In this day and age, many are concerned that they and their families may not be receiving optimal or even adequate nutrition. Unfortunately, today’s diet does not support adequate nutrition. Many soils are depleted of essential vitamins and minerals leaving the food we eat deficient as well. If you are concerned with these issues or are experiencing adverse symptoms, you may be looking into vitamin and mineral supplements.

Delving into the world of supplements can be extremely overwhelming. There are hundreds of strategies when approaching supplements, thousands of choices, and the price points range from a few dollars to hundreds of dollars. One of your main questions in probably, “Are more expensive vitamins better?” This post will take a look at this question and hopefully serve as a guide to help you make informed decisions.

Most importantly, you want to make sure that any vitamin supplement you and your family are ingesting is safe. Manufacturing a safe product requires strict manufacturing requirements be met. Since supplements are not required to be regulated by the FDA, there have been stories of vitamins being contaminated with heavy metals or made with poor quality ingredients that will not do any good.

Reputable vitamin and supplement companies strive to ensure that their product is top quality. It is not uncommon in the industry that the development, production, lab testing, and bottling are outsourced to larger companies. This means that the brand on the bottle you are buying may not have any control over what is contained in their product. It is important that you research who has control of development and production of the vitamins you are purchasing. It will not do you any good to spend money on an inferior product. It is literally throwing your money away, and could even be detrimental to your health.

When doing your research, find a vitamin company that produces their own product. Ideally, they will have their own lab to perform strict quality control procedures. You also want to be sure that the production company has allowed the FDA to audit their product and that they have met or exceeded the standards set forth.

So Are Expensive Vitamins the Way to Go?

If you are looking for a truly quality product, you will end up paying a bit more for your supplements. Companies that are involved in the development, production, and testing of their products have more overhead expenses than those who simply stick their label on someone else’s product.

Many cheaper supplements are produced overseas. The oversight of vitamin supplements in other countries may not be up to the strict standards set forth by our FDA. Unfortunately, these vitamins are more likely to contain fillers or sub-par products. It is also possible that these “cheap” vitamins could contain harmful contaminants.

On the other end of the spectrum are the very high priced vitamins. This is where it is important that you do your research regarding your vitamins.

• Is the vitamin readily available?
• Is the supplement hard to source?
• Is the supplement susceptible to contaminants?

If the vitamin you are researching is something that is readily available, such as Vitamin C, chances are you will not need to spend a very high amount. There are many high quality sources of Vitamin C readily available.

If the vitamin or supplement is harder to source, such as CoQ10, the price of the final product will be driven up. Be wary of very cheap forms of these types of supplements. Chances are the quality will be lacking. You may think you are getting a great deal, but if the supplement is poor quality, you will not see the benefits you desire.

Some supplements may be readily available, but are subject to heavy metal contamination. An example of one such supplement is turmeric. You will want to be sure that the manufacturer of these types of supplements are performing quality control tests to ensure the highest quality product. Since these products require more extensive testing, the price may be higher to purchase.

When all is said and done, vitamins and supplements that are in the mid range of price are probably the best quality for value. The main concerns you need to research are the production processes and testing procedures that the manufacturer uses.

If you are ready to jump into the world of vitamins, give your health adviser a call today at 205-352-9141.