A guide to dietary supplements is necessary to help make sense of all the information that is available about supplements. Are they necessary for optimal health or is eating a good diet enough? What about the safety of some supplements in light of some studies that have shown negative consequences when supplements were used?

Are you confused about what to look for when buying supplements that are effective and safe? These criteria will serve as your guide to dietary supplements when buying them.

For example, look at a controversial study that showed no benefit with the use of supplements. In this study, the researchers looked at 4 groups of over 8000 women who were taking Vitamins A, C, and E and a placebo. The results showed that there were no differences between the 4 groups. Thus this study showed no protective effect with the supplements. In fact, the study was stopped midway because there was a higher risk of death with the synthetic supplements.

In this study, synthetic supplements, not whole food supplements were used.

It is very important to note that: NOT ALL SUPPLEMENTS ARE CREATED EQUAL.

Synthetic supplements are not well recognized by your body but food is. Since food is how the body is designed to get nutrition.

Here is a great example that illustrates this concept real well.

You have heard about the English sailors who developed a vitamin C deficiency en route to the New World. These sailors were nicknamed limeys because James Lind discovered that limes took away the symptoms of Vitamin C deficiency and saved his sailors their lives.

Now, take a look at synthetic, isolated Vitamin C. To get rid of the symptoms of Vitamin C it takes 1000 milligrams. There is only 60 milligrams of Vitamin C in a lime.

The difference is that - in whole foods there are other nutrients that work together to improve the absorption of Vitamin C. So more is not necessarily better especially if it is synthetic.

Many companies taut huge amounts of specific vitamins. Do not be fooled. Absorption is what really makes the difference. Otherwise, the unabsorbed nutrients end up in your septic tank. You are creating expensive sewage!

How do you know if a supplement is synthetic? Any supplement that has USP (United States Pharmacopeia) on its label is clearly a synthetic supplement. Another very helpful clue is if your urine smells like the supplement or is very dark in color you are not absorbing the supplement and it is probably synthetic. Do not waste your money. Another word of caution.

In the supplement world, there is a phenomenon called borrowed science. This is when a company claims that since it has the same nutrients as another company it's supplement then has the same benefits without doing the clinical studies to validate those claims. Cheaper yes, but no guarantee that the benefits will be there.

Be sure to ask for clinical studies or at least ask for the documentation that the makers of the supplement are conducting GMPs (Good Manufacturing Practices).

GMPs ensure that products are safe, pure, and effective. GMP regulations require a quality approach to manufacturing, enabling companies to minimize or eliminate instances of contamination, mix ups, and errors.

This provides protection to the consumer from purchasing a product which is not effective or even dangerous. In other words, you know that you are getting what you are paying for.

The most progressive companies will provide 3rd party validation of their GMPs. This is an extra step not required by law to assure that you, the consumer, is purchasing nothing less than the best.