Especially, when it comes to what you put in your body. There has been many negative news or stories about nutritional supplements. There have been many questions raised regarding the quality of the products produced by the industry as a whole. In 2013, a New York Times article raised questions about widespread labeling fraud in the supplement industry. The article referred to research at the University of Guelph in Canada that found that as many as a third of herbal supplements tested did not contain the plants listed on their labels — only cheap fillers instead.
Supplements
Thankfully, not all supplements are made equal to each other. It is important to know that just like there are different types and quality levels of cars, the same goes for nutritional supplements. For example, there is a giant difference between a modest Ford or Chevy and a Mercedes Benz or Bentley. Similarly there is also a huge difference between a very entry level nutritional supplement (that is from A to Zinc and many other name brand products) and a top of the line five star rated best supplement. Luckily, you do not have to pay the cost of a top of the line luxury car to get the highest quality nutritional supplements. In fact, you can get the Rolls Royce and Bentley of the nutritional supplement industry for only a dollar and seventy cents a day. This is less than it costs to buy a bottle of water from a vending machine in many places.
High Quality Nutritional Supplements and Luxury Cars have other things in common:
Speed- Both luxury, performance cars and nutritional supplements are designed to go very fast. A good and powerful nutritional product will dissolve and break down in the body within a very short period of time.
This disintegration test is one of the batteries of tests to which ConsumerLab.com subjects all tablet and caplet products in its Product Reviews. If a product fails this test, it can’t be listed as “Approved” by ConsumerLab.com. Some manufacturers claim their products meet the USP specification, although the claim shouldn’t be taken as certainty. According to consumerlab.com pills that don’t disintegrate properly can’t dissolve and be absorbed they will simply pass through the body unused. The standard laboratory test for disintegration (part of the test known as the United States Pharmacopeia [USP] “Disintegration and Dissolution of Dietary Supplements” method <2040>), is an important test of product quality, although passing this test alone does not assure bioavailability – which depends on additional factors such as how well ingredients are absorbed. During the test, the product under investigation is continuously agitated in warm water for 30 minutes. In that time, the pill should have dissolved or fallen apart to the extent that, if touched, there is no hard core remaining.
Supplements
Horsepower- High Powered cars need a lot of power under there hood to allow them to go very fast and perform optimally. A good nutritional supplement needs to be formulated with high levels of vitamins and minerals in order for the body to perform optimally and protect against disease. These levels are much higher than what many average products offer and state.
Many name brand vitamins are formulated to RDA or recommended daily allowance values and are formulated to prevent diseases of nutritional deficiency such as scurvy, rickets or malaria. According to nutritional expert Dr. Ray Strand cellular nutrition would be defined as providing all of the essential micronutrients to the cell at optimal or advanced levels to have a benefit in medical literature. Just as you would like your diet to be balanced and complete, it is important for our supplementation to be as well. The main difference is the fact that supplementation can help provide essential nutrients at optimal levels. Cellular nutrition has been shown in our medical literature to build up our body’s natural immune system, antioxidant system, and repair system. You not only replenish any nutritional deficiency within 6 months of supplementation, but you also optimize all of the body’s micronutrients. You are given the absolute best chance to reverse or prevent any oxidative stress and protect your health. You see, nutritional supplementation is really about health—not disease. Nutritional supplements are natural to the body and the nutrients the body requires to function at its optimal level.
Protection and Safety- Luxury and high performance cars have many extra features that are designed to prevent damage and injury, and high quality nutritional supplements are designed to give your body the optimal wellness and protection it needs to protect against oxidative stress in the body. High quality nutritional supplements are also safe for the body because they do not contain any preservatives or potential toxins that can hurt the body.
Unless you take supplements from a nutritional company that follows pharmaceutical grade good manufacturing practices, you really have no assurance that what you see on the label is actually in the required to have 100% of what is on the label in the tablet. Nutritional supplements need to be created in a safe environment where there is no chance of cross contamination, and safe for your body without any dangerous side effects. Pure- the cleanest and healthiest ingredients need to be used. These ingredients are healthy for the body, and will have minimal chance of overdose.
As with any type of important purchase, it is imperative to do the proper due diligence and research to make sure you are getting the best supplements for your money and your body. A good resource to learn about different brands and types of supplements is the Comparative Guide to Nutritional Supplements that is published by the Nutrisearch Corporation. I personally recommend looking for products that have scored a gold medal rating, and in the top five products.
Supplements
ConsumerLab.com, LLC (“CL”) is also a great resource. Consumerlab.com is a leading provider of independent test results and information to help consumers and healthcare professionals identify the best quality health and nutrition products. It publishes results of its tests in comprehensive reports at www.consumerlab.com. CL also conducts an annual Survey of Vitamin & Supplement Users.CL’s research is cited frequently by the media, in books, and at professional meetings. In addition to the products it selects to review, CL enables companies of all sizes to have their products quality tested for potential inclusion in its list of Approved Quality products and bear the CL Seal. Since its founding in 1999, CL has tested more than 4,400 products, representing over 450 different brands and nearly every type of popular supplement for adults, children, and pets. CL also publishes its results for consumers in China at cn.ConsumerLab.com. (4)
For more information on a brand that has earned a five star gold medal ranking from the comparative guide to nutritional supplements click Your Life Your Health Your Way
(1) http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/02/03/new-york-attorney-general-targets-supplements-at-major-retailers/
(2) https://www.consumerlab.com/results/hometest.asp
(3) http://www.raystrand.com/nutritional-medicine.asp
(4) https://www.nutrisearch.ca/criteria.html