Did you know that the United States alone has a vitamin and supplement manufacturing industry worth more than $40 billion? More than 43,000 in the country work in this industry at over 1,700 companies. Together, they create the supplements and vitamins that help us improve our health.
One of the reasons this industry is so large is that many people are deficient in one or more vitamins. However, people often commit common mistakes with choosing supplements. As a result, their supplements do not always take care of their vitamin deficiencies the way they intend.
Some people even buy supplements for decades without realizing that they are not getting anything out of it. So what are these mistakes, and how can you avoid making them? Read on to learn all about the most common mistakes people make when buying supplements and how you can do better!
- Not Learning About Options for Supplements
One of the biggest mistakes people make is failing to learn about their many different options for supplements. Some people hear that a certain supplement is good for their health condition, and they decide to buy it right away.
However, there are often dozens of supplements that have a positive effect on any given health problem. Simply buying one of them at random is not a certain strategy for having any positive effect.
Instead, it is important to learn about the range of supplements that might be helpful for your own health concerns. Then, if the first supplement that you try does not seem to do anything, you can avoid making the mistake of buying it over and over again. By trying out different options, you maximize the chance that you will discover which supplement is best for your unique situation.
This is especially important because taking supplements is often not helpful unless you are deficient in the nutrient that they provide. For example, someone might have immune system problems because they are deficient in Vitamin C. At the same time, other supplements like magnesium can also have positive effects on the immune system.
Someone could even take dozens of supplements that can help immune systems. But if what they really need to do is take more vitamin C, none of this will have any effect other than to cost them money and distract them from solving their real problem.
The Importance of the Right Provider
Even if you know which supplement you need to take, it is important to understand that there is a wide variety of options for your supplement provider. There is a big difference between the quality that the best providers offer and the quality that the average or even below average providers do.
If a supplement is not working for you, the problem might not be that you are taking the wrong supplement. Instead, you might be buying the right supplement from the wrong provider. That is one more reason that it is important to familiarize yourself with your options.
- Failing to Ask for Recommendations
Of course, it is not a coincidence that so many people do not learn about their many different supplement options. With so many options out there, the idea of researching them all can be intimidating. Most people decide not to bother because they imagine that the process would take many hours.
However, you might be able to get through the supplement selection process much faster if you rely on the advice of people you know and trust. Using supplements to improve health is so common that it is almost certain that you know multiple people who take supplements.
If they have been doing so for years, they might be able to help you answer many of the questions you have about the different supplements out there.
Questions to Ask
For example, they might be able to recommend their own supplement provider or others that they know have good reputations. Of course, you might also want to ask them if there are supplement providers that it would be better to avoid. When it comes to taking supplements, avoiding taking the wrong ones can be just as important as making sure you take the right ones.
Ask about specific supplements. Some people have tried a huge variety of supplements and can tell you all about their top favorites.
Although this information can be useful, remember that everyone is different. Even if a supplement does something amazing for one person, it may not have the same effects on everyone. However, if someone you know recommends a certain supplement for your specific situation, it might be worth trying it.
The more that the people you speak with know about your situation, the easier it will be for them to provide you with effective recommendations. For that reason, consider sharing with them as much about your health concerns as you are comfortable doing. If someone gives you a recommendation without understanding what you need, you might want to take it with a grain of salt.
- Buying Supplements Without Expert Medical Advice
Make sure to speak with your doctor before you start taking new supplements. There are a few big benefits that come when you ask your doctor for supplement advice.
First, they can warn you about supplements you should avoid. Some supplements interact with medications negatively. In other cases, people with certain health problems need to avoid certain types of supplements.
On top of that, your doctor may have excellent advice about where you can find a quality supplement provider. And these are only the benefits you will receive when you speak with your doctor about using new supplements.
As you continue to speak with your doctor about supplement use in the long term, they will understand more about your health journey. That will allow both of you to work together to figure out what supplements you should try to manage your health.
- Patronizing a Shady Supplement Store Website
Some people rush through the supplement selection process so fast that they end up buying supplements from shady providers. You can often recognize unreliable providers by their websites.
One sign that a website is shady is if its URL starts with HTTP instead of HTTPS. Websites that start with HTTP do not have the same kind of security, which is often a sign that the company is not doing its due diligence to keep itself or its customers protected.
You should also keep a lookout for URLs that are shortened. Some companies shorten their URL to hide it from visitors to the website. The last sign that you might be on a shady supplement website is that the domain name consists entirely of numbers.
When it comes to buying supplements for your health, it is vital to do your due diligence to make sure that you are purchasing supplements from a reliable company.
- Ignoring Third-Party Supplement Analysis
Listening to the customers of different supplement companies is a good way to get a sense of the quality that supplement provider offers. However, an even better way to assess the quality of a supplement company is to look at a supplement analysis performed by third parties.
These kinds of analysis are becoming more and more important because some supplement companies are not selling what they say they are selling.
In some cases, their products contain less of the claimed active ingredients than their labels indicate. In fact, some companies sell products that do not contain any of the active ingredients they advertise.
As bad as that is, some companies even go so far as to add extra ingredients to supplements to cut costs. There are even companies that put dangerous ingredients in their supplements.
However, a third-party analysis can detect all of these problems. These powerful analyzes can tell you which companies are selling exactly what they say they are and which are cutting corners.
Keep in mind that just because a third party analyzes one product and finds that it is good does not mean that every product from the same company will be good.
At the same time, the more reliable a company is with some of their products, be better the chance that they are being scrupulous with all of their products. Whenever possible, make sure to buy sarms and other products from companies that have had their products tested by third parties.
- Spending Time on Inefficient Research
Another big reason that third-party analyses can be so helpful is that they save time. One of the biggest mistakes people make when buying supplements is spending much longer on research than necessary. Some people even spend many hours researching only a couple of products, so even after hours of research, they know only a little more than when they started.
This would be bad enough if it were not possible to do better. However, it is even more tragic because there are so many efficient ways to figure out where you should buy your supplements and which ones you should buy.
If you ever find yourself spending more than an hour researching a single supplement, take a moment to stop and think about if any of the tips in this article might help you get the information you need faster.
- Not Comparing Supplement Prices
Even buying the right product from a reliable company is not always enough. Many people fail to compare supplement prices, so they end up buying supplements at much higher prices than necessary.
Once you know what supplements you want to buy, consider making a list of companies that you trust to provide them. Then, spend a few minutes checking how much each company charges for the supplements that you want. This way, you can improve your health without spending more on it than you have to.
- Ignoring Online Customer Reviews
Customer reviews for supplement companies can be a gold mine of information. They often mention details like whether or not a company offers its supplements at an especially good price or if it has a reputation of providing quality products.
Looking at supplement reviews can also help you speed through your research and supplement selection process. It might even be helpful for you to start by looking at the overall ratings for a list of supplement companies.
Overall ratings are only a rough indicator of the quality of a supplement company. However, if you only want to spend a little time choosing between companies, it is often a good idea to choose from among the supplement companies with the best ratings.
- Buying Whatever Supplement Is Trending
Some people outsource their supplement selection process to ads or trends. However, it should be obvious that whatever happens to be popular right now will not be guaranteed to have any relation at all to your own unique health needs.
- Buying Sweetened Supplements
Some supplements come with added flavors or sweeteners. However, it is often better to avoid these kinds of supplements.
For one thing, they may come with unnecessary calories. On top of that, companies that try to sell their supplements based on their flavor may not pay as much attention to their health effects.
Avoid Common Mistakes With Choosing Supplements
If you have ever wondered how you can find quality supplements to improve your health, we hope that you now have a clearer idea of how to do so. As long as you can avoid these common mistakes with choosing supplements, you will maximize the chance that you find the best supplements for taking your health to the next level.
To learn more about the latest information about supplements, finance, and more, take a look at our other articles!