A
new guide to choosing the right vitamin supplement
Newswise — How do you choose a
safe and healthy multivitamin? Vitamins and
Minerals: What You Need to Know, a new report from
Harvard Medical School, offers the following advice.
Look for a seal of approval.
Choose products that bear the U.S. Pharmacopeia
Dietary Supplement Verification Program (USP-DSVP)
mark, which indicates that the manufacturer has
complied with certain standards.
Consider safe levels. All
dietary supplements have a “Supplement Facts” label
that lists the percentage of the daily value (DV) of
each nutrient per serving, as well as the actual
amount of each.
Multivitamin and multimineral
supplements shouldn’t exceed 150% of the DV for any
nutrient. In fact, for trace minerals, such as iron,
fluoride, and zinc, it’s safest not to exceed the DV
at all.
Ignore marketing gimmicks. It
doesn’t matter whether vitamin C is derived from
organic rose hips or synthesized in large batches in
a laboratory; your body will use the resulting
product similarly. Also, if you’re not sensitive to
specific ingredients, such as wheat, rice, or
lactose, there’s no need to pay more for
allergen-free products.
Don’t pay more for unproven
extras. There is virtually no evidence that herbs
and other nonvitamin ingredients added to
supplements—such as echinacea, bioflavonoids, and
ubiquinone (coenzyme Q10)—are essential for your
health.
Beware of potentially dangerous
interactions. Pay attention to warnings on the
label, and tell your doctor and pharmacist what
supplements you take.
Vitamins and Minerals: What you
Need to Know is a 48-page report edited by Meier J.
Stampfer, M.D., Ph.D., Professor of Epidemiology and
Nutrition, Harvard School of Public Health.
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