Feel Healthy Again

As you walk down the health and nutrition aisle of your pharmacy, you may feel overwhelmed by the number of choices. The nutritional supplement market is flooded with products, ranging from good to poor. How one rates and chooses a supplement depends not only on its quality, but also on how well it's suited to the consumer.

A supplement provides nutrients, such as acids, minerals and vitamins that may be missing or deficient in your diet. When choosing a product, you should look for one that suits those health needs and provides value.

Some things to consider are your own dietary requirements, the standard of the product, and whether or not the product is natural or synthetic. You may require a product that is vegetarian, dairy-free, sugarless, or Kosher. It's important to remember your personal choices and health requirements before purchasing any product for ingestion. Check the labels for information and an ingredients listing.

Two of the most common standards boards for supplements are the USP (United States Phamacopeia) and the NF (National Formulary). Both of these bodies make sure products undergo a series of rigorous tests before granting it their stamp of approval. Again, you may check the label to see whether or not a product has been approved by these boards and meets their standards.

When it comes to the choice between natural or synthetic, you'll find that higher quality supplements are usually always natural products. Research shows the body, on a whole, is able to absorb and process natural supplements easier than those derived from chemical processes. For example, in the case of Vitamin E – your body will absorb the entirety of the vitamin form derived from vegetable oils and natural sources. But, when taken from a synthetic form, the body excretes a portion, essentially reducing the effective dose that is indicated on the label. Natural supplements also leave out unnecessary chemical dyes. So, though synthetic supplements can often do the job, most consumers find that natural supplements are the better choice.

References:

1. BBC H2G2. Vitamins in Nutrition, bbc.co.uk, Apr 28, 2003. http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A1002763

2. FDA. Dietary Supplements – Overview, fda.gov, Dec 28, 2006. http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/supplmnt.html

3. Higdon, Jane. Vitamin C, Linus Pauling Institute, Oregon State University, Jan 31, 2006. http://lpi.oregonstate.edu/infocenter/vitamins/vitaminC/index.html

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