How To Choose A Vitamin Supplement

I need it, but which one?
If you decided that you do need a supplement, try to find one that gives you the proper balance of vitamins and minerals. For example, you probably need between 400 and 800 IU (International Units) of vitamin E and between 1,000 and 1,500 mg of vitamin C a day. Vitamins E and C should always be taken together, so be sure a supplement has both. You also need alpha- and beta-carotene. Other necessary vitamins include the vitamins B12, and B6, niacin (vitamin B3), pantothenic acid (vitamin B5), and thiamin (vitamin B1). Glutathione, alpha lipoic acid, Co-enzyme Q10, the bioflavonoids including anthocyanidins found in grape seeds, alpha lipoic acid, and several other antioxidants would be very good as well. A good supplement will also provide you with the minerals you need, such as calcium, magnesium, chromium, boron, manganese and molybdenum. A supplement should provide zinc also, though more than about 100 mg of zinc per day may be too much, while you need less than about 200 mcg of selenium. Women should probably take an additional calcium supplement to help prevent osteoporosis.

Comparing prices is not a good way to pick a supplement. Just because a supplement costs a lot doesn't mean it is good, but a supplement that costs only a little probably doesn't have the right ingredients in the proper amounts and ratios to be of much benefit. Remember that the supplement you buy should do something good for your body and not just for your peace of mind. For more information on picking a nutritional supplement see our in-depth information.

Choose the good supplements
With the large number of nutritional supplements available today it is difficult to know which one is best for you and your family. Many people buy one because they think they need it. Others buy one based simply on the price, but that is a poor way to decide, because there are many other things that you should consider when choosing a nutritional supplement.

The first thing is whether you need a supplement at all. For many years most Western doctors were taught in medical school that eating a balanced diet with plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables would provide all the vitamins and minerals needed for a healthy life. And for many years that was probably true. People lived in rural environments and had immediate access to fresh, ripe food, the soil was rich in the trace elements and raw materials plants needed to make vitamins and they could get all the substances people needed from the soil. The air and water were clean, life was slower and less stressful, people didn't smoke or drink as much as today, and people had more time to prepare food in healthy ways.

If all of those things are still true for you, you may not need a nutritional supplement. Throughout most of the world, however, the soils of the farms have been depleted of many important nutrients so they are missing from the plants grown in those soils. The soils are also polluted. All kinds of foods must travel long distances from where they are grown to where they are eaten. Fruits and vegetables must be picked before they are ripe so they can survive the long journey without spoiling. The air and water are polluted, people have very little time to cook and often eat convenient, fast food that may not provide balance in any of the nutrients, and life has become very stressful for most people. If this describes the world you live in, you probably need a nutritional supplement.

A good supplement should have the proper balance of vitamins and minerals. This is important for all the vitamins to function correctly. Research has shown that an excess of an isolated vitamin or mineral can cause depletion of others. For example, taking more than about 100 mg of zinc a day can cause the amount of copper absorbed to decrease to unhealthily low levels.

Vitamins must also be synergistic. This is when two or more vitamins work together to help each other in their functions. To do this they must be present and be taken in the right amounts. Recent research has shown, for example, that the antioxidants vitamin E and vitamin C should always be taken together. When taken alone or in amounts that are too high relative to the amount of vitamin C available, vitamin E can promote damage to cells caused by aggressive remnants of biochemical reactions called free radicals instead of helping to prevent it.

The free radicals come from normal metabolic processes, from pollution, and from many other sources. It is thought that cell damage from free radicals may contribute to the aging process and to many diseases. Substances called antioxidants protect cells from free radical damage. The antioxidants include vitamins C and E, mixed carotenoids such as alpha- and beta-carotene, glutathione, alpha lipoic acid, Co-enzyme Q10, the bioflavonoids including anthocyanidins found in grape seeds, alpha lipoic acid, and others. The minerals selenium and copper are needed in extremely small amounts but are essential because they help some of the antioxidants to do their jobs properly. Vitamin B12 is also necessary in only extremely small amounts, but without it nerve damage will occur. Other minerals such as chromium, boron, manganese and molybdenum are also required in only very small amounts, while zinc and magnesium are required in larger amounts and calcium in even larger amounts.

When comparing different supplements, pay special attention to how complete each supplement is--does it provide all the vitamins and the minerals you need in the amounts you need?

Examine the potencies of the nutrients offered. Be certain that the potency of the vitamins and minerals is guaranteed. If the label says it contains 500 mg of vitamin C, it should contain exactly that, not more, and not less. Your supplement should be balanced so that the vitamins are neither too strong nor too weak. The amount of vitamin E that has been found to be ideal is between 400 IU and 800 IU per day, for example. Smaller amounts may be of only limited benefit. People need between 2 and 50 mg of vitamin B6 a day; more than 200 to 500 mg of vitamin B6 a day may permanently damage nerve cells. The amount of vitamin C which is required is between 1000 and 1500 mg per day, and smokers will require more vitamin C than non-smokers.

Important criteria
The following criteria are important when choosing a supplement:

1. Supplements should be made to pharmaceutical grade standards. Supplements which meet these standards are manufactured in a facility which follows the GMP--Good Manufacturing Practices--the same quality control standards established for the manufacture of prescription drugs.
2. They must be complete and balanced. They should provide all of the essential nutrients at optimal levels, not the Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) levels often used in the United States, which are generally far too low.
3. All nutrients and antioxidants must be balanced to achieve synergy, the working together of different nutrients.
4. They should be manufactured according to recognized guidelines for guaranteed purity and potency. In the USA these are U.S.P. standards.
5. All ingredients should be tested to ensure potency and consistent purity. Quality controls should also be in place during all parts of the manufacturing process to ensure that no contamination occurs.
6. Look for the antioxidants, which protect cells from damage by free-radicals and be sure that they are present in the amounts considered necessary for optimal health, not in minute quantities.
7. Be sure the other important vitamins-the B vitamins such as niacin (vitamin B3), pantothenic acid (vitamin B5), Thiamin (vitamin B1) and others are also present in sufficiently large amounts. Smokers and people who eat a lot of refined sugar need more than the 2-5 mg most adults need per day. Drinking coffee or tea frequently and eating raw fish can inactivate vitamin B1, also increasing the amount needed every day. Remember that cooking can destroy certain B vitamins and that, because the B vitamins dissolve in water, boiled foods may contain much less of them than raw foods.

Supplements for children should be chosen with equal care. Children need more of many vitamins and minerals than adults because they are growing, but they need the same vitamins and minerals as adults. Be sure that the children's product you choose meets the same standards as the one you choose for yourself.

Look for a product which contains the kinds of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants needed for optimal health and remember that such products may be more expensive than those which may not what you need for truly optimal health and well-being. Price is not the only reason to buy one product instead of another; be sure your money is spent on something which will truly be of benefit to your body and not just to your conscience.