Supplement Quality and Concerns
Multivitamins are the most popular dietary supplements in the United States, accounting for $4.8 billion in sales in 2009. However, there is no standard formula for multivitamins, and no U.S. agency that routinely tests multivitamins, so formulations and quality can vary widely. Additionally, vitamin and mineral needs and tolerances differ based on factors such as age, gender, health conditions and pregnancy, so there is no one formula that is appropriate for everyone.
Considerations for multivitamin quality include verifying that the supplement contains the amounts of specific vitamin ingredients claimed on the label, tablet disintegration (which can affect absorption) and the potential for lead contamination. ConsumerLab.com has reported the quality of multivitamin supplements to vary widely, and that price is not predictive of quality.
Read more about this topic: Multivitamin
Famous quotes containing the words supplement, quality and/or concerns:
“Japanese food is very pretty and undoubtedly a suitable cuisine in Japan, which is largely populated by people of below average size. Hostesses hell-bent on serving such food to occidentals would be well advised to supplement it with something more substantial and to keep in mind that almost everybody likes french fries.”
—Fran Lebowitz (b. 1975)
“As the quality of water changes with the nature of the soil;
So will a man’s reason vary with the quality of his friends.”
—Tiruvalluvar (c. 5th century A.D.)
“For some years now, there has been proof that the devastating effects of the traumatization of children take their inevitable toll on society—a fact that we are still forbidden to recognize. This knowledge concerns every single one of us, and—if disseminated widely enough—should lead to fundamental changes in society; above all, to a halt in the blind escalation of violence.”
—Alice Miller (20th century)