Like anything else that matters to you, it is invaluable to educate yourself on what ingredients to avoid before buying supplements.
Ask yourself what does Rite Aid, Walgreens, Safeway, Costco, Amazon or even your friend know about supplemental nutrition? Are they invested in your health success?
Here’s a list of ingredients to avoid in supplements, while this isn’t exhaustive, it’s a starting point.
- Folic acid
- Cyanocobalamin
- Dl-tocopherol
- Soybean oil
- Corn oil
- Artificial flavors or colors
My rule with supplementation is that nutritional supplements should not make it harder for the body to do its job, they should be 100% benefit.
Sacrificing quality to save money is the last thing you want to do when it comes to nutritional supplements.
Putting dead, never found in nature vitamins in your body is a recipe for disaster. Less is more. Taking less highly bioavailable, nature formed nutrients is far superior to putting lots of vitamins that cost less in your body.
After speaking with a patient this past week who brought in a bag of supplements, I realized that many people are taking supplemental vitamins aiming to improve their health, but are not recognizing there are vast differences in the quality of vitamins and minerals.
I had seen this patient for years and come to find out she was consuming supplements including a multivitamin with folic acid, cyanocobalamin, DL-tocopherol, corn oil, soybean oil, and coloring agents.
She was on 10-12 low quality supplements making life more challenging than it needs to be.
Like I told this patient, you would be better off not taking any of the supplements and spending the extra $150 a month on organic fruits and vegetables.
Supplementing with a multivitamin
A recent study of 5000 individuals revealed that adults consuming a daily multivitamin had improved memory and cognition. Another study discovered that children with ADHD who started taking a multivitamin had improved emotional regulation capacity and decreased behavioral issues.
This was just over an 8 week time frame. Another study showed improved mood regulation and an ability to manage aggression.
Over and over again, B vitamins, essential minerals, Vitamin D levels show up depleted in people with ADHD, cognitive difficulties, and memory impairment.
It is no wonder people are suffering with mental, emotional, and attention issues given that they are in a continual state of resource depletion.
A 2019 study showed that 66 college students who started on a multivitamin for 30 days had significantly fewer anxiety issues compared to placebo.
Another 4 week study in women showed that taking a multivitamin reduced mental fatigue and improved markers of perceived stress. So stress didn’t go away, because it will never go away until we are six feet under the ground, but how our body and mind perceive and respond to it can be greatly influenced by the body’s level of nourishment.
A simple multivitamin can be a powerful tool, especially on the neurological and behavioral front! If you need a quality multivitamin, try Stay Well Multi for adults or Multivitamin Complete for children.
Are you trying to lose fat and need extra support? Check out this post for recommended vitamins for fat loss.
