Quick Vitamin and Mineral Checklist

Because there are no regulations in the nutritional supplement market, it can be very difficult to know if you are in fact getting the best value for your money and your health. So use this checklist to find a good supplement that fits your needs. See if you are getting value for your Vitamin & Mineral supplements.

Pretend that you are standing in the health food store or drugstore and you want to buy some vitamins and minerals. I guarantee that unless you are an expert, you will be very confused and frustrated.

So pick up a bottle of what might be classified as nutritional supplement. (I am not speaking here about individual vitamins or minerals, although the same process could be applied to them.)

The label should say something like:
"LABORATORY TESTED, QUALITY GUARANTEED, MEETS USP SPECIFICATIONS FOR POTENCY, UNIFORMITY, DISINTEGRATION WHERE APPLICABLE."

That will reassure you that you are indeed getting the
quality you need.

But read on.

Do they have the real name, real address and phone number of the company on the label so you can contact them yourself?

Does the company guarantee potency?

Are the contents guaranteed?

Are there expiration dates on the bottle?

Are the real amounts of the all the nutritional ingredients
on the label?

Do you supplements dissolve or do they just "travel through"?

Does the label say "natural"? (Did you know that it is legal to say 100% natural, even though they just have 4% of the natural product in the container? Are mushrooms natural? Beware of the term.)

Recognize that price doesn't dictate, but be aware that the cost of the scientific manufacturing does increase the cost. So don't give your body's nutritional needs to the
lowest-priced bottle

Make a phone call.
Some of this research will take a phone call to the head
office, but it's worth the effort and peace of mind. Let
me put this another way. I am a nurse, registered with my
professional organization. Would you like to look after
your loved ones if I wasn't? Isn't your health worthy of
the same degree of professionalism?

Ask the following questions:
Do they follow GMP (Good Manufacturing Practices.) It would be even better if they follow standards for pharmaceuticals. (This means that the company uses the same high standards as if they were producing a brand new drug.)

Then you would ask if they are an FDA-registered manufacturing facility. Stay with a company that chooses to meet the USP (US Pharmacopeia) requirements.)

Does the company provide technical support?

If you sense that you are not getting good answers, thank them and hang up. Find yourself another company. You've learned a lot already from the exercise.

Yes, this is what to ask. Reputable companies will gladly
help you find answers.

CONCLUSION

In choosing a nutritional supplement, please consider that you don't know what your body actually needs or how you could find the required ingredients. Also, you wouldn't know how to formulate the necessary product.

So your basic concern should include three things: the company's ability to provide the expert scientific knowledge, the required quality of the manufacturing process, and the the ingredients of the highest quality that allows the cells require to grow and to remain healthy and vibrant.

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