How to choose a multivitamin (part II)

Before reading this section, make sure to read the previous discussion on how to choose a multivitamin and mineral supplement.

I've given the "Reader's Digest" version of some things to look for when choosing a supplement, but I'm sure it is no less confusing. Reading labels is sure to cause vertigo. It is still overwhelming. Fortunately there is some help out there and we have another book for this. This is from Nutrisearch and is entitled The Comparative Guide to Nutritional Supplements by Lyle MacWilliam. There are two versions of this guide: 1) Consumer version (abbreviated) and 2) Professional version (4'th edition and soon to be 5'th edition by 2013). 

The professional edition has all the science behind the ratings. They have reviewed over 1500 multivitamin supplements manufactured in North America based on 18 different parameters and supplements are rated from 0 to 5. (5 being best). In my opinion a 3-3.5 out of 5 is a good product and should be a bare minimum, if you are looking for a decent product (these are my opinions and not necessarily the opinions of others). Clearly a 5 out of 5 is considered best in class by the authors of the book. As an example, Centrum products rate from 0 to 1 out of 5 depending on the formulation. This is why people who buy Centrum are wasting their money. They are not very broad spectrum and have insufficient quantities to improve health and as far as I'm concerned, no vitamin study involving Centrum is going to demonstrate significant benefit. At the other end of the ratings scale, there are only 4 companies that have 5 star Gold Medal of Achievement awards. USANA Health Sciences The Essentials and Health Pak have received the highest ratings in the industry. (Other winners included Douglas Laboratories, Creating Wellness Alliance and Truestar Health). It is due to the award winning accolades of USANA that they were recommended for me. These were the products that helped me regain my health over the past year and it is for this reason that I have become a USANA associate and recommending their products to others because I am living testimonial that they do work and that you can improve your health when you use the right products. Don't shortchange yourself and pick up the biggest bulk discount supplement on the shelf at Costco because you are wasting your money if you do. Don't bother perusing the aisles at Shoppers Drug Mart and Pharma Plus. They do not carry the high end products required to improve health. They are great stores but they are not great supplement vendors. I know Jamieson is a lovely Canadian company but with ratings of about 1 out of 5, I would not entrust them to improve my health...certainly not if you have Meniere's disease. People may complain that the highest rated supplements are expensive. I did before I started them. When I started feeling better, I stopped complaining. I would pay anything to get my health back. Not only did I get my health back but I felt I got into better shape than I was before I got ill. Now running a 10 Km event is nothing. I may not be the fastest out there, but now it's easy. I even amazed myself by running 20 km recently.

Read also: How to choose a multivitamin (part III)