Why Choose Professional Supplements

You walk into places like CVS, Whole Foods, Costco & Trader Joe’s and see an overwhelming amount of supplements on the shelves. You stare aimlessly at the products trying to figure out which ones to buy. It’s hard to say which supplement is “best” for you, but there are supplements that might be better than others. Not all supplements are manufactured equally. Below is some basic information to think about when purchasing your nutritional supplements.

Quality products should be free of many of the common allergens. These include ingredients such as soy, dairy, egg, corn, gluten and wheat. Companies that spend the time focusing on details such as allergen avoidance also tend to focus on the purity and quality of the items going into their products. They commonly use third parties to test their products for impurities and other unwanted ingredients.

Another important manufacturing process to pay attention to is whether or not a supplement is made with the active ingredients. Active forms of supplements tend to be better absorbed in the body and are more effective because they don’t have to be converted by the body for use. It is also imperative that you look for preferred forms of supplementation like in the case of vitamin D2 (ergocalciferol) vs. vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol). Most experts now believe that the only form that should be consumed is vitamin D3. Another example of this would be when choosing a B12 supplement you want to make sure the product contains the preferred form of supplementation, methylcobalamin.

Fillers are another topic to be discussed when it comes to choosing the right supplement. Excipients, or more commonly known as fillers, are an inactive substance that serves as the vehicle or medium for a drug or other active substance. In other words, excipients are all the other stuff listed on the label commonly under the other ingredients section. Some examples of fillers/excipients include lubricants like Stearic Acid, binders such as Magnesium stearate, coloring agents like titanium dioxide and FD&C colors. Fillers can also include preservatives like ascorbyl palmitate and methyl parabens. Many of the professional grade supplements found on LuckyVitamin contain minimal to no excipients or fillers. It is important that you look for supplements that contain the minimal amount of these chemicals, as some have been found to have deleterious health effects.

Remember to always check with your health care provider before starting any nutritional supplement.