Criteria For Evaluating Nutritional Supplements And The Need To Evaluate

A Paradox of Choice - The Need To Evaluate

If you already take nutritional supplements or are considering starting then you’re no doubt well aware of the seemingly endless array of products and choices in the market.

Supplement consumers face a paradox of choice and they know only too well that the quality, safety and efficacy of the thousands of various brands out there are far from equal!

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

Because nutritional supplements in the US are currently regulated under ‘food GMP’ (and these do not address the unique aspects of supplement manufacturing) the market has become flooded with supplements lacking product integrity and making fanciful performance claims.

Supermarket shelves and on-line stores are filled with supplements put together by marketers or other unqualified people trying to cash in on the popularity of the latest ‘in-vogue’ nutrients and on consumers lack of nutritional science knowledge.

The majority of people putting together supplements for sale have little idea of the complex bio-chemistry involved when ingredients are combined or which metabolic pathways they follow when assimilated into the body.

So the need to evaluate supplements is clear. Consumers need a reliable way to evaluate and compare supplements in order to find products that are safe, effective and which offer the best value for money. More on this below.

Different Categories of Supplements – Evaluate Them All

Cheap and ‘middle of the road’ multi vitamin supplements are currently the most popular category choice for the majority of supplement users.

Consumers however need to consider the limited health benefits offered by these types of supplements and that most do not offer good value for money. They contain large amounts of cheap vitamins and minerals and excessive amounts of non-active ingredients (excipients).

While these types of supplements help to ‘top-up’ deficient levels of essential micro-nutrients, they are in reality missing, or deficient in, expensive, key ingredients such as high potency phytonutrients, standardized herbal extracts and male and female ‘support’ nutrients, which are needed to optimize wellness throughout the body.

At the top end of the market is a small category of the best vitamin supplements based on synergistic and nutritionally complete formulas. They have been formulated by highly qualified bio-scientists using the latest research in bio-cellular chemistry and nutritional science.

These broad spectrum multi ingredient supplements target all organs and systems in the body, including the brain, and offer the strongest of health benefits. They do far more than just ‘top-up’ nutrient deficiencies but rather take a holistic approach to wellness by treating the body as a whole.

The consumption of this category of supplement is trending up worldwide. This is being driven by the aging baby boomers generation who use them as a form of preventative health-care to achieve their aim of “staying young and beautiful” as well as allying their fear of chronic illness, particularly cancer.

Now here is a key point:

The markets’ best science-based supplements are not all equal. There are always varying degrees of efficacy and value for money.

This is primarily due to factors such as organizational structure, shareholder pressure and the marketing model(s) and distribution method(s) of supplement companies. These factors impact on the type and number of ingredients that manufacturers can afford to include in their products as well as the potencies and dose amounts – all of which are key variables when comparing supplements.

Consumers should always keep in mind that almost all supplements are manufactured to a price!

So regardless of which price category a supplement falls in it should be evaluated and then compared to its competitors. This applies even more for the up market multiples because value for money varies more-so.

Criteria for Evaluating Nutritional Supplements

A supplement can be broken apart and evaluated by examining it through 6 criteria. These were taught to me by a bio-scientist working in the supplement industry.

1. The Formula
2. Ingredient Quality
3. Bio-availability
4. Synergy
5. Manufacturing Standards and Protocols
6. Value for money

Consumers can get a feel for the science behind supplements and target in on the fine details that manufacturers often love to keep hidden, by learning how to use each criteria. These will be covered in upcoming articles. This then allows consumers to competently evaluate and compare nutritional supplements and make informed purchasing decisions.

The full 6 criteria can be used with multi ingredient products while less complex or single ingredient supplements can be evaluated using only 4 or 5.