Everywhere you go there’s buzz about vitamins and supplements. You see them on store shelves. You see posts on social media about why one is amazing and why you should take it. Your friend at work is talking about the fat burning supplement she just purchased. But is that amazing supplement something you really should take?
In this article I want to help bring some clarity to what vitamins supplements are and what things you need to know before you decide to take them.
The basics: What are vitamins and supplements?
Vitamins are a group of substances that our body needs for its normal function. Vitamins are nutrients that fuel our body, and our bodies can’t make these nutrients on its own. We have to get these from food sources or take it in a pill/capsule form. Common vitamins are vitamin D, vitamin C, and the group of B vitamins. Brain support, bone support, energy and metabolism support are just a few ways vitamins may help our body. Vitamins can be found alone or in combination like a multi-vitamin that contains several vitamins together.
The term supplement is used for any combination of vitamins, herbs, minerals, foods, etc., that are found together in a pill, capsule or powder form. A supplement can contain one or two ingredients or can have 10 to 20 ingredients. The combination of ingredients in a supplement is meant to support a specific health concern, such as heart health, joint health, or menopause symptoms.
How To Read the Vitamin and Supplement Labels
When you look at the label on a vitamin or supplement, there’s couple of things to look for.
Health Concern
What does the front of the bottle say? Is this a single ingredient vitamin or supplement, or is this product a combination of several ingredients? Is it for overall health or is this product geared towards a specific health concern? If the label says something like “men’s health support” or “cholesterol support,” then the product is meant to aide a specific health concern. Do you have the health concern that this product says it’s meant for?
Health Claims
What health claims are being made on the bottle? Is there wording such as “to help the symptoms of menopause” or “to boost energy”? Be wary of health claims on the label. These types of products aren’t supposed to make claims that they will fix or cure a health condition but many claim to do so. Health benefit claims on labels have regulations set by the FDA and any health claim made on a bottle should be accompanied by a disclaimer that says that these health benefit claims have not been cleared by the FDA.
Also, any claim that the product is safe or that the product works/is effective is regulated and should only be put on a label if there is trustworthy science to back this claim up. So yes, there are guidelines to be followed on the labelling, but unfortunately these are not always followed by the company making that supplement.
Ingredient List
Now let’s look at the label on the back of the bottle. This is where you’ll find what ingredients are in this and how much of each. An important thing to notice is the amount of an ingredient added and is there a daily value for that ingredient. Yes, our body needs vitamins and some minerals, but there are certain levels of these vitamins and minerals our body need.
The Recommended Dietary Allowances has spent a lot of effort to determine what level of vitamins and minerals the body need and how much of it is safe for our body to take in. The label will show how much of that vitamin is in the product and what percent of your daily total intake of that vitamin is in the product.
Why is this important? Certain vitamins can be harmful if you take too much of them. Vitamin C is water soluble, so taking too much of it won’t cause much harm and your body will get rid of (pee out) what you don’t need. Other vitamins, like vitamin K, can build up in our body. Vitamin K affects how our blood clots, so this could be dangerous for some people if you take in too much.
It’s a good idea to check labels if you are already taking a vitamin or supplement to make sure that you aren’t over doing it. The supplement you’re already taking might have a safe level of a vitamin in it. The new product you want to start taking may also contain the same vitamin. If you take both products together you could be taking too much of that vitamin, which could be dangerous.
Also look for allergens and ingredients that you know you can’t take or can’t tolerate. If you have a shellfish allergy, is there an ingredient in this product that is extracted from shellfish? Is the capsule or filler used to make each tablet in the bottle made with gluten, and you have celiac disease and can’t have gluten?
Some supplement manufacturers are cognizant when it comes to the main allergens (e.g., gluten, soy, dairy, shellfish) and will state if their product is free of these or warn if their product was made in a facility where these allergens are handled. Know your own health and allergies. If you know you react to a particular ingredient (for example, you get a rash when you eat mangos) then check the label to make sure that allergen is not in the product.
Third Party Testing and Safety
Third party testing refers to the extra oversight of the product. A company can say their product has X, Y and Z ingredients and there a certain amount of each ingredient in each capsule. However, there have been issues with supplements and vitamins not truly having in the bottle what it says it has on the label. This is a safety issue for anyone taking the product, since there could be too much, or not enough, of the ingredients on the label.
Third party testing is when a vitamin/supplement company has a lab outside of their company verify their products. This outside lab doesn’t have money invested in this product or a bias, so they give outside testing to assure quality of the product. Third party testing can also confirm the ingredients and amount of the ingredients in each product. This testing can also look for any ingredient that shouldn’t be found in this product, such as heavy metals and banned substances, which can be harmful to your health.
So how do you tell if there’s been third party testing or any safety testing done on this product? There should be a statement on the packaging or on the company’s website about this testing. Some companies will even share this testing or what is known as the “certificate of analysis” that shows the breakdown of the testing that was done.
Also look for the seal of trusted companies that help to ensure safety of vitamins and supplements. Companies such as USP, NSF, Informed Sport, and Informed Choice, offer various safety measures for vitamins and supplements. This could be third party testing, assuring quality of ingredients or making sure substances that athletes are banned from taking are not in the product.
How To Decide What to Take
It’s always a good idea to talk to your health care provider about your health concerns and if a vitamin or supplement is right for you. There could be interactions between a vitamin or supplement and a medication you are taking. Also, there are products that shouldn’t be taken if you have certain health conditions.
To help make an informed decision about what to take or not take, you might be tempted to turn to the internet. Not all information online is correct, so make sure to look for information only on trusted and credible websites. A few of these include Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center About Herbs, Rx List, Operation Supplement Safety, Consumer Lab (membership required), NSF, and Informed Choice.
