Do you know what you are getting - really?

September 28, 2010

SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT WHEN BUYING VITAMINS

a.. Formulas for heart health, energy, weight loss or " maximum benefit " aren't

tested for those claims. The extra ingredients included to support these claims

are usually in such small amounts that they don't have much of an effect. This

includes claims for lutein and lycopene.

a.. Steer clear of dollar-store or ultra-cheap discount brands. In testing,

many of these brands didn't contain the claimed amount of nutrients or didn't

dissolve properly. However, generic and store brands are a different story and

can be just as good as higher-priced multivitamins. Just be sure to compare the

labels.

a.. Choose a multivitamin that contains 100 percent of the daily value of most

of the essential vitamins and minerals. Calcium is an exception because that

amount is too big to fit in one tablet. Don't take a multivitamin with

excessively high levels of essential vitamins and minerals; at best, you'll just

expel the excess through urine, and at worst, you could have health

complications.

a.. Look for a maximum of 4,000 international units (IU) of vitamin A, with at

least some of it in the form of beta-carotene. Vitamin A comes in two forms:

retinol (palmitate or acetate) from animal and dairy sources, and beta-carotene

from fruits and vegetables (like carrots). Beta-carotene is converted to usable

vitamin A in the body and is considered the safest form of this vitamin. High

levels of retinol are linked to liver damage, birth defects and bone fractures.

a.. All women of childbearing age should take 400 micrograms (mcg) of folic

acid (folate) to prevent neural tube birth defects. The neural tube develops

before most women know they're pregnant, and experts advise all women of

childbearing age to take folic acid.

a.. Don't assume that all forms of a multivitamin have the same ingredients.

Chewable and liquid multivitamins may not contain the same amount of nutrients

that their pill-form counterparts do. Compare labels before you buy.

a.. Always buy a children's formula for children. Children have different

nutritional needs than adults. Never give a child an adult formula multivitamin.

Recommended Posts