The Top Four Criteria for Choosing Dietary Supplements
Posted: Tuesday, April 07, 2009
by Carol Merlo
Health, Wealth and Happiness
1. Are they Plant Based?
When you think about it,
doesn't it make sense to eat what mother nature intended for us? Could it be
that all of the co-factors, phytochemicals, vitamins and minerals that our
bodies need would be found in our food? Well, sure! But, it's just not in the food, so we need to
find supplements that are plant based and not synthetic.
This goes for minerals, as
well as vitamins. Remember the
game '20 Questions'? Is it animal, vegetable, or mineral? Well, all minerals
are in rock form. But, if you eat a rock, even if it's pounded very, very
small, you will not assimilate it the way a plant can. Plants live on minerals!
Plants can provide the minerals we
need if they are eaten in great enough quantities. This is very difficult
without supplementing.
2. Are they standardized?
Every spinach plant is unique.
It may have a different nutrient content from its neighbor. It may have
received less light, water, and nutrients from the plant next to it. Even
different leaves may have different nutrient content from one another.
It's very important to
understand that if you grind up a plant and put it into a pill, it will not
deliver a consistent amount of nutrients to your body.
That's why you need to make
sure your supplements are Standardized. Standardization is a rather expensive process that ensures that each
pill made has the exact same nutrient fingerprint and quantity. Become a label
reader! Only trust a plant based dietary supplement that is standardized.
3. Are they made to GMP
Standards?
GMP stands for Good
Manufacturing Practices. We are transitioning from the 'Wild West' days of
supplement manufacturing. Regulations for the manufacture and content of
supplements are becoming more stringent every day. This does a lot to ensure
that we are not wasting our money on supplements that simply 'end up in the
toilet as expensive urine'. You are going to have to pay more to get quality
supplements. But, sustaining a high quality of life is our goal, so the key is
to find the best supplements for the best price.
4. Are they Guaranteed?
Most consumer goods have some
kind of guarantee. The exception is pharmaceuticals and almost all dietary
supplements. The doctors don't guarantee that the medication they prescribe
will fix your ailment. But, you buy it anyway, don't you. You are running a
greater risk when buying supplements. Be careful to ask your health food store
if they carry a guarantee on their products if you find that they dont provide
the well-being you are looking for.
When it comes to supplements,
it's typical that you go to a health food store, listen to the clerk's
recommendations [they are all highly educated in nutrition and can easily
show you which are the best supplements---NOT] and then buy a product that may or may not work. Your
hard-earned money and potential health goes down the drain. As of this writing,
there is only one direct sales company and no health food store that provides a
six-month money back satisfaction guarantee on their supplements.
I will be happy to share with
you the supplements I take and provide a complementary hour-long consultation
to help you find the right supplement program for your needs.
Contact me at
carol@The8KeystoWellness.com
Great article, Carol. I enjoyed it very much--my husband is a 'salad fanatic'; so I also eat a lot of salad, even though I like a steak thrown in once in a while. I guess that's where the need for supplements come in.Thanks for sharing and Welcome to SearchWarp.Sandra
