How do I know that I am choosing pure vitamins and supplements?
5 things you should not have to know (but absolutely must) when choosing a supplement
Sometimes, it seems it would be easier to decide on a purchase of a car or a spacecraft than to come to a conclusion as to which supplement or over-the-counter (OTC) medications will be the safe and the right choice for us.
‘’What vitamins are pure? Which supplements are considered clean? What vitamins should I take? What are vitamin fillers and why do I need to avoid them?’’
The questions are many, the answers are not simple, and to make things worse - they are all important.
This is why I’ve made a list of things we all should be aware of when we are deciding on which supplements and medicines to buy, in order to invest our money and time in quality, efficient, cost-effective, and above all, healthy products.
For those who just don’t have the interest, patience, or time to read and explore - all products in our app and web shop are hand-picked (by a doctor with real hands, not software or a search tool) to fulfill said requirements exactly, so anything you find on there you can consider a (human) doctor approved.
For those of you who like to be well-informed as well, let’s get started.
1. What’s wrong with grabbing the first thing off the shelf? Why chase after clean and pure vitamins and medication?
Before we get shopping, we need to be clear on what we want to achieve with our purchase. Usually, when we decide to take a supplement, the goal is to make our health better and know if the product will be safe and efficient. For this, we need to take a closer look at what’s on the label, i.e., in the bottle.
Purity is critical because it answers a number of important questions: Were unnecessary ingredients added?? Was the final product genetically altered? Is the product real and from nature or was it created in a lab? (Vitamin C, for example, can be made in a lab or taken from natural sources) Were chemicals used to extract the product or preserve it? Many times when these types of alterations are made, the result is that the product will be less effective or have no therapeutic value at all.
The alterations often solely serve the purpose of making manufacturing easier, cheaper, and more cost-effective.
2. How in the world can I know whether a supplement is clean or pure?
Today, the rough estimate is there are over 29,000 different dietary supplements, and more than 80 classes of over-the-counter (OTC) medications available to U.S. consumers - so, up to 90,000 combined - and the figures are changing every day.
The guesstimate is that only up to 33% of these are actually considered clean or pure.
Unfortunately, the reality is that consumers often have no way of knowing how clean, potent, or pure the supplement really is. The only way to know is to make sure your chosen product has a “supplement facts” label, read it thoroughly, and then do your research and choose, or find a shop that will guarantee to have done this for you.
I agree. It should be simpler, but since ‘’…the FDA does NOT have the authority to approve dietary supplements for safety and effectiveness, or approve their labeling before the supplements are sold to the public”, it is sort of left to the consumer to make sure any supplement they purchase contain the ingredients in the amounts on the label, in a form that is absorbable, with a reasonable and honest shelf life, and no harmful additives.
3. What went on Behind the scenes? The manufacturing process, additives & fillers.
All of the ingredients you see on the bottle had to be harvested, extracted, and processed somehow and each of these steps had to be done properly, and in a controlled environment. Small changes in temperature, humidity, or improper processing can result in a final product that does not yield the desired quality.
When it comes to additives and fillers, we are to be aware that unnecessary additives include artificial colors and flavors, cellulose, gelatine, magnesium stearate, silicon dioxide, titanium dioxide, starch, microcrystalline cellulose, stearic acid, simethicone, vegetable gum, talc, and propylene glycol.
I’ve already written at length about this, but the bottom line is: Even though not all fillers and additives are harmful, you don’t necessarily need them either as they often reduce the supplement’s efficiency and are used mostly to reduce the manufacturing cost, rather than improve quality.
4. Why is it a reg flag when everyone advertises the same supplement all of a sudden?
Granted, there are vitamins and supplements most of us living in modern society need, such as Vitamin D3, probiotics, Magnesium, Vitamin A, fiber…
The trick is, the more expensive and “in demand” an ingredient is, the more likely it is to be altered or even fraudulent. Anything that looks too good to be true probably is.
I cannot stress this enough: Be extra careful when it comes to popular products and bargain prices. Generally, when a supplement is way cheaper than all of its competitors it is definitely a red flag. Always consider the source - a big box store probably is looking more at profits than quality. Also, beware of products made in other countries that have NO procedures or checks in place to guarantee quality.
So, learn, explore, and choose wisely, or simply take advantage of the selection pre-made for you by a team of physicians, or download our app.
Additionally, you can learn more about vitamins and supplements that may help alleviate symptoms and support digestive health in our blog post: "Understanding the Link between LPR and Sinus Infections: Exploring Nasal Health" or "Hair Vitamins Unveiled: An In-Depth Analysis of Nutrients for Healthy Tresses"
I am always here for any other questions you may have.
Enjoy Good Health!
Lori Atkins
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