Almost every week in practice I am asked, “Doc, is this supplement I am taking good.” My answer is usually the same, it’s not an answer but a question. I ask them why they are taking them in the first place. I then encounter strange looks that resemble my dog cocking his head and looking at me with a puzzled look of where is the treat you promised me. Unfortunately, vitamin supplements are something that we all kind of know is a good idea, but the confusion is which ones are worth buying, and I believe patients in a subconscious way go with ones that are recommended by a friend, an article in a newspaper or magazine, or an infomercial that is on TV at 3 a.m. But the question remains, who is fact checking that these supplements contain the magic stuff to make you feel good, and enough of it to match with research that has been done. On a good note, most vitamins you take have been extensively studied for safety; but the problem is most over the counter supplements do not put in quality ingredients, or enough of what you need. Patients end up taking lots of vitamins and they lose track of why they started taking them in the first place.
Fish oil is a great example of good intentions gone awry. Most people have read or heard that consuming fish oil is good for your heart, and most supplement companies will put a red heart on the outside of the bottle. After grabbing it off the shelf and looking at this, your mind thinks—if I take this my heart will be protected. Right? But when you look deeper, the details tell a different story. First off, most Fish oil that is found at major retail chains is not the form of oil your body can digest readily, it is a form that is synthetically made from the actual oil. This is done for many reasons, but that isn’t the focus of this article. The second issue is the amount of oil per serving is vastly lower than the amount you need to avoid heart issues. Does this surprise you? It shouldn’t, companies can make more profit per bottle using inferior ingredients. Taking time to make sure the oil is in the right form for digestion and matching up the amounts with peer reviewed research costs more money. These are costs most companies would rather not incur.
But fear not, the rest of this article I am going to focus on things to look for when buying supplements. There are quality companies out there selling supplements, but in my experience most of them can only be bought in a physician’s office, or health food store. Listed below are suggestions when purchasing supplements:
-Avoid proprietary blends, (this is a fancy way of not being upfront of how much of each item you are consuming), and most companies will not share this with you when called and asked, believe me I have tried. A good supplement will list out each ingredient and how much is there
-Avoid any minerals that are linked to oxides, i.e. magnesium oxide or zinc oxide. These are very poorly absorbed—instead look for minerals linked to citrate or mineral chelates. Most store-bought brands contain oxides.
-As a general rule the shorter the ingredient list at the bottom of bottle the better. It is very common to find artificial colors and flavors (things you don’t need, and just take up space)
-Avoid Vitamin E in the dl-alpha tocopherol form, its synthetic and poorly absorbed
-Look for Vitamins that exceed, not meet 100% of the RDA, with the exception of Vitamin A, D, E, K, as these consumed in excess amounts are stored and causes toxicity issues. B-vitamins are generally ok, as they are water soluble and are excreted more readily.
-Most fish oil purchased over the counter is not of high quality, stick with a health food store, or physician’s office
-Capsules break apart and are better absorbed versus tablets, stick with capsules.
- Avoid added sugar/artificial sweeteners in supplements i.e. dextrose, Splenda, or Aspartame
-Make sure anti-oxidants such as Curcumin, and green tea are standardized to contain a certain % of the active ingredient, if not, you have no way of knowing the quality of the substance
These guidelines will assist in selection of supplements that are of higher quality and worth the money being spent on them. As the name implies though, they are not a replacement for a healthy diet that includes an abundance of fruits and vegetables.
Dr. Mason can be contacted at rmason@masonfamilychiro.com to answer questions concerning this article or general nutritional advice.