Choosing the Best Supplement for Your Body and Your Health
From
Standard Process “Selecting a Quality Supplement”
There are hundreds of thousands of vitamin supplements available on today’s market. You can buy them at health food stores, drug stores, grocery stores, various retailers, though health care professionals, and on the Internet.
When choosing a supplement, how do you determine which one to buy? The package design? The manufacturer? The ingredients? The label claims? Where it’s made? How do you know for sure you are getting the best supplement for your body and your health?
Two Basic Types of Nutritional Supplements
Brand A (whole food supplement)
Whey (milk) protein powder, flax meal powder, brown rice protein powder, calcium citrate, magnesium citrate, buckwheat juice powder, Brussels sprouts (whole plant), kale, Choline bitartrate, inositol, barley grass, alfalfa juice powder, soybean lecithin powder, grape (seed) extract (includes Masquelier’s® OPC-85; 98% total phenolic compounds; 65% proanthocyanidins), carrot powder, and red wine extract (95% Total phenols).
Brand B (isolate-based supplement)
Calcium Carbonate, Magnesium Oxide, Potassium Chloride, Cellulose, Ascorbic Acid, Dl-alpha Tocopheryl Acetate, Acacia, Croscarmellose Sodium, Zinc Oxide, Dicalcium Phosphate, Stearic Acid, Dextrin Titanium Dioxide, Niacinamide, Silicon Dioxide, Hypromellose, Gelatin, Soy Extract, Magnesium Stearate, Calcium Silicate, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Manganese Sulfate, Polyethylene Glycol, Corn Starch, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Mannitol, Cupric Oxide, Resin, Lecithin, Riboflavin, Thiamine Mononitrate, Vitamin A Acetate, Chromium Chloride, Folic Acid, Dextrose, Beta Carotene, FD&C Red #40 Lake, FD&C Blue #2 Lake, Sodium Selenate, Biotin, Phytonadione, Cyanocobalamin, Ergocalciferol.
In Brand A, vitamins and nutrients are derived mainly from recognizable food sources. In Brand B, the vitamins and nutrients are man-made chemical isolates not recognized as food sources.
How to Properly Read a Label
It can be very confusing to determine the true value of a supplement. Understanding the label will help you know if you are taking a quality supplement.
Where do the nutrients come from?
Look at the ingredients listed on the food label. Do you recognize any of them? Just like any other food label, the nutrients are listed in a particular order and some manufacturers put the source next to the nutrient. In a quality, wholesome product, you will recognize and be able to pronounce most of the ingredients on the label.
What is the importance of whole food ingredients?
Only whole food ingredients can provide you with all the nutrients contained within the food. For example, in brand B, the sixth ingredient is dl-alpha Tocopheryl acetate. This is not a food ingredient. It is an isolated component of the vitamin E complex. If you were to take a supplement with just dl-alpha Tocopheryl, you would be missing at least five other important nutrients as well as hundreds of other nutrients that occur within the whole vitamin E complex. These nutrients are only available by consuming natural, whole food forms of vitamin E, such as wheat germ iol, pea vine, green leafy vegetables, nuts, and sunflower seeds.
To be Effective, Don’t I need to get at Least 100% of the Daily Value?
We often think that more is better. However when choosing supplements, quality is far more important than quantity. A small amount of a vitamin in whole food form is far more important to the human body than a large dose of an isolated vitamin. This is because the isolated form is just a fraction of the whole and is missing important nutrients that the body needs. Taking more of the isolated form will not make up for these deficiencies.
Going Beyond the Label
Just like any recipe, the quality of the ingredients you use affects the quality of the final product. Therefore, it’s important to answer all these questions when evaluating a supplement and its effectiveness.
Where do the ingredients come from?
Manufacturers who grow many of their ingredients have the unique ability to control the quality of the ingredient from seed to supplement. Some manufacturers own certified organic farms to further enhance the quality of their ingredients.
When are ingredients processed?
When you buy a tomato, you inspect it for quality. You wouldn’t knowingly buy one that was mushy and bruised. This same principle holds true for when ingredients are prime for harvest. Different foods reach their peak nutrient value during different times within the growing season. Pea vine, for example, is at its peak during the flowering stage. Once harvested, food begins to lose its value. It is perishable like the tomato. If there is a delay of hours, days, or months from when an ingredient is harvested to when it’s processed, many of its very delicate phytonutrients are lost.
Are the ingredient’s vital factors retained?
Each ingredient has its own set of rules in relation to how to best package its vital life. The manufacturing process needs to retain the vital nutrients within the ingredients. Too much heat will destroy enzymes and phytonutrients. The manufacturer should use a low-temperature, high-vacuum process to make sure that the ingredient’s nutrients are preserved.