7 Top Tips: Choosing the best supplements

Nutrition is NOT a ‘black-art’.

Nutrition is the science that interprets the nutrients and other substances in food in relation to maintenance, growth, reproduction, health and disease of an organism. It includes ingestion, absorption, assimilation, biosynthesis, catabolism and excretion.  Nutrition is not about belief systems.  Often, it is these belief systems that can cause ill health.

Keeping it simple.

Here are my top nutritional science tips:

1. Pharmaceutical Grade. Albeit there are not many supplement companies that do this, start by making sure the supplement you are taking is of pharmaceutical grade.
2. Clean ingredients. Focus on ensuring your product is free from chemicals, i.e. organic.
3. Good Manufacturing Processes. Good manufacturing practice (GMP) is a system for ensuring that products are consistently produced and controlled according to quality standards.
4. Formulated by Scientists. Vital to the success of the supplement for the individual is ‘who formulated the supplement’? For example: Would you prefer a supplement that is manufactured by a camera company (Kodak = Centrum!) or a supplement designed by scientists for cellular regeneration and renewal (USANA = CellSentials)?
5. Proven bioavailability. Bioavailability is defined as the degree and rate at which a compound is absorbed into a living system or is made available at the site of biological activity.
6. Check for junk. Talc is a really common additive to supplements to bind and bulk out the product.  Talc also remains a controversial product that may compromise human health.  There are other natural food binding agents that would be a preferable choice for human ingestion.
7. Know your synergies. Calcium absorption is enhanced if Boron is within the ingredients. Often, this vital ingredients is missed off the list of some of the leading brands of supplements.

To summarise:

The manufacturing of supplements is more about financial gains.   Low cost product and great marketing! Outcome for you if you = no capital health gains!

Cheap products are not always best.  To get the biggest bang-for-your-buck on each supplement you take, research your products.