How to Choose Vitamin Supplements

Are you searching for the right vitamin supplement? Choosing the right vitamin supplement may take a little time, considering that there are so many types and forms to choose from today. People take vitamin supplements to ensure that there body receives an appropriate amount of nutrients each day. Vitamin supplements are especially important for vegetarians, individual who do not eat a variety of food, those who eat less than 1600 calories a day, pregnant women and for people who have problems properly digesting or absorbing food due to a medical illness, such as chronic diarrhea. There a few things that you can do to help you choose vitamin supplements.

Instructions

• 1

  Think about your health needs and goals. In order to choose the right vitamin supplement, you should consider your overall health needs and try choosing a vitamin supplement that can satisfy your ultimate goals. Perhaps you want to lose weight or increase your energy or metabolism level. Or maybe you need to add more nutrients and minerals to your diet (such as iron or Vitamin D).

• 2

  Meet with your medical doctor or dietitian, to discuss vitamin supplements. Your doctor or dietitian can provide you with helpful information about the various types of vitamin supplements on the market today. He can give you information about the side effects for each vitamin supplement and tell you whether or not the vitamins may interfere with any medications you’re currently taking. Your doctor may also recommend several vitamin supplements for you to choose from, that can best suit your personal health goals and needs.

• 3

  Ask your doctor about the different forms of vitamin supplements. Vitamin supplements usually come in the forms of tablets, pills, liquids and capsules. Determine which form is more convenient for you to take.

• 4

  Search for vitamin supplements at a local or online store. You can purchase vitamin supplements at local pharmacies, drug stores, grocery stores, nutritional stores (such as GNC) and other appropriate locations. You can also buy vitamins from many online stores.

• 5

  Read the label on the bottle or package. Be sure to carefully read the label so you can find out which ingredients and nutrients are included in that vitamin. The label also gives you information on the recommended dosage amount for the supplement.

• 6

  Check the expiration date. All vitamin supplements should have an expiration date. Please do not purchase the supplement if there is no expiration date or if it has expired.

• 7

  Choose a vitamin supplement that gives you a proper amount of nutrients. You should select a vitamin supplement that provides about 100% of the daily value of all of the different minerals and vitamins (except for calcium because no vitamin usually gives you 100% of calcium).