Vitamin Supplement Evaluation

How do you conduct a Vitamin Supplement evaluation? Of all the number of nutritional supplements nowadays, which one works best for you? Learn how to evaluate nutritional supplements through the article below.

How To Evaluate Nutritional Supplements

There are thousands upon thousands of nutritional supplements available in the market with each one promising various health benefits. Due to insufficient regulations governing the supplement industry which do not correctly address supplement quality, the market has become flooded with poorly put together supplements not based on good science.

Physicians Management Journal backs this up by saying that one in three dollars used on nutritional supplements is WASTED!

We are now living in an information age and smart consumers are able to easily research nutritional supplement choices before they buy, particularly on-line. They are only too well aware that the multitudes of supplements competing for their supplement dollar are not equal in terms of efficacy, safety and value for money.

However a major problem exists in that the information put out by virtually all supplement companies, including the large, well known, U.S. multi nationals, is less than truthful. The marketing presentations by these companies are very clever and are designed to hide product weaknesses while attempting to wow people with fancy scientific buzz terms that make their supplements appear better than they really are.

To overcome this consumers need a transparent way to easily and properly evaluate and compare nutritional supplements in order to avoid the rubbish and zero in on the best vitamin supplements in the market.

I previously worked for a leading manufacturer in the nutritional supplement industry and as a result was able to learn the secrets and shortcuts that supplement manufacturers take. During this time I gained access to a world renowned bio-scientist who has produced close to 200 new pharmaceutical and health supplement formulas. He showed me how to evaluate and compare nutritional supplements through six easy to use criteria and I created a website to teach supplement users how to use these criteria.

All supplements regardless of how many ingredients they contain can be evaluated by using either all or most of the following criteria.

* The formula

* Ingredient quality

* Bioavailability (absorption)

* Manufacturing protocols and standards

* Synergy

* Value for money

Let’s look at how to use the first of these criteria, The Formula.

THE FORMULA

The evaluating part is straightforward but when comparing nutritional supplements it’s important to compare apples with apples and oranges with oranges. So the type of supplements compared must be of the same general category.

For example there’s no point in comparing a herbal supplement, taken to treat a specific condition, and containing one or two major active ingredients (the herbs or extracts from them), and some other vitami 1bdf ns or minerals acting as co-factors; with a multi ingredient supplement containing 80 ingredients taken for overall wellness and preventative health-care.

A multi ingredient nutritional vitamin supplement must be compared with another multi ingredient supplement where both have been formulated for the same health benefits and so on.

There are three things to consider when using a supplement formula as criteria to help evaluate a supplement.

* Are the key active ingredients well established as the most beneficial and effective nutrients for their target objective in the body, and what is the total number of these ingredients in the product.

* Whether the dose amounts of selected key ingredients fall within clinically established ranges for health benefits.

* Whether the dose amounts of all vitamins and minerals are within established safe upper limits.

MOST EFFECTIVE NUTRIENTS

Here’s an example to explain this point more clearly.

Let’s say that that you’re a man and you’re looking for a multi-ingredient health supplement that offers two benefits in particular-to strengthen your immune system and provide protection for your prostate.

In order to find the best supplement for the job you need to know the most effective and beneficially proven nutrients for the immune system and prostate. Then you can check supplement labels to see the extent to which these nutrients are included (if at all).

So once you know the most potent nutrients for each body system and organ you can simply create a checklist when studying supplement labels. The best vitamin supplements will have formulas which target every system and organ in your body!

Now you’re probably asking how you’re meant to find this kind of specific, scientific information without months of research and desire, time and commitment that you don’t have. Just visit http://www.nutritional-supplement-truths.com to access lists of these nutrients as well as all other data referred to in this article.

Let’s look at some examples. For immune system support the best nutrients that you want in your nutritional supplement are:

* Aloe Vera Polysaccharides

* Tea Polysaccharides

* Beta Glucan

* Black Cumin

* Olive Leaf

* CoQ10

* Quercetin

* Manganese

* Zinc

* Beta Carotene

* Vitamin C

* Vitamin E

The key players for prostate health are:

* Beta Sitosterol

* Turmeric

* Corn Silk

* Lycopene

* Saw Palmetto

* Zinc Citrate and Zinc Aspartate

* Grape Seed

* Quercetin

* Green Tea

* Resveratrol (high potency)

NOTE: Most supplements contain Zinc in the Citrate form, which is good, but it is crucial that additional Zinc is included in the Aspartate form because this travels directly to the prostate where it is needed!

DOSE AMOUNTS WITHIN ESTABLISHED RANGES FOR BENEFITS

A question which I’ve been asked by supplement users many times is " How can I know if the does amounts of ingredients in my supplement are enough to produce the health benefits shown in clinical studies ?"

This is an important issue and is very difficult to answer. Vitamins and minerals do not pose a problem and the information is easily accessible on the web. But for other important ingredients like powerful phytonutrients and herbal extracts the only way to know is through a thorough examination of scientific studies and in some case the results are inconclusive.

But there are established standards which have been scientifically validated by well accepted research or based on expert assumptions on clinical studies for some key ingredients.

Here’s an example.

Bioflavonoids are a class of phytonutrients which have powerful medicinal properties. They show anti-allergic, anti-inflammatory, anti-microbial and anti-cancer activity. If you don’t know whether your supplement has any here are the main ones:

* Citrus bioflavonoids (quercetin, hesperidin, rutin, naringin)

* Polyphenols (green tea, bilberry, blueberry, cranberry, resveratrol, grape seeds)

* Chrysin

* Myricetin

* Isoflavones (soy extract)

The range for a quality supplement is at least 20 mgs of bioflavonoids from at least 3 different sources.

SAFE DOSES OF VITAMINS AND MINERALS

The supplement market is full of "high potency" multi vitamin and mineral formulas. Many of these contain mega doses which are unsafe when compared to established safe upper ranges.

Americans in particular have been bombarded for years with the marketing message that "more is better" which is not true.

Supplement users should take the time to check dose levels of vitamins and minerals in their supplement. A credible guideline is the No-Observed Adverse Effect Levels (NOAEL) list created by the Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN). CRN is a well known U.S. based trade association representing ingredient suppliers and manufacturers in the nutritional supplement industry.

SUMMING UP

Due to great variance in the effectiveness, safety and value for money of nutritional supplements it has become necessary for proactive consumers to evaluate supplements before trying to compare them.

Using The Formula is key criteria for doing this. Examining the types, amounts and total number of ingredients in a supplement, gives a good indication of its true worth (when considering it from the perspective of its formula).

Combining the results from using all or at least three or four of the six evaluation criteria listed above will reveal supplement weaknesses and show consumers without any doubt just how good a nutritional supplement really is.

Author: Brett Seagrott

Brett Seagrott is a health researcher who previously worked for a manufacturer in the nutritional supplement industry and is the author of http://www.nutritional-supplement-truths.com In his site Brett lists all the data consumers need to use The Formula as criteria to evaluate supplements. He has evaluated leading, well known supplements and presents fair and transparent comparisons; along with no holds barred reviews; for each of these supplements. This allow consumers to focus on only established facts which ultimately reveal which supplement emerges as the most effective and best value for money in the market.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Brett_Seagrott

To ensure the quality of a product, look for a GMP (Good Manufacturing Practices) certified manufacturer, visit Vitamin Supplement Manufacturer for more information. Learn more about complete vitamin suplements here on best vitamin supplements.

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