Wondering about nutritional supplements? How to choose

(ARA) - Few people, including you, actually get all the nutrients they need from the food they eat - hence the major market for nutritional supplements. But how do you sift through the plethora of information out there to choose the right supplement from the thousands on the market?

Many people probably base their supplement choice on price, popularity and convenience - possibly a recommendation from their doctor or a friend. "There is a better, more sensible way to choose your supplement," says Dr. Tim Wood, executive vice president of research and development with supplement maker USANA Health Sciences.

"Evaluating a supplement is actually simple," Dr. Wood says. "Look at the quality of ingredients and manufacturing processes, the level of key ingredients, third-party lab testing, who else is using the product, and how well it fits your specific nutritional needs."

Consider quality

Quality ingredients are a must, of course, but poor manufacturing processes can negate the value of good ingredients. "Yes, finding out about how a company manufactures a supplement may take a little extra legwork, but since this is something you're considering putting in your body on a daily basis, it makes sense to take the extra steps to get as much information as possible," Dr. Wood says.

Where is the product manufactured? If it's outside the United States, the maker may not be held to the same standards as products made domestically. Congress has established Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMP) for dietary supplements to mirror those already in place for food products. Your supplement maker should be following those guidelines. Or, better yet, voluntarily following the more stringent cGMPs of pharmaceutical models, as USANA does at its facility in Salt Lake City.

Key ingredients and lab testing

"It's important to know if the supplement you're taking has safe levels of ingredients, absorbs into the body effectively and actually contains what the label says it contains," Dr. Wood says. "Third-party lab testing helps assure that."

Third-party lab testing means the manufacturer voluntarily allows an outside party to test its product (in addition to its own internal testing) to ensure that:

* The supplement really contains what it the label says it does.
* There are no ingredients present that are not disclosed on the label.
* There are no unacceptable levels of contaminants in the product.