Learn More About The Best Vitamin and Supplement Brands
How Did We Pick The Vitamin Brands?
There are thousands and thousands of vitamin and supplement brands on the market. For the average consumer, it can be nearly impossible to sort through all of them and confidently make a decision. We spoke with many leading brands in the vitamin and supplement category to understand what makes a brand special and trustworthy. We also did independent research into each brand about their third-party testing regiments, their manufacturing process and their catalog of vitamins that they offer.
Why Are Vitamins and Supplements Important?
It’s known that vitamins and supplements can be essential for your body’s normal function. For most people, a healthy and balanced diet should deliver all of the nutrients and minerals that you need on a daily basis. Sometimes, though, it’s not always possible to hit all of your nutrient and mineral needs through your diet alone. That’s where dietary supplements and vitamins come into play.
Vitamins and supplements are important for those who might have gaps in their diet or nutritional daily intake. A few key reasons why vitamins and supplements are important for those with gaps in their diets include:
- Maintain Proper Body Function: Vitamins work to keep our bodies functioning properly and drive essential processes needed for everyday health and wellness. They help support things like immunity, metabolism, and bone health.
- Support Healthy Aging: Vitamins, especially antioxidants, can help protect cells from environmental stressors and slow down the natural wear and tear that comes with aging.[1]
- Address Deficiencies: Certain conditions, diets, and life stages can lead to vitamin and mineral deficiencies. Supplements can help correct these deficiencies, which are important for maintaining good health.
- Promote Specific Health Benefits: Some vitamins and supplements have been shown to provide targeted health benefits, such as supporting immune function, bone health, and heart health.
What To Look For in a Vitamin Brand
There are a lot of things you should consider when looking for a vitamin brand. It can be daunting especially with so many options in the market. If you’re looking for a vitamin brand to support your daily lifestyle, exercise and dietary needs, here are a few factors that you should consider:
Vitamin Form Factor: There are a few form factors that you can choose from, including gummy, capsule, powder, meltable tablet or even oral spray.
GMP (Good Manufacturing Processes): This is a critical component of a reputable vitamin brand. The best vitamin brands all manufacture their products following the FDA’s (Food and Drug Administration) GMPs. These practices ensure that the vitamins your consuming are all manufactured to with the correct identity, purity, strength and composition that is marketed.
Ingredients: One thing you should also consider is the added ingredients in the vitamins and supplements you’re consider. A lot of brands include filler ingredients in their supplements and many doctors advise against consuming them. It’s important that your supplement does not contain an excessive amount of filler ingredients or uncertified ingredients like proprietary blends. If a brand does use a proprietary ingredient blend, it’s critical that they disclose the individual amounts of each ingredient rather than the overall blend amount.
Third-Party Product Testing: Just like GMP, vitamin brands that openly share their third-party lab testing results can be more reputable and trusted than those who do not. Third-party lab testing is a voluntarily practice that many vitamin brands participate in to show that their products are properly manufactured and contain all of the listed ingredients on their label. It’s not a requirement, but you’ll see a lot of the best vitamin brands participating in independent third-party testing procedures. There are many reputable, independent organizations that offer third-party testing for supplement brands like ConsumerLab, National Sanitation Foundation and the U.S. Pharmacopeia.
COAs: Vitamin and supplement brands can offer consumers Certificates of Analysis that will show their products being thoroughly tested for safety and quality. A lot of vitamin brands will display their COA’s directly on their website or via a scannable QR code on the product packaging.
Those are the six key things that you should consider when looking into vitamin and supplement brands. It’s also important to fully understand how you’ll be utilizing vitamins and supplements so that you can purchase the correct volume of the specific nutrient.
How To Know If You Need a Vitamin or Supplement
It’s important to realize that not everyone needs a vitamin or supplement. Generally, if you suspect that you have nutrient deficiencies from your diet or eating habits, then you should first consult with your doctor or medical professional to see if a dietary supplement or vitamin could be a good fit for you.
If you think you might have nutrient deficiencies in your diet, you might notice some of the most common symptoms, including muscle weakness, general day-to-day fatigue, easy bruising across your body and abnormal heart rhythms.
Your doctor or healthcare provider will be able to conduct thorough tests and medical evaluations to uncover any potential nutrient deficiencies you might have. It’s important that you trust your healthcare provider and take their vitamin and supplement recommendations into consideration.
You can also visit a registered dietitian to further understand your vitamin and supplement needs. Registered dietitians are medical professionals that specialize in understanding your holistic dietary habits and needs. They also are best-in-class at uncovering additional insights into your lifestyle and helping you to make informed decisions about your supplement needs.
