What are dietary supplements?
The law defines dietary supplements in part as products taken by mouth that contain a “dietary ingredient.” Dietary ingredients include vitamins, minerals, amino acids, and herbs or botanicals, as well as other substances that can be used to supplement the diet. Dietary supplements come in many forms, including tablets, capsules, powders, energy bars, and liquids. These products are available in stores throughout the United States, as well as on the Internet. All of these products are labeled as dietary supplements and include a wide variety of products. [1]
What are dietary supplements used for?
People use dietary supplements for a wide assortment of reasons. Some seek to compensate for diets, medical conditions, or eating habits that limit the intake of essential vitamins and nutrients. Other people look to them to boost energy, improve sleep, enhance brain function, reduce inflammation, relieve stress and many, many more reasons.
Over-the-Counter vs. Professional-Grade
Today, there are so many supplements on the market – it can be difficult to distinguish whether what your buying is the best-quality product. So today, I wanted to shed some light on the differences between over-the-counter supplements, what you are used to seeing in stores and online, versus professional-grade supplements like Xymogen and Vital Nutrients. There are many aspects of the product that set professional-grade supplements apart from over-the-counter supplements. The first is that professional-grade always uses the purest ingredients by using high-grade raw ingredients that are regularly checked for impurities and quality – OTC supplements brands usually do not go to these lengths to ensure they are using the purest ingredients. [2]
Another major benefit to professional-grade supplements is that many of these brands, like Xymogen, require a consultation with a licensed practitioner before purchasing their products. This ensures that you are only taking supplements that are necessary for your health and that taking a supplement will not be detrimental to your health.
Lastly, professional-grade supplements do not include additives and excipients that are often found in OTC supplements. These additives and excipients are helpful in the manufacturing process, but can be harmful to humans or can affect the bioavailability of the dietary supplement. Either way, no one wants any kind of additives in their supplements – they want what they are paying for. [2]
For all of these reasons, it definitely seems that professional-grade supplements are a safer choice when looking for the highest-quality dietary supplements.
Sources
1 https://www.fda.gov/consumers/consumer-updates/fda-101-dietary-supplements
Clare Martin says
It was a helpful explanation when you told us that professional-grade supplements are a safer choice since they don’t have the additives and excipients found in OTC supplements that can be harmful to humans and affect the bioavailability of dietary supplements. I’ve been trying to manage my weight properly these days, so I’ve been considering taking dietary supplements as well in case they might be able to help. I’ll take note of this while I look for where I can find professional-grade supplements in Ontario soon. https://fearlessandhappy.com/supplement-shop/