Some Basic Tips for Choosing Quality Supplements

Many individuals embarking on a new fitness regime – and even established, high-level athletes – will find their attention drawn at some stage to the idea of nutritional supplements. A variety of products are available, though few are of premium quality, which assist in post-exercise recovery, efficient energy metabolism, detoxification by neutralizing harmful free radicals in the blood, and enhanced but highly balanced meal substitutes. Some products are not only wholly ineffective but may actually be actively harmful, no matter how professionally they appear to be packaged.

Preliminary Tips (‘Skepticism Alerts’)

A complete avoidance of nutritional supplements is not necessary, thankfully. There are some sensible guidelines to adopt which should enable the average intelligent consumer to evaluate a product’s claims and attributes very clearly and accurately. One simple pointer to consider at the outset is to be very wary about ‘miracle’ claims – losing excess weight, maintaining a healthy weight; building muscle and becoming fit all require effort and time. Promises of instantaneous or improbably rapid results should raise a doubting eyebrow. Quoted testimonials and ‘studies’ from sources which are not peer-reviewed should also arouse a degree of healthy skepticism.

Supplements which are scientifically tested will usually be subjected to randomized control trials, where a product is tested among a group of volunteers over a period of time, and the results compared with one or more ‘control’ groups matched for important characteristics (age, gender, weight, level of fitness and health, etc.) with the ‘test’ group, but who did not consume the product. If the marketing materials seem to draw very simple, singular conclusions from complex studies, the chances are that the authors have been more than a little selective in their choice of what to include.

Some Basic Principles

Aside from these ‘skepticism alerts’, there are other principles to bear in mind when surveying the nutritional supplement market. Perhaps foremost amongst these is the question of ‘bioavailability.’ It is impossible to ascertain simply by looking at a capsule or replacement meal drink how easily it will reach the cells in the body. Bioavailability (literally, how available a compound is to be utilized biologically at a cellular level) depends upon several intricate biochemical processes as well as on the materials used in the product. A solid pill, for example, has first to undergo adequate dissolution – if it stays solid, it will simply be eliminated without delivering a single blip of nutritional benefit. Following dissolution, it must undergo adequate disintegration to be broken up into small enough pieces to pass through the lining of the gastrointestinal tract and into the blood. If a product dissolves but fails to disintegrate, it won’t reach the blood, and it therefore won’t reach the cells it is supposedly aimed at helping.

To check for adequate dissolution and disintegration properties, it is important to study the product information, either on the packaging or in an enclosed leaflet. If three important letters are present, the product can probably be trusted; if not, it’s probably best not to part with your money. The letters are “USP”, which stands for U.S. Pharmacopeia – the organization which was specifically created to set cutting-edge quality standards for human medicines (a different body regulates veterinary medicines). Essentially, if the product states that it complies with USP standard XXVII, the consumer can be assured that it meets the full requirements for absorption into the cells through adequate dissolution and disintegration.

Many supplements provide crucial minerals such as zinc, manganese, molybdenum, magnesium, copper, iron and chromium. In traces, these metals all provide vital ingredients to biochemical processes ensuring health and vitality. The problem is that they cannot be absorbed ‘as is’. The body can only absorb them after they have been chemically wrapped in an amino acid; in short, if there is no amino acid wrapping, there will be very little absorption. This process is known as ‘chelation’. To be precise, only about 10% of the mineral can be absorbed prior to chelation – a proportion which rises to 45% after chelation. The ingredients list should show at a glance whether the minerals have been subjected to this process, for example by means of a statement such as ‘contains magnesium (as magnesium chelate)’.

Online Guidance

There are also some highly informative websites to turn to which can be exceptionally helpful in determining whether a particular product can be trusted to deliver the claims it makes. Blanket skepticism may mean missing out on a product that can be of substantial benefit. An exceptionally useful list of helpful sites,  which not only assist in determining which specific vitamins and minerals an individual may uniquely need but also provide guidance on the safety and scientific validity of particular  products can be found at: http://www.ajpip.com/vitamin_supplements/res/ind.htm.

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