Popular Methods to Choose a Supplement

Written on June 8, 2009 No Comment

Supplementation

Page 1: The Need for Supplementation
Page 2: Popular Methods to Choose a Supplement
Page 3: How to Choose a Supplement

Supplementation

There are a lot of supplement options on the market and people are usually inclined to purchase supplements based on price alone. This is a huge mistake. Not all supplements are created equal and, unfortunately, most products do not contain the amounts of nutrients that are listed on the packaging’s label.^[1] Buying cheap could literally mean that you are buying something that has no value (in this case, nutritional value). Here are some other methods consumers use:

Nutrients (and quantity) listed on package label
How many doses daily (frequency of ingestion)
Doctor recommendation
Others

Nutrients (and quantity) Listed on Package Label

Be careful using any of the above as a guideline. As was mentioned above, when discussing price as a guideline, there is usually no way for you to know what it is that you are buying. Most nutritional & supplement manufacturing companies don’t adhere to Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP). When the manufacturer does not adhere to GMP standards, believing what the label says about the amount of nutrients the supplement contains is a huge mistake. These usually list up to a 1000% Recommended Daily Intake (RDI). Nutrients work in synergy with one another. The lack or abundance of one can have severe effects on absorption or reactivity of other nutrients.^[2][3]

How Many Doses Daily (frequency of ingestion)

What about those “one a days?” This sounds great, doesn’t it?. You can take all required amounts of all nutrients in just one sitting! Wow! Unfortunately the body does not work that way. Our body has a limit of what it can hold at any one point, after which it begins to get rid of the excess or it stores it for later use (potentially toxic in certain cases). Once the excess has been removed from the body [through sweat, breathing, liver, urine (kidneys)], you begin to consume what was retained. Gradually, nutritional levels drop. Not to mention that a high dose of some nutrients can prove fatal.^[1]

Stop and think about how the body works: Your heart can’t just decide to beat 100,000 times (approximate beats per day in an adult^[4]) so it can take the rest of the day off; You can’t plan to breath 25,000 times (approximate breaths per day for an adult^[5]) really fast at 10am every morning so that you don’t have to breath again for the rest of the day.

No. Your body is constantly metabolizing, moving, changing, eradicating waste, and many more things. This is why you get hungry throughout the day and hardly every eat once a day – your body asks you to replenish nutrients. You MUST take a supplement that suggests you take it more than once daily.

Doctor Recommendation

Doctors know about symptoms and treatments. They are leaders in diagnosis. They are leaders in trauma and emergency services. We owe our doctors a great deal of gratitude and we have the utmost respect and admiration for what they are doing on a daily basis.

Doctors, however, are not properly trained in nutrition, prevention, or supplements.^[6] In many cases, any over-the-counter supplement will do. But, from reading above, we know that not all supplements are the same and many aren’t even what they say they are. Most doctors cannot offer a solid suggestion on what supplement you should take.

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References:

[1] MSNBC.com. “More illnesses tied to toxic dietary supplement.” Available at: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24206868/. Accessed August 13, 2008.

[2] Cox, Ruby. “Calcium, Vitamin D and Your Health.” Virginia Cooperative Extension Number 348-071, August 2002. Available at: http://www.ext.vt.edu/pubs/nutrition/348-071/348-071.html. Accessed August 13, 2008.

[3] DrLam.com. “Selenium and Vitamin C Absorption.” Available at: http://www.drlam.com/opinion/selenium_and_vitamin_C_absorption.cfm. Accessed August 13, 2008.

[4] PBS.org. “Amazing Heart Facts.” Available at: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/heart/heartfacts.html. Accessed August 13, 2008.

[5] ScienceMuseum.org.uk. “Breathing Easily with a New Plastic Lung.” Available at: http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/antenna/plasticlung/. Accessed August 13, 2008.

[6] Vetter, Marion. “What Do Resident Physicians Know about Nutrition? An Evaluation of Attitudes, Self-Perceived Proficiency and Knowledge.” Journal of the American College of Nutrition, Vol. 27, Number 2, 287-298 (2008). Available at: http://www.jacn.org/cgi/content/abstract/27/2/287. Accessed August 13, 2008.