Indians have a wide array of choice when it comes to choosing supplements to use. However, having too many choices when it concerns an individual’s health can be quite confusing and daunting. The dietary supplement industry provides consumers with hundreds of thousands of products to choose from and the list keeps on growing every year. A booming dietary supplement industry is a good thing, but it is also important for someone to choose only the best.

Before you spend your hard-earned money, here is a list of simple things you should be on the lookout for when making your next dietary supplement purchase on online medical store.

Purchase Additive-Free Supplements

The first thing you should do is choose dietary supplements that are additive-free. Many supplement manufacturers use additives such as stearic acid and magnesium stearate in the manufacturing process. The additives help speed the manufacturing process and their production volume – read profits.

While additives help speed up production, they add no health benefits to your body; in fact, they are likely to harm the immune and cardiovascular system. Try finding brands with no additives. One way to get this information is by asking a health food expert or by reading more about the ingredients of the product before you purchase it online.

Choose Tested Supplement Formulas

Choose supplements with dosages and formulas that are based on human clinical testing or trials. The human clinical trial is the gold standard measure for the effectiveness of the supplement. Do not just choose a supplement based on what you think it will help you achieve. Choose formulas or ingredients based on real clinical data.

Some products are created and used in medical and nutritional clinics of doctors, following up on these studies and choosing formulas with actual benefits for their patients. Following data of ingredients and formulas will help you select a product that you can add as part of your choices.

Choose Manufacturers Using High Quality Ingredients

It is critical that you choose products whose manufacturers spare no expense in sourcing and testing the raw ingredients and materials. A good manufacturer will also test the ingredients in a laboratory to identify the strength, purity and composition of their products before they are used in their formulations. Products simply marked as “high quality” or “pure” are not good enough if they do not provide documentation of testing to back these claims.

Search for Brands Sold by the Manufacturer

Many supplement companies do not manufacture their own products. These products are actually manufactured and produced by third-party companies. It is worth learning more about a particular product or brand manufactured by the same company selling it to you. Most importantly, go for products or brands produced in a Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) certified facility.

The process is governed by about 140 standard operating procedures that include actual site inspection of the manufacturing facility. Bottom line: try finding the dietary supplement from a manufacturer controlling every aspect of the product.

Choose Supplements Showing Source of Ingredients

Take time and notice how the ingredients are listed in the Supplement Facts sheet of your product and ensure that each ingredient has a stated source. The source information is found within the parenthesis right after the ingredient.

Choose Focused Formulas

Superior products or brands on the market include those that feature formulas with clear objectives or focus. For example, a complete multivitamin targeted at men or women is the best option since the different sexes require different nutritional needs.

Other brands have condition-specific formulas that help customers deal with specific issues like joint pain and cardiovascular issues. A superior product or brand will not make it hard for you to understand what you are buying. A clear formula, with expected benefits is what you should be on the lookout for.

Warning

Even as you use supplements, remember:

  • Do not take any self-prescribed remedy instead of the medicine prescribed by your doctor without talking about it with your doctor first.
  • Do not depend on any non-prescription product to cure cancer or any other serious disease. No matter what the claim, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
  • Follow the dosage limits on the label. Overdoses can be deadly. Do not take a dietary supplement for any longer than recommended.
  • Never give a supplement to a baby or a child under the age of 18 without talking to the child’s doctor. A child processes nutrients and drugs differently from an adult, and the effects of many products in children are not known.

Conclusion

Going through the vitamin virtual aisle at an online medical store can be intimidating. There are so many choices, but you can be at ease when you know what you should be looking for. With this bit of extra knowledge, you can ensure that you are making the right choice of supplements.