research and has participated in the scientific process for the basic supplement. Get advice from someone who knows the company and its products if you are going to add any other products. These products will work synergistically.

Your goal is to choose an appropriate, value packed product. But in light of all the products you are faced with and that you are NOT going to choose, knowing a little of the science behind the manufacturing process will help you stand firm in your decision. You will learn a little about "free radicals", anti-oxidants, and the oxidative process...the wearing out or rusting out of your body. Then your decisions will be based on facts and wisdom.

It is important to remember that you are totally responsible for what goes on in your body. So you have to know what you need and what it will do to or for you. It doesn't matter if it's a vegetable or a supplement. The responsibility is yours alone. You may ask for advice, but the end decision is yours. What you put in should help your entire body stay healthy: be it food at the dinner table or a supplement to complement the food just eaten. In choosing a nutritional supplement, please consider that you don't know what your body actually needs or how you could find the required ingredients. Also, you wouldn't know how to formulate the necessary product.

If you are already taking supplements, compare them, using these guidelines. And if you are already taking supplements, but not getting the desired results, maybe you should consider switching. According to the AMA, health is yours for the taking...of nutritional supplements.

Quick Vitamin & Mineral Checklist