#DYK: What should I look for when buying supplements?

Have you ever wondered what you should look for when buying a supplement? I mean, we all know that we want to take a multivitamin or need biotin for skin, nails, and hair or that we should look at reviews on Amazon before purchasing them but are our purchasing decisions correctly based?

What I look for when I buy a supplement is what will it do for me? If I am low on Vitamin D, should I really be buying a multivitamin when Vitamin D is only at a low level and is one of the many components in it or should I buy an actual Vitamin D supplement? Another area that I consider is the dosage? For example, is 250 mg of Vitamin C a day enough for me or do I need to take 1000 mg a day to help my immunity? Finally, another thing that I look at is the price. Why is price important? You want to make sure you get the right product and that it lasts a while. Though a 1000 mg is going to be more expensive per pill, the dosage is higher and the benefits outweigh the cost. Often times, you can find the supplement you need on BOGO (buy one get one free) so keep a lookout for those deals.  You should also consider why are you buying the supplement when you are purchasing one, is it because you need an improvement in an area or are you truly trying to supplement your diet? This can be a huge factor in determining what you spend and what you buy.

Once you have determined what dosage and where to buy it, you should consider talking with your doctor as well to make sure the supplement doesn’t interfere with your meds or current lifestyle. Without a good diet and exercise, supplements are not going to be miracle pills to fix you so that’s important to remember too.

If you are someone who likes to research/Google before buying something, then perhaps certifications are important for you and label status is important so you may want to see if the USP symbol is on the supplement (indicates meets United States Pharmacopeia standards) or that the product is vegetarian or that it is made with non-GMO ingredients. For others, it matters that the product has no Chinese ingredients so definitely research if these factors are important for you as not all of these are called out and usually if you reach out to the manufacturer they will answer your questions.

The only time that I look at reviews usually is if I’m buying something online and it needs to ship to me. I’m hoping the reviews tells me that the shipping was excellent and that the product arrived in tact. Using reviews to determine if a supplement works for you is basically a shot in the dark because everyone’s body chemistry and lifestyles are different so the effect could be none to less to exactly what you need so tread cautiously.

Remember, supplements are supposed to be just that supplements not a substitute for healthy eating or a replacement for healthy eating.