The vitamins, minerals and supplements market is a booming one, and one about which very little is known. Including these products in your diet is really important for your wellness and wellbeing, but it’s also important to know what exactly you are taking, and this can be challenging in a market that is as clouded as the current vitamins, minerals and supplements one.
For a start, there are over 54,000 different dietary supplements on the market, and around 1,000 different brands that they are sold under, according to the latest data from consumer groups. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has quite a loose definition of supplement, where it classes it as an indigestible product which contains a dietary ingredient, so this can refer to minerals, vitamins, herbs and botanicals, substances such as enzymes and amino acids. This industry is growing, with sales of more than $30 billion in the US alone.
With all this choice, however, how do you know which products are safe, let alone which ones are going to do you any good?
We have some handy clues that you can follow, to make sure you are getting the best experience possible.
Always read the bottle of anything you are buying, and ensure that the supplement has a scientific advisory board, which should be listed on the product.
Look out, also, for a ‘USP Verified’ stamp which should appear in gold and shows that the product has been approved by the United States Pharacopeial Convention, which is an organisation that specialises in testing the quality of supplements.
Another good test is to call the manufacturer of the supplement. Any serious company should have a human being on the other end of the phone available to take calls. If there’s not even any contact information on the packaging then steer clear altogether.
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