Did you hear about PharmaTech LLC?
PharmaTech was a manufacturing company that sold health supplements, including liquid multivitamins for infants. Now the company’s permanently out of business, after selling drugs contaminated with a rare, and deadly bacteria. By failing to keep up with good manufacturing practices, and not testing all of their products, PharmaTech caused life-threatening infections, which for some consumers resulted in death.
Multivitamins can be a powerful way to jumpstart a new health regime. However, if you don’t do your due diligence to find a safe multivitamin company, you could be putting your life at risk.
Read on to learn how to find safe and effective multivitamin companies.
Talk to Your Doctor
First, before you start taking any type of multivitamin or supplement, it’s a good idea to have a quick chat with your doctor. Sometimes, doctors will want you to get a blood test to see what your current vitamin levels look like. Also, if you’re thinking about taking a multivitamin because you’re dealing with some type of health issue, like constant fatigue, there could be an underlying condition that’s not vitamin related.
By talking to your doctor you’ll be able to get a crystal clear picture about where you stand health-wise now, so you can plan where you want to go! Your doctor might also help you learn how to get multivitamins through your diet, as well as recommending multivitamin companies that are safe and effective.
Know What Your Body Needs
There are 13 vitamins you need to stay healthy. You’ll want to look for multivitamins that can help you get these nutrients:
- Vitamin A
- Vitamin C
- Vitamin D
- Vitamin E
- Vitamin K
- B Vitamins
Examples of B vitamins include biotin, niacin, and riboflavin. When you’re shopping around for a multivitamin company, notice the percentages of each vitamin the supplement offers. You’ll want to make sure that you’re not accidentally going over the recommended daily value for vitamins.
Finally, multivitamin companies usually don’t account for your magnesium and calcium needs. You’ll need to plan on buying additional supplements to make up for the calcium and magnesium that’s not present in your multivitamin.
How to Find Multivitamins Online
Next, let’s look at where to buy multivitamins when you’re shopping online. Here are a few tips to help keep your personal information safe:
- Only purchase from secure connections
- Research the merchant
- Watch out for fake claims
- Keep your passwords unique
- Check the site’s security
- Don’t use a debit card
An example of a secure connection would be the internet connection you have at home. Whereas, shopping at a coffee shop’s WiFi would be unsecure since it’s easier for hackers to steal your information.
Next, avoid any companies that are making outlandish claims, such as, “This vitamin can cure cancer!”. If it seems too good to be true, it probably is.
Moving on, the site requires a password, make sure you’re creating a new unique password, not one you already use for other sites. Next, check the URL of the company’s site. Do you see an “s” as in https? Great!
The “s” stands for secure, letting you know you’re purchasing from a safe sight. However, even if the site’s secure, purchasing with PayPal, or a credit card, will be safer than using your debit card.
Read Reviews About the Multivitamin Company
A reputable multivitamin company will have online customer reviews you can read. Take a moment to read 5-10 reviews to see what customers are saying about the product. If you’re noticing repeat complaints about the vitamin’s effectiveness, take your business elsewhere.
Look for Effective Ingredients
The best multivitamin companies will use both safe and effective ingredients. Here’s a shortlist of ingredients that are good for you:
- Biotin
- Panthothenic acid
- Folic acid
- Vitamin B-6
- Vitamin B-12
- Vitamin E
- Coconut oil
- Ascorbic acid
- Palmitate
- Inositol
Remember, your vitamins don’t have to be in the pill form. You can get tasty gummies, convenient chewable, soft gels, and even powders that you add to drinks.
Are you looking for a product that’s 100% animal cruelty-free? Then look for companies that create vegetarian or vegan multivitamins.
Avoid Fillers and Additives
Moving on, you’ll want to choose a multivitamin company that doesn’t use fillers or additives.
Here’s a shortlist of fillers to avoid:
- Starch
- Synthetic nutrients
- Artificial colors
- Simethicone
- Silicon dioxide
- Maltodextrin
- Talc
- Stearic acid
- Vegetable gum
- Propylene glycol
In addition to the list above, you should also avoid magnesium stearate. Magnesium stearate is a white powder that some company’s use to help keep the vitamin ingredients from clogging up their machines. The filler doesn’t have any nutritional value, but it can cause an upset stomach or diarrhea.
Check for Certifications
After checking for the ingredients you want, as well as the ones you want to avoid, the next step is to check for certifications. Good multivitamin companies will undergo testing from third-party labs.
Here are few great certifications to keep an eye out for:
- GMP
- QAI
- USDA Organic
GMP is short for Good Manufacturing Practice. This certification means that the multivitamin company has strict procedures in place to ensure you’re getting a quality product.
QAI stands for Quality Assurance International. This certification lets you know the manufacturing facility follows the National Organic Program policies and guidelines.
Finally, foods aren’t the only thing that can be certified USDA organic! USDA organic companies have high standards for creating organic products you can trust.
Oftentimes the certifications won’t be on the label of the multivitamin product, and instead, you’ll be able to find them on the company’s website.
Be Healthy and Live Happy
Be patient, and do your homework as you search for a trustworthy multivitamin company. While getting more nutrients in your life is a good thing, if you choose the wrong company you’ll be doing more harm than good.
Finally, keep in mind that everybody is different, so a multivitamin that works for your friend, might not work for you. To play it safe, reach out to your doctor before you start taking any type of supplement. For more ways to lead a healthy and happy life, check out the rest of this site.