Before you buy supplements, understanding three things will make you a wiser shopper.
An excipient is an ingredient added to a supplement to do one of three things; make it easier to manufacture (flow agents), form into a tablet (binders) or to make it an appealing color (dyes or coloring).
Excipients do not contribute to your health but, in fact, can detract from it. Like with most things, cheap excipients can keep the cost of the final product down, but they may not be good for you. So, look at the ingredients. What’s in your supplement?
THINGS YOU DON’T WANT:
Sugar in any form: fructose, dextrose, sucrose, maltodextrin, corn syrup solids, high fructose corn syrup, cane sugar, tapioca syrup, or corn syrup
Propylegene glycol: an ingredient in antifreeze, it’s said to be safe in small doses (no!)
Sodium benzoate: a preservative, when it comes into contact with vitamin C, it converts to benzene (a highly carcinogenic substance)
Colors and dyes: while titanium dioxode is okay in sunscreen, it’s not safe to ingest. It’s used to whiten tablets. Look for FD&C Blue No. 1, FD&C Blue No. 2, FD&C Green No. 3, FD&C Red No. 3, FD&C Red No. 40, FD&C Yellow No. 5, and FD&C Yellow No. 6 on ingredient labels.
Absorption refers to how easily an active ingredient is released into your body to get to work. This a a complicated topic, but here is a quick explanation.
As with many things, there are trade-offs. A tablet takes the longest to dissolve and has the lowest absorption, but it’s easy to transport and there is no worry about taste. A gelcap or other type of capsule provides better absorption, since the outside breaks down quickly. These are usually a bit more expensive. Liquid has even better absorption, but is often hard to make it taste good and is less portable. Then there are certain liquid formulations made with oil called liposomal delivery, the oil carries the active compound through the cell wall and right to the spot of action. These are often the most expensive.
Labels that say USP (United States Pharmacopeia), NSF International, or Consumer Lab designate that an outside company has made sure the ingredients meet quality standards.
Always be sure a supplement doesn’t interfere with other medicines you are taking. Once you know it’s high quality and has a high margin of safety, experiment for yourself and see what makes you feel better. Of course, discontinue any supplement immediately if it irritates your system or makes you feel worse.