Recommended Food Supplement Companies

Solgar, Schiff, Thompson and Twin Labs are recommended food supplement companies.  Their quality of ingredients, mixtures (formulations) and, just as important, portions are superior to most other brands.

Here are a few ways and examples of how one can determine if a supplement is good or not.

The source from where the vitamins and minerals are derived is listed in parenthesis right next to the particular ingredient in the table of contents.  Ideally, a recognizable food name NOT a chemical name should be seen.  With cheaper brands of vitamin C, for example, “(ascorbic acid)” appears next to its quantity, not a natural food source like Acerola berries or Rose Hips. Although ascorbic acid is the isolated chemical component of vitamin C it is never found in nature this way.   If ascorbic acid is listed as its source the other naturally occurring components should also be seen elsewhere in the formula.  They are rutin, asperitin and bioflavonoids.  Additionally, ‘Time-released’ or ‘Sustain-released’ vitamin C is best because it slows its, otherwise, fast absorption.  This prevents burdening the kidneys with excess quantities at one time which results in the vitamin C being pushed into the bladder as a form of waste in the urine.

Well-formulated vitamin, mineral and herb tablets should include other naturally occurring components, as well, so assimilation is optimal and there is little stress to the digestive tract.  An example of a good ‘multi’ (daily food supplement, or one-a-day type tablet) is one with LOW quantities of the B-complex vitamins and in varied quantities.  Poor ‘multis’ include high and equal quantities of the B-complex vitamins to try to convince potential buyers that it is a ‘stress-tab’ (the B vitamins were known at one time to reduce stress – not so, now!) in addition to being a good all-around daily supplement.  The portions for B1, B2 and the like should NOT be the same, because in food they are varied.

Another example is vitamin A.  Good-quality vitamin A supplements are derived from (as seen in the contents chart in parenthesis) beta-carotene or fish oil.

Read more about nutrition at http://www.drsaracino.com/chiropractic-neurology-health-articles.html section of www.DrSaracino.com.  I welcome your comments.