It’s human nature to want a good deal and save money. However, when it comes to buying supplements, they are not all created equal - and the price often reflects this! With this in mind, we’ve highlighted three things to look out for the next time you go looking for the best supplements. We’ll also explain why the higher-quality supplements are often worth the additional expense.
1. Higher-quality supplements should have a GMP Certification
Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) is a production standard that supplement manufacturers must follow.
All the brands that we stock at Supplement Hub are GMP-certified. This means they can guarantee that their products are made to the highest manufacturing standards. Each product is tested and monitored for quality throughout the manufacturing process.
GMP is number one on this list for one important reason: it guarantees that all the other points we mention below have already been considered.
When you buy supplements from GMP-certified brands, you can be sure that they are of the highest standard.
2. Higher-quality supplements contain qualified, superior raw ingredients
Like the food we eat, the less processed supplements are, the better they are for our bodies. Naturally sourced ingredients tend to be more expensive due to the labour involved with growing, harvesting and processing them. Synthetic ingredients are cheaper to mass-produce thanks to their less time-consuming nature.
Look for supplements that are naturally sourced rather than synthetic. While synthetic nutrients are less expensive, it is unclear how well they are absorbed in the body.
Natural and pure ingredients, that closely resemble how nutrients appear in nature, are more likely to provide the health boost you seek from supplementing your diet.
For example, one of our functional nutritional therapists recently worked with a woman who had been told by her doctor that she was deficient in vitamin B12. She went to a high street retailer and purchased a B12 supplement, but she felt worse, not better.
When he examined the supplement she was taking, he discovered that it contained a high number of fillers and binding agents, which can often cause negative reactions. He also found that the supplement contained cyanocobalamin, which is a form of B12 that is often poorly absorbed. The dose she was taking wasn’t large enough or in a form that is easily absorbed (a tablet).
He immediately switched her over to Seeking Health’s Active B12 1000 lozenges. These have few fillers, are all-natural and contain an active and well-researched methylated form of B12. The dosage was double what she had been taking before. The total cost of the active B12 supplement was £5.81 higher than the cheaper supplement. However, its superior quality, dosage and absorbable form meant she was able to feel the benefit of the supplement in the long term.
3. Higher-quality supplements are often tested independently
Extensive testing is hugely important when looking for high-quality supplements. You want to know that whatever supplement you’re taking has been tested by independent laboratories using scientifically valid methods and ethical lab practices. All GMP-certified supplements are tested and monitored for unspecified materials, heavy metals, pesticides, and microbiological organisms.
To save time, effort, and money, many supplement manufacturers use “skip lot testing.” This means that only a small percentage of products are inspected. While skip lot testing benefits manufacturers, it may allow contamination to slip through the cracks. This is not in your best interests.
Our brands at Supplement Hub go above and beyond to ensure that their supplements are tested with each batch of every ingredient and of course every final product, thanks to our Every Batch Policy.
This means that when you buy from us, you can be sure that you’re getting the best.