Buying the Right Vitamin, Supplement or Herb

While shopping in a vitamin store, I noticed several newbies walk in and ask store associates for advice on what vitamins they should take. The unknowing store associate walks them over to a thick reference book and looks up a vitamin and then walks over to the shelf and picks up a bottle and says " Here is what most people buy."

The vitamin and supplement industry is predominantly unregulated. Most bottles contain disclaimers stating that the labels on the products being sold have not been evaluated by the FDA. There was recently a federal indictment against an online company that sold diet products that made false advertising claims. Anyone can literallybottle label and sell a " natural product". Reading the label doesn't lend credence to the product. Before choosing which products to put in your mouth you should carefully do your research before you buy and not trust the guess of a store associate for a product recommendation.

Grocery store and mega chains carry supplements that are made in labs that use fillers and binders as well as ingredients that are known to cause allergies. Just as there are different grades of cars from economy to luxury and different grades of steak such as ground chuck to filet mignon, traditional stores carry products produced by labs using the least expensive ingredients and binders. The result is you swallow a capsule that is hard to digest and break down or you are assimilating a product with bargain basement potency.

You also have to be careful shopping for products in the health food store and also through infomercials. Reading the label or the ad doesn't tell you the whole story. The credibility of the laboratory a company uses to manufacture their product and the quality ingredients they use will determine the effectiveness of the product. Peruse through the store, look at the fine print on the label, then go home and call the lab or research the lab online. A quality company should be able to explain to you're their standards of quality and how they ensure you are getting exactly what they state you are getting on the label.

Doctor endorsed products mean absolutely nothing. The doctor's name is either being licensed or they have private labeled the product through a lab so the customer doesn't know the real cost of the product. On a local television show I watched a known doctor sell vitamin D3 for $44.00 on a 30 day supply. I tracked down her product and called the lab. The lab manufactures and sells the same product in most health food stores for $13.00. But the added cost of the doctor's endorsement plus their advertising campaign marked up the cost.

The following are labs that I have researched that have high standards of manufacturing alternative health products.

1) Now Foods is located in my home state of Illinois. They not only do a good job of producing quality products to sell in health food stores but they also explain their manufacturing philosophy on their website. http://www.nowfoods.com/Quality/index.htm

2) Carlson Labs are well known for their quality standards of manufacturing Vitamin E and Fish Oil supplements. They have a long standing tradition on health food store shelves founded n 1965 and is a family owned company. http://www.carlsonlabs.com/

3) Solaray first incepted in 1973 selling herbal supplements then as of 1984 created product formulations that are easily digested. I opened one of their Magnesium capsules and the powder was so finely processed and smooth, which is easier to assimilate than a typical rough powder that I have found in most supplements.

4) Twin Lab a Utah based manufacturer for 20 years is a common recognized name on health food store shelves. When my doctor told me I was Iron deficient, I purchased the chelated Iron made by Twin Lab. It is a tiny capsule with 18mg of Iron. It didn't make me sick like the Iron my doctor prescribed. They carry a variety of product brands developed by experts in the nutrition industry.

http://www.twinlab.com/about-isi-brands

5) Solgar is an easily identified product by their dark amber glass bottles and gold caps to keep light out. Their website benchmarks their research accomplishments in the supplement industry since 1947. This is a company that appears to heavily vested in research to improve their products.

http://www.solgar.com/AboutSolgar/SolgarsHistory.htm

With the internet we can virtually research products down to the micro milligram of its content. Take advantage of this wealth of knowledge and carefully research all vitamins, herbs and supplements before you take them. If you are seeking a product for a certain health goal or condition wade past all of the advertising web pages and fancy product packaging. Seek out websites that contain databases and books where you can research ingredients and components.

Finally, just as doctors have a Physicians Desk Reference to research prescription drugs, the same publishing company offers a database to research side effects of most commonly known herbs and supplements. It is a great source to check for allergies, known side effects and contradictions to prescription medications. Type in the name of a herb , vitamin or mineral and hit search.

http://www.pdrhealth.com/drugs/altmed/altmed-a-z.aspx