What To Look For In A Nutritional Supplement

A lot of times we think a healthy diet is enough for meeting our nutritional needs. This is a great place to start but it is not enough. There are lots of different factors affecting the nutritional value of our foods; soil depletion, low quality ingredients, and manufacturer’s shortcuts. Not to mention the poor choices most make with fast food. Even the Journal of the American Medical Association recommends a daily vitamin supplement.

So what is important to look for when shopping for a supplement? It’s important to find a GOOD, QUALITY nutritional supplement that combines whole food nutrition, antioxidant protection and digestive enzymes with core vitamins and minerals in a gender specific formula. I know that’s a mouthful but this kind of supplement does exist. Since men and women have different nutritional needs and their supplements should support these differences. The addition of a digestive enzyme can radically change how your body works by optimizing the food you eat and help support the digestion of carbohydrates, fats, proteins and lactose.

There are many factors that go into a high quality supplement. The five points listed above are just the beginning. Here are some additional things to look for when buying a vitamin/mineral supplement:

The ORAC Value of the supplement. ORAC stands for Oxygen Radical Absorption Capacity. This is the test that measures the amount of antioxidant activity in a product. The higher the ORAC value the more antioxidant protection the product provides from free radicals. Look for a supplement with an ORAC value of 3000 or greater.

The STANDARDIZED of the supplement. A standardized supplement will guarantee that each and every pill/capsule will have what the label says it does. For example, if the bottle/box says there are 60 mg of Vitamin C, a standardized product will be exactly that. Versus a non-standardized product where one pill may have the 60 mg but the next has 5mg. Ever wonder why you feel like your supplements work one day and not the next? Look for a supplement that is standardized.
Meeting USP standards for disintegration and absorption. USP stands for United States Pharmacopeia. This addresses the very efficacy or effectiveness of the product. Does it do what it says it does? When you decide to add a high quality supplement to your daily nutrition you want the products to work. If you buy a cheaper supplement, odds are the supplement will not disintegrate quickly enough for your body to absorb it and you will end up sending the supplement (and your money) down the drain. Look for a supplement that meets USP standards.

Give your body the boost is needs! Add a supplement that provides essential vitamins and mineral that will help your body work synergistically and optimally. Don’t waste your time and money with low quality supplements that may or may not work and worse than that are filled with many things you don’t need; fillers, toxins, caffeine, preservatives and animal by products.

Take care of your body now and it will be around for years to come. After all, you’re worth it!

Kim has a degree in Food Science and Human Nutrition from the University of Florida. She lives in South Florida and enjoys raising her family and working from home. She is a co-founder of smartmoms-smartbusiness.com smartmoms-smartbusiness.com Smart Moms Smart Business and smartandhealthyliving.com smartandhealthyliving.com Smart & Healthy Living

Tags: antioxidant, diet, mineral, vitamin c

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Tags: antioxidant, diet, mineral, vitamin c