How to navigate the supplement aisle?

Incorporating a multivitamin/mineral to your daily diet is like health insurance. It is an inexpensive way to fill in your nutritional gap.

However, there are trends in determining what a good quality multivitamin/mineral is.  I am quite sure most people have had the experience that when you look in the vitamin isle there are so many different types and you are overwhelmed because you do not know what to do, what to look for, what to check for on a label,  and how to choose a good quality multivitamin/mineral.

In the stores, the sales associates may not know how to help you choose what a good product is or they are not allowed to tell you. It’s all about how to determine what is a good quality supplement.

There are many misconceptions on supplementation, especially multivitamins.

1. It does not matter what you eat.

We do know poor diet lead to fatigue, low energy, inflammation, weakened immune system and poor healing.

2. All supplements are the same.

And you can buy the cheapest you can find from groceries, drugstores, supermarkets, shopping clubs like Sam’s’ Club and BJs. Some physicians even tell their heart patients to buy the cheapest fish oil vitamins they can find, because they are all the same. We definitely know that is not true.  If the price is very cheap, the quality is likely as well.

3. Vitamins are part of an unregulated industry.

That is not quite true that it is part of a poorly regulated industry.

4. Supplementation can cure disease.

That is not true. Consider supplementation like building blocks of health or the ammunition to help fight diseases.  When you give the body what it needs it does what it suppose to do and it can heal on its own.

We do know that proper nutrition and healthy lifestyle can prevent major diseases 60-90% of time and that is a huge amount.  Every day you do have a choice. You can think of your body like a bank – you are either putting good food into the bank and make a deposit or you are putting bad food and making a withdrawal.  Food supplement are fuel for the body and they affect every aspect of your health.

Disease statistics

Three of the top ten leading causes of death in US is heart disease, cancer and diabetes. In the last 10 years, all three of these have increased dramatically to the point where we have over 34% of Americans being diagnosed with diabetes. While there are so many changes and medical improvements there are many people coming down with diseases that can be affected by nutrition.

We know obesity is a big problem. We call it the Standard American Diet (SAD) and it causes a big fat problem.  Obesity trends in the USA are skyrocketing every single year even with the changes we have.  We know it is not easy to eat right. Some people say they get all their nutrients from their diet from foods they eat. That is certainly, where you want to start.

I ask this question: “Do you get 7-9 servings of fruits and veggies that is recommended every day?”

98% Americans fall short of getting the essential nutrients.

In 2004, they took a study of 43 different crops and looked at nutrient contents. It showed a decline of 38% over last several years, a decline in nutrient over the last 30 years and it is difficult now to get all your essential nutrients from the foods you eat alone. That is why supplements are added to fill in that nutritional gap.

Dietary supplementation has different guidelines than prescribed drugs.

If you look at supplements you do not have to prove that they work. You have to prove that drugs work and it is safe (we know drugs comes with serious side effects). You may not make a disease claim for a supplement while with a drug you can and the manufacturing guidelines for supplement is the basic Food and Drug Administration. So who is watching the hen house, which would be the supplement industry?

There are four organizations that are doing some regulations little as it is.

The first is the FDA on every single bottle of supplements there is a statement that starts with a star and it states, “These statement have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.” The FDA’s role is to police unsafe supplements.

Under the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 (DSHEA), the dietary supplement or dietary ingredient manufacturer is responsible for ensuring that a dietary supplement or ingredient is safe before it is marketed.

Then there is the USP, which stands for United States Pharmacopeia, and they have standards for potency, disintegration and dissolution. They want to make sure the product breaks down in 30 minutes or less in water and want to make sure what is on the label is inside the supplement. They are not testing for the purity of the raw ingredients, they are not testing for a balance product, and there is a fee that goes along with getting that USP seal on bottles.

Some doctors will tell their patients before they purchase any dietary supplements they need to check for the USP seal on the bottle. That is fine; however, I am quite sure that most people did not know what it means. Now you do.

Then there is Consumer Lab a private company that does the same as USP does. They do private testing for dissolution and potency – that is all they test for. Again they are not testing for the raw ingredients if they are natural, synthetic – they are not testing for those things. As a consumer you need to know these things in order for you to have a quality product and whoever wants the test done have to pay for the testing.

There are three types of supplements – Synthetic, Natural extracts and Natural, unaltered.

1. Synthetic

Synthetic is like the groceries, supermarkets, Costco, drug store variety. It’s like a plastic lemon, it’s man made from petroleum, has no enzymes which is necessary for life, has inorganic substances, artificial colors, flavors and sweeteners, is imbalanced, and has harsh binders and fillers (many are coated with shellac which results in resistance to the penetration of stomach fluids).

2. Natural extracts

Natural extracts is of health food store variety – it’s like plastic on outside and juice on inside. It has weak enzymes, uses chemical and or heat extractions which destroys enzymes, has artificial colors, flavors and sweeteners. Natural may mean only 15%, its imbalanced has mega doses of cheap B-vitamins, skimps on biotin, has harsh binders and fillers many are coated with shellac which results in resistance to the penetration of stomach fluids.

3. Natural, unaltered

Natural unaltered is made with real food like a real lemon – it has strong enzymatic action, cool, no chemical processing, highest quality raw materials, feeds and improves cell health, contains known and unknown nutrients, and phytonutrients only found in food.

There are some things you can look at to see if the multivitamin is of a good quality.

Vitamin E on label should tell you where the source is on the label. It should list d-alpha tocopherol – this is the natural form of Vitamin E. If it has dl-alpha tocopherol that little “l” signifies it is the synthetic form of Vitamin E.

Several studies have shown that the body correctly, no matter how much is in there, cannot utilize synthetic Vitamin E.  In addition, that tells you that the company is not doing justice by making a quality product to offer.

Another flag is artificial colors and dyes. This would begin with FD&C Red 40 Aluminum Lake, FD&C Yellow #6 Lake, FD&C Yellow #5, and FD&C Blue.

There are no reason why artificial colors are a part of a multivitamin that you have to swallow. Artificial coloring can react differently in people’s bodies and can damage your DNA and that tells you that it is not a pure or natural vitamins.

For chewable flavorings, sweeteners and artificial sweeteners you will find Splenda, NutraSweet, saccharine, and aspartame. These do not need to be in a product particularly in children’s vitamins.

You can look on the label that states other ingredients. You may see magnesium stearate – this is used to keep vitamin ingredients from sticking to the machinery while manufacturing. It is put there to aid the manufacturing of the product – it’s not there for your health. Magnesium stearate can stress the immune system and can also prevent proper absorption of nutrients. It is just additional stuff that is added to a multivitamin that do not break down completely.

Hydrogenated oil helps to hold ingredients of supplement together but this turns into transfat and is not good for your heart. It is not needed in a supplement.

Every nutrients listed should have the amount listed in micrograms, milligrams or international unit (ID) along with the percentage for each nutrients.  The daily value or RDA should be listed.  There are trace minerals marked with a star or cross, there are no amounts listed because they have not been established.  The main nutrients should be A, B,C,D,and E with all of the amounts.  If not all is listed that is a red flag.

The Consumer Labs finds mislabel products year after year. 40-60% of products do not have the proper amount of ingredients in supplement listed on the label. There is too much or not enough.

With B-vitamins there are eight different types that must be in balance so your body can use it efficiently and effectively. A lot has too many inexpensive ones and too little of the expensive ones. The most common Bs that are cheapest are B1 – thiamin, riboflavin B2, and niacin B3. These are often found in multivitamins in mega doses. As for biotin and pantothenic acid B-12 skimmed, you see only 10% when it should be 100% of everything.

Sometimes there is a long list of nutrients and herbs which makes you think you are getting value for your money. But you’re not. It’s enough to put in the bottle but not enough for what your body needs.

There was a lawsuit where PCBs were found in fish oil capsules and it was not on the label. Sometimes heavy metal, gold, silver masks pesticides. Lithium is a sign of pesticide inside of the supplement they have done tests but done nothing to remove it from the supplement.

There is a popular multivitamin that is promoted to seniors. They have added lutein to it but the amount on the label is minute. It’s enough to put in the bottle so they can put it on the label however you need 5 milligrams for this to be effective for your eye health.

Not one of the additions above to your multivitamin will help your health, but may actually harm you.  Now with that little bit of education you will be able to choose a multivitamin or any supplement that will provide a greater health benefit than a poor quality multivitamin.

There are questions you can ask the manufacturer of the supplements you are interested in namely: how long were they in business, how many scientists/health professionals on their staff, how many clinical studies were done on the products, were they peer review articles submitted to the science-based journal.

If you would like to learn more about supplements that are natural, unaltered and is made with real food, has strong enzymatic action, cool, no chemical processing, with highest quality raw materials, feeds and improves cell health, contains known and unknown nutrients, and has phytonutrients only found in food- this is the type of supplement I use for my family and recommend to my customers. Connect with me here.

To your health,

Denise