Choosing A Quality Supplement
If you decide that supplementation is for you, then there are two ways that you can take your supplements.
The first choice is that you can try to pick and choose the vitamins and minerals that you ingest from supplements by buying an ‘a la carte’ selection of different products each containing different nutrients.
The second alternative is to take just a single ‘all in one’ supplement that contains everything that your body needs.
Now, at least at first glance, it could certainly appear that the ‘a la carte’ methodology might work best, simply because in this way, you can pick and choose exactly how much you take of each vitamin each day, for example.
In practice, however, it is far more likely that, in the interests of both safety and balance, a quality ‘all-in-one’ product is going to be a far better choice for the vast majority of consumers for a couple of reasons.
A professionally formulated, broad-spectrum supplement removes any chance of accidental overdose, however small that risk actually is, in reality.
More importantly, getting the balance between different nutrients rights is crucial, as the actions of some nutrients can inhibit or heighten the actions of others, and this is an ‘unknown’ factor that you really should avoid if possible.
For example, taken as a stand-alone supplement, too much zinc can upset the metabolism (the processing) of other minerals in your body.
Likewise, high levels of ascorbic acid (vitamin C) and citric acid can dramatically increase the uptake of iron, which is a mineral that is well-known for its cumulative toxicity, as you will read later.
Thus, taking a high dose iron supplement in combination with significant amounts of vitamin C could pose a significant health risk for the unsuspecting consumer.
So, do not try to outsmart the people who make the supplements.
There is a reason that they formulate their products in the way that they do, and that reason is all about attaining a proper, correct balance (although some companies do this far better than others)