Choosing the Best Supplement for Your Body and Your Health
How to Properly Read a Label
It can be very confusing to determine the true value of a supplement. Understanding the label will help you know if you are taking a quality supplement.
Where do the nutrients come from?
Look at the ingredients on the food label. Do you recognize any of them? Just like other food label, the nutrients are listed in a particular order and some manufacturers put the source next to the nutrient. In a quality, wholesome product you will recognize and be able to pronounce most of the ingredients on the label.
What is the importance of whole food ingredients?
Only whole food ingredients can provide you with all the nutrients contained within the food. These wholesome ingredients are only available by consuming natural, whole food forms of any such vitamin. For example, if Vitamin E is the focus, eating wheat grem oil, green leafy vegetables, nuts, and sunflower seeds would be an optimal choice.
Going Beyond the Label
Just like any recipe, the quality of the ingredients you use affects the quality of the final product. Therefore, its important to answer all these questions when evaluating a supplement and it's effectiveness.
Where do the ingredients come from?
Manufacturers who grow many of their ingredients have the unique ability to control the quality of the ingredient from seed to supplement. Some manufacturers own certified organic farms to further enhance the quality of their ingredients.
When are the ingredients processed?
When you buy a tomato, you inspect it for quality. You wouldn't knowingly buy one that was mushy and bruised. This same principle holds true for when ingredients are prime for harvest. Different foods reach their peak nutrient value during different times within the growing season. Pea vine, for example is at its peak during the flowering stage.
Once harvested, food begins to loose its value. It is perishable like the tomato. If there is a delay of hours, days, or months from when an ingredient is harvested to when it's processed, many of its very delicate phytonutrients are lost.
Are the ingredients’ vital factors retained?
Each ingredient has its own set of rules in relation to how to best package its vital components. The manufacturing process needs to retain the vital nutrients within the ingredient. Too much heat will destroy enzymes and phytonutrients. The manufacturer should use low-temperature, high-vacuum process to make sure that the ingredient’s nutrients are persevered.