How to Buy Supplements That Work – At a Fair Price

Do you buy Supplements? Perhaps you ladies heard of a good supplement that will help your sagging skin. Men, perhaps you heard of a supplement that will help your prostate. Or you heard of another supplement that will give you lots of energy. Or, you heard of a supplement that will lubricate your creaky and hurting joints. Maybe a friend has recommended a specific supplement and you rush off to the store to buy it.

How Do You Shop?

How do you shop for them? You have the name of the supplement and the brand name that your friend suggested. Do you just go to the store, pick it up and, go pay for it? Or do you look a little further? Do you look for a cheaper version of the same supplement?

Sometimes we can make hasty decisions without really thinking about what we are doing. In addition to many other issues which we will talk about, have you considered that every person’s body is a little different? What works for a friend could harm you.

Cheap May Be Expensive

If you buy the cheapest version of the supplement, you may be buying a supplement that does not have the ingredients it claims to have. Or, it may be a weakened version with a lot of fillers. Or, it may be one of the supplements without an expiration date – meaning it may have been on the shelf for a very long time. In each of these cases, you are buying something without value. It is cheap but worthless. You are wasting your money.

Why Do I Need Supplements?

If everything was ideal, you would not need supplements. We could get all the right nutrition from the food we eat. But, today, because of advances in modern agriculture, the nutrient density of our food has gone down. We may have more food available, but the quality and nutrition value is less.

Complicating this is the fact that many do not have a balanced diet, but rather have a high intake of junk food (high levels of calories from sugar and fat with less protein, vitamins or minerals) or fast food which may, or may not, have much nutritious value. When people fill up on junk food or fast food, they typically omit the healthier fruits, vegetables, and protein. Often our diet plan is based on how to get food the fastest without using much time in preparation. For any or all, of the above reasons, we may need supplements.

How Do I Know What Supplements I Need?

Sometimes in your conversation with a friend, you discover that they have a physical problem like yours. He tells you the supplement he is using that helps him. You decide that will probably work for you and then you buy it. But everybody’s body chemistry is not the same. What works for him may be harmful to you or it may not be of any value to you. If you are taking prescriptions, the interaction could be harmful. And, bottom line, your friends’ problem may sound like yours, but that may not be the case.

If you have a health problem and are serious about discovering what will solve that problem, you need to have what is called a full blood panel. Often a doctor will have this done as part of an annual physical exam. This blood test measures your sugar (glucose) level, electrolyte and fluid balance, kidney function, and liver function. It will help your doctor identify what nutritional deficiencies you have if any. Then your plan for supplements can be based on fact, not spur of the moment decisions or self-diagnosis assumptions.

Not all Supplements are equal. You Get What You Pay For.

Factors to Watch For

No expiration date on the bottle The supplement could have been on the shelf for a very long time.

How dissolvable is the capsule or tablet or liquid?

Some supplements do not dissolve in your system and are of no value to you. Capsules are easier than tablets for the body to absorb but have a shorter shelf life. Capsules also will be more expensive and contain less medication than a tablet. Liquid supplements absorb into the system faster and are beneficial for those who have problems swallowing capsules or tablets.

Where are the ingredients coming from?

Did the manufacturer choose the ingredients because they were cheaper or because they proved by research, to be effective in people’s lives? One example that I found was concerning fish oil which is good for your heart and brain. It must come from fish. Did the fish swim in contaminated water or clean water?

Was the product manufactured in the United States?

In some countries, supplements are not regulated, and some products may have toxic ingredients.

Is the supplement in the right form to be used by my body?

You might be taking a supplement and it is doing nothing for you. There is a possibility that it is (1) not potent enough. Or, it could (2) not be in the right form to be absorbed. Or, (3) it has a lot of fillers and not enough of the advertised ingredients. (However, According to Elizabeth Marglin at Vitacost.com, in the blog, “Bulk, Bind and Flow: A Primer on Fillers in Supplements” “Most fillers are actually harmless and necessary.”)

(1) For vitamins and minerals, the potency is measured as “therapeutic dose”. Manufacturers might cut the dosage in each capsule to save money.

(2) Is it in the right form to be absorbed? Vitamin B9 should be folate (the natural form) and is better absorbed by everyone than folic acid. Vitamin B12 should be in the methylcobalamin form. Vitamin A should be in the form of beta carotene. Minerals should be chelated – or reacted.

(3) The ingredient list should be complete without a lot of fillers. Check to see if it is packed with sugar, artificial sweeteners, artificial flavorings, or colors because you don’t need all of those. If it says “other ingredients” and doesn’t list what the others are, be wary.

How well has the supplement worked in scientific studies?

This can be researched at www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed and the National Institute of Health - Office of Dietary Supplements

Choose brands that are labeled with NSF International, US Pharmacopeia, Underwriters Laboratory, or Consumer Lab seal. If this is not on the label, you can check further by going to the supplement company website to see what their quality code is and the backup for their quality statements.

Federal Regulation

Supplements do not require FDA approval. But supplement companies must have evidence that their product is safe.

The supplement label may say that the product promotes health or supports a specific body function, but the claim must be followed by the words, “This statement has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.”

Manufacturers of supplements must follow good manufacturing practices (GMPs) to ensure the identity, purity, strength, and composition of their products.

Summary

1. Is it possible to avoid buying this specific supplement by planning and preparing a more balanced diet?

2. Be sure you know ahead of time what supplement you need for your condition.

3. Do not shop merely by price comparison.

4. Check the label carefully. This is for the sake of your life and health. It is worth spending the time to check it out before purchasing. If the label does not have sufficient information to your satisfaction, go to the supplement company website and find out what you need to know.

By careful research and shopping, you can find the right supplement that will be of the most value to you.

Happy Supplement Shopping!

Sources:

Mindful Nutrition: What Makes a Quality Supplement? https://mywelllabs.com/blogs/news/76154501-mindful-nutrition-what-makes-a-quality-supplement

Vitamins and Supplements: How to Choose Wisely

https://www.webmd.com/diet/how-to-evaluate-vitamins-supplements#1

What Makes a Good Supplement?

https://doctortaz.com/what-makes-a-good-supplement/

Dietary Supplements: What You Need to Know https://ods.od.nih.gov/HealthInformation/DS_WhatYouNeedToKnow.aspx

According to Nutritionists, These Are the 7 Ingredients Your Multivitamin Should Have

https://www.healthline.com/health/food-nutrition/best-vitamins-to-take-daily#1

Tablets vs. Capsules: Pros, Cons, and How They Differ https://www.healthline.com/health/capsule-vs-tablet

Bulk, Bind and Flow: A Primer on Fillers in Supplements

https://www.vitacost.com/blog/excipients-in-vitamins-and-supplements/#:~:text=Fillers%20are%20used%20to%20bulk,ingredients%20would%20be%20barely%20visible.

ConsumerLab.com Answers Are liquid vitamins better than pills?

https://www.consumerlab.com/answers/are-liquid-vitamins-better-than-pills/liquid-vitamins