When it comes to vitamin & mineral supplements the choices can be overwhelming.
Not only are you trying to choose the product that is right for your current health issues and goals, but once you choose something, how do you know if it is actually great quality?
The truth is, the supplement world is a bit of a minefield. Each country has it's own set of regulations when it comes to this classification of products. With the internet making international marketing and shipping as simple as one click, consumers can find themselves getting more, less or nothing even close to what they are paying for.
So, how can anyone possibly navigate their way, making well-informed choices and getting excellent quality vitamins that will contribute to their best health?
Here are my top 3 tips:
1.) Buy Canadian. You may think this tip is biased since I am Canadian and operate a Canadian supplement retail store. But my reason for this recommendation is not based on those things. Canada has some of the most strict regulations around natural health products in the entire world. Many countries look to Canada as an example of how to improve their own regulations and foreign consumers covet Canadian made supplements.
What makes Canadian manufactured supplements so exceptional? Well, for starters, what is on the label matches what is in the bottle. This may seem like a no-brainer but in a recent study conducted on "natural" health products out of the US, a quarter of them were found to contain substances not disclosed on the label.
In fact, calling a product "natural" excludes it from the scrutiny that pharmaceutical products undergo. Many so-called vitamin supplements are laced with controlled substances and the ingredients found inside do not match what is listed on the label, if you can find any ingredient info, at all.
This situation is particularly dangerous if you have an existing medical condition, are pregnant or managing multiple medications.
Transparency in your label info is crucial for you to be able to make an infomed and safe choice.
Buy products that are required to undergo 3rd party testing (meaning someone who is not profiting off you buying the item has confirmed what is actually in the product) and are fully labelled with medicinal and non-medicinal ingredients.
2.) Check quantity of medicinal ingredients. If you are taking a vitamin, mineral or herb with the expectation that it is going to have a positive impact on your health or change something in your health status, then an amount is required that will stimulate change. Supplements that list lots of ingredients, but only tiny amounts of each, or have one ingredient with an insufficient amount of the therapeutic ingredient is going to leave you disappointed.
3.) Don't overlook non-medicinal ingredients. On a label (for Canadian manufactured products) there will be 2 sections to the ingredients list - medicinal and non-medicinal. Medicinal ingredients are the ones that are actively working to improve your health status. Non-medicinal ingredients are the "extras" added to help facilitate the manufacturing process, make the product last longer, taste better or mix well.
Non-medicinal ingredients that include loads of sugar, artificial flavours, dyes or aspartame are not contributing to your overall wellness and are best to be avoided.
I hope this list helps you make great choices for your supplements. You deserve to feel great, get what you pay for, skip the crap, and have full transparancy on your product labels.
For help choosing the right product for you, email me at kristen@wholefamilyhealthfood.com