Do you ever feel you are bombarded with so much information that it is easier to ignore it all and not bother rather than wade through it all? If you are looking to buy a new appliance, how do you decide what to buy? Recommendations from a friend, reviews on a website, take a good look at the company or go for a celebrity endorsement?
It can feel the same when you are looking to add supplements to your wellness regime. Where do you start? A quick internet search will bring you hundreds of products, everything from chewable vitamin C to the most complex formulation with over 20 ingredients. If you are not familiar with what to look for it can be easy to be drawn in by wild claims and flashy packaging, but how do you find your way through the maze of information to discover the right supplement for you.
When you are looking for a new supplement do you really look at what’s inside or just go for a nice label?
First of all, have a look at the label. You should see a full list of all the ingredients, these are the active ingredients such as the vitamins and minerals and then there will be other ingredients such as the capsule shell or something to bind the ingredients together during manufacturing.
Not all additives and manufacturing aids are bad! Whilst you don’t want to see a lot of artificial sweeteners or talc in your product, unknown ingredients can look scary such as HPMC, it might look like something you don’t want. However, it stands for hydroxypropyl methylcellulose or hypromellose. In fact, it is a simple plant-based ingredient that gives you a vegan capsule and is nothing to be feared. It is commonly used when making a capsule that you want to be suitable for vegetarian and vegan diets whilst maintaining the integrity of the contents.
What else should you look for? It is always worth looking at the active ingredients and any co factors. Are the ingredients in forms that are recognised by the body? This gives you a better chance of absorbing the nutrients properly. When a nutrient is in its active form, some of the hard work has already been done and the body will utilise the nutrient more efficiently.
Nutrients can be delivered in many forms. Make sure your supplement has them in the most bioavailable format.
As an example, B vitamins are water soluble and don’t get stored by the body, so it makes sense to have the best chance of absorbing them. Many formulations will contain vitamin B1 or Thiamine as it will be labelled. Some supplements will list B1 as Benfotiamine, an active form of the vitamin that has not only been shown to give better absorption but also may have other benefits in the body.
Vitamin B6 is often presented as Pyridoxine hydrochloride but using the more active form of Pyridoxal-5′-phosphate can give the body a better chance of absorbing and utilising this nutrient.
Vitamin C is perhaps one of the best-known vitamins, although it should be easily available in our food if we eat a wide range of fresh fruit and vegetables, there are times when we may choose to increase our intake.
Another water-soluble vitamin, we don’t store vitamin C so need to add it daily. This vitamin has been extensively researched over the years, Linus Pauling and Mattais Rath are two of the leading pioneers in the field of vitamin C supplementation, they also looked at the co factors needed by the body to get the best out of the vitamin C. Supplements can have these co factors present and have the vitamin C as not only ascorbic acid, the usual form, but also as calcium ascorbate and magnesium ascorbate. Other active ingredients such as the amino acids L-lysine, L-proline and L-taurine are also helpful for absorption.
Another point to consider is the amount of the active ingredients present. Not just the amount of each nutrient or active, but how long is the list? Some formulations can have an extensive list of ingredients but they might have such small amounts in that it looks good on the label but you are not getting a meaningful dose of the nutrient. Often you will find that good quality multi nutrient formulations require you to take more than one a day or will be in a powder. This might be less convenient that one a day, however if you want a decent amount of a lot of active ingredients, you are not going to get that in a small one a day tablet. Be aware of what is inside, is it a long list just for show?
What goes on behind the scenes? Does the company base their products on science or cost?
It isn’t just the nutrient forms and sources you should consider. It is always a good idea to look at the company and the people behind the brand. Is there a science behind the brand? What care is taken when formulating a product and what excipients are used?
AOR was built on scientific knowledge and research. Dr Traj Nibber, AOR founder, was frustrated by what he found in the supplements industry, cheap ingredients, lack of awareness of research and products formulated to a price rather than how they might benefit the user. Scientific research and development has always underpinned product development whilst also not being afraid to be innovative in approaches and utilise the latest scientific research. You can read more here, about the AOR journey.
However you choose your supplements, look for clean ingredients, active forms of nutrients, co factors to enhance absorption and meaningful doses and a brand that looks beyond just the cost of raw ingredients. Your body deserves the best, you wouldn’t buy a new car or washing machine without doing some research into what you are looking for, let your supplements be the same. Your body deserves the best you can get.
