4 Thoughts to Consider While Choosing a Vitamin Brand

Do you ever walk into the aisles at your local pharmacy and feel… overwhelmed? The vitamin aisle specifically offers no exception. Vitamin sections for online retailers generally fall into the same trap. There are so many vitamin types, brands, and so many different possibilities to consider when going to purchase a vitamin.

This article will focus on potential thoughts to consider while narrowing down the brand of vitamin to purchase. Future articles published on Pharmacist Consult will discuss other factors relating to selecting a vitamin.

Using CVS Health as an example, their typical vitamin aisle features more than 10 different brands of vitamins alone. CVS Health tends to stock the brands Centrum, Nature’s Bounty, Nature Made, New Chapter, One-A-Day, Radiance, VitaFusion, Zarbees, their in-house CVS brand, and a variety of other brands for specific vitamin types. Other pharmacies and online retailers offer a similar array of vitamin brands to choose from.

With so many different brands to choose from, it’s arduous to know which brand to select. Thus, below is a list of thoughts (not all-inclusive) to potentially consider when deciding which vitamin brand to purchase.

Thought 1: Regulation of Product Ingredients and Contamination

Vitamins purchased online or at a pharmacy are not considered to be drugs. Rather, vitamins are considered by the United States Food & Drug Administration (FDA) to be dietary supplements. Due to this status, vitamin products are not FDA-approved. Vitamin manufacturers are not subjected to the same quality standards and regulations that FDA-approved drug products are subjected to that ensure product quality. As a result of this, vitamins can be legally sold in the United States without having any testing performed that ensures what is listed on the product label is what is actually contained inside of the vitamin.

One of the most common problems with vitamins is that not enough of, or too much of, the active ingredient could be contained in the vitamin (compared to what is listed on the labeling). For example, if a vitamin label states that each tablet contains 300 micrograms (mcg) of folic acid, it should actually contain 300 mcg of folic acid.

Another common problem is that the product could be tainted with contaminants. Contaminants (bacteria, mold, pesticides, heavy metals, etc) should be absent both before and after a vitamin is produced. However, as vitamins aren’t FDA-approved products, it is hard to know which vitamins are safe to take to avoid these issues.

To combat these matters, a multitude of organizations exist that test vitamin supplements to verify their purity, quality, and accuracy in accordance to what is listed on the package labeling. The National Sanitation Foundation (NSF), the United States Pharmacopeia (USP), ConsumerLab, and Underwriters Laboratory (UL) are some of the most common, trustworthy organizations in the United States that test the quality of different dietary supplements.

In addition, some pharmacy chains perform independent testing on in-house vitamin products through third-party testing. If you’re curious if your specific pharmacy conducts in-house quality testing on its own vitamin products, ask your local pharmacist.

Whenever you go to purchase a vitamin, look for one of the seals listed below on the labeling of the product. If a label like one of the ones below is printed, then the product passed quality standard testing for ingredient accuracy and the absence of contaminants.

Tip: If a seal like one of the ones below appears on a specific vitamin bottle, then that seal should also be on other vitamin products from the same brand.  USP, Consumer Labs, UL

In short, attempt to locate the seal from one of these organizations on the label of your vitamin.

Thought 2: Product Claims Made by the Brand

If a claim made on a vitamin label seems too good to be true, it probably is. Dietary supplements, like vitamins, cannot advertise medical claims.

Federal regulations in the United States mandate that labeling on dietary supplements cannot be misleading. The labels on dietary supplements cannot claim that a product can diagnose, treat, cure, mitigate, or prevent any disease.

For example, if a label on a calcium supplement states that it cures osteoporosis, then that would be a medical claim that is not permitted. However, a calcium supplement instead would be permitted to say that it promotes bone health. For another example, a vitamin A supplement would not be able to make an assertion that it prevents blindness. However, instead, it is permitted to say that it supports eye function. Similarly, vitamin products cannot make claims that a product produces fast results or that they serve as an alternative to a prescription medicine. So, in short, it is best practice to avoid vitamin brands that make these types of claims.

If you come across that vitamin label that makes a false medical claim, make note of the product and brand. It is recommended to avoid products with false medical claims. In addition, it is recommended to report any/all vitamins that contain false advertising to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

Thought 3: Improper Use of Fillers (and other excipients)

Inactive ingredients contained within vitamins are called excipients. A filler is a type of excipient. Other types of excipients include flow agents, binders, disintegrants, preservatives, lubricants, and colorants.

Fillers are additives that can be used to help bind together the components of a vitamin into a singular tablet or capsule. Also, they can be used to alter vitamin size or make the manufacturing process cheaper. Additionally, certain excipients may elicit allergic reactions.

To purchase a vitamin without harmful fillers or other excipients, read the “inactive ingredients” section below the “Supplement Facts” section on the label of a vitamin product. Although not nearly an all-inclusive list, it may be advisable to avoid vitamin brands that contain excipients of artificial colorants, talc, or hydrogenated oils. IMPORTANT: ask your local pharmacist or doctor for guidance on fillers and other excipients to avoid based on your individualized medical history.

Tip: Due to manufacturing practices and the sharing of facilities, varying vitamin types from the same brand may contain similar excipients. If you notice that a vitamin from a certain brand contains an excipient you want to avoid, be weary that a different vitamin from the same brand may also contain that excipient.

Thought 4: Perform your own background research with credible resources

There are a variety of different credible resources available online that can further educate individuals on selecting a vitamin brand. Feel free to peruse through the resources listed below for more information related to these topics.

• The Food and Drug Administration’s website offers reliable information about dietary supplements from the point of view of a regulatory agency. Additionally, the FDA offers helpful information about what to look for on the label of a dietary supplement.
• Want to look up information contained within scientific studies pertaining to dietary supplements? The National Institutes of Health (NIH) offers a handy tool called CARDS (Computer Access to Research on Dietary Supplements) to locate these types of studies.
• Similarly, the NIH’s Office of Dietary Supplements offers additional helpful information. Make sure to also peruse through their list of frequently asked questions.
• This article from the American College of Healthcare Sciences details other ingredients to try to avoid in dietary supplements.
• This article from a Harvard University health blog, written by a medical doctor, has additional helpful perspectives related to contamination and misleading labels.

All in all, ensure that your brand of vitamin is produced by a reputable manufacturer, it contains accurate and truthful labeling, and that the ingredients contained within the vitamin are supposed to be there.

References:

1. Dietary Supplements. Food & Drug Administration (FDA). https://www.fda.gov/food/dietary-supplements. Accessed 8 February 2020.
2. How to Choose Supplements Wisely. Consumer Reports. https://www.consumerreports.org/supplements/how-to-choose-supplements-wisely/. Accessed 9 February 2020.
3. NSF – The Public Health and Safety Organization. https://www.nsf.org/consumer-resources/health-beauty/supplements-vitamins/supplement-vitamin-certification. Accessed 8 February 2020
4. United States Pharmacopeia. https://www.usp.org/verification-services/verified-mark. Accessed 8 February 2020.
5. Using Dietary Supplements Wisely. NIH. https://nccih.nih.gov/health/supplements/wiseuse.htm#hed2. Accessed 9 February 2020.
6. 6 Tips for Choosing the Best Supplement Brand. Bastyr University. https://bastyr.edu/news/health-tips/2012/03/6-tips-choosing-best-supplement-brand. Accessed 9 February 2020.