Walk down the supplement aisle at most health food stores, pharmacies and, increasingly, supermarkets, and it is almost impossible not to feel overwhelmed by the dozens – sometimes hundreds – of brands and combinations. Should you select a multivitamin/mineral combination or a dozen bottles of single-nutrient supplements or a multi plus a few additional singles? Should you buy natural supplements or synthetic? Regular or timed-release? A store brand or a national brand? Tablets or capsules? If so, how much more? Energy formula? Stress formula? Women’s formula or men’s? It is such a hassle, there are so many brands and so many combinations. The choices are confusing, and few consumers know much about what they are buying. As a result, they often spend much more than necessary for supplements that may not meet their needs. Fortunately, you can take supplements without getting taken. Here is what I can advise.

1. Look For An Expiration Date

An expiration date is no guarantee of freshness, but it suggests that the packager understands that vitamins have a finite shell life. Steer clear of supplements within six to nine months of their expiration dates. They have probably been in the bottle for several years and may be past their prime.

2. Keep Supplements Away From Children

This is especially true for iron, often taken to treat iron-deficiency anemia or iron loss from heavy menstrual flow. Although – iron and supplements in general – are safe for most adults at the optimal daily requirement, it takes only a few tablets of a high-potency iron supplement to kill a child. An estimated 5,000 children swallow toxic doses of iron supplements every year; a few die. In the typical case, an adult carelessly leaves iron supplements on a bathroom or kitchen counter. Don’t do this.

3. Don’t Get Taken In By Hype

Want more energy? Stress management? Sexual ecstasy? Longevity? Immune enhancement? Freedom from illness? Some supplement labels promise their products can do everything except raise the dead – and maybe that too, if you take enough. Biochemically, vitamins and minerals play important roles in virtually every body system and process. So yes, they are involved in energy production, stress reactions, sexual enjoyment and everything else. But by themselves, supplements do not eliminate fatigue, alleviate stress or make you a great lover. Some supplements can help prevent and treat specific conditions, but brands that claim to keep you young, beautiful, energetic, mellow and sexy offer more hype than hope.

4. Think Food First

Supplements absolutely, positively do not replace food, and they cannot undo the damage caused by a chronically poor diet. Before you buy supplements, fill your shopping cart with fresh fruits and vegetables – and eat them. Buy organic produce if you like. But the data clearly show that any fresh fruits and vegetables help prevent cancer. Get your five servings a day, and then take your supplements as extra added wellness insurance.

5. Look For Beta-carotene Instead Of Vitamin A

The body converts beta-carotene into vitamin A, so for all practical purposes, they are the same thing. However, long-term use of vitamin A at doses above 50,000 international units a day may cause problems. Beta-carotene is non-toxic even at high doses, so stick to that. Beware of labels that say vitamin A with beta-carotene. If the label does not specify, you can’t be sure how much of each you are getting.

6. Supplement Your Insurance Formula

Insurance formulas have breadth but possibly not enough depth for your personal needs. If you have a family history of cancer or heart disease, you may want to take larger doses of antioxidants. In addition, some minerals are simply too bulky to fit into a single pill. The optimal daily requirement for calcium is 1,000 to 1,500 milligrams a day, but it is impossible to get that much from an insurance formula. Magnesium is also too bulky to fit into a single pill. Women of childbearing age should take 400 micrograms of folic acid to reduce the risk of neural tube birth defects, but insurance formulas may not provide that much.

7. Forget Brand Names

All vitamins are essentially the same. Only about a half-dozen drug companies, such as Hoffman La Roche, actually make vitamins. They supply all the hundreds of companies that sell them. What you are paying for is basically packaging and advertising. Personally, I buy the cheapest vitamins I can find. They are just as good as the expensive brands.

There is one thing that people forget about buying supplements for their gym training needs. They cost money. AS stupid as that sounds here’s what happens. You buy a supplement on recommendation from your friend. You spend the money, use the supplement until your supply runs out after which time you purchase another supplement that has been recommended to you by another friend during the time you were using the first supplement? What do you do? You think the previous supplement may have worked but you can’t really be sure and afterall the new one does sound mighty enticing! So you buy the new supplement and the cycle continues, all the while your hard earned cash is slowly making permanent residence AWAY from your bank account.

In this article we will look at some of the ways to get the most out of your supplement usage after you have made the decision to buy.

Record your results

How can you know if a supplement has worked for you and given you the benefits you wanted if you haven’t in a structured way recorded your progress while taking it? You might have even gotten great results but have no idea of it so you discontinue the use of that supplement, OUCH! Keep a workout journal of all your exercises, all your lifts and how they increased. Also make sure to record how you took the supplement, in what dosages on what days at what times. The more accurate your data the better you can assess how well a supplement has helped you. Even better is if you already have a journal that you keep so that you can compare the new results to those that were obtained while not on the particular supplement.

Follow the packets instructions

Not only can this lead to a decrease in the results of a supplement but it can cause problems such as stomach discomfort with certain supplements. Take the supplement exactly as prescribed. Many people take this step for granted but make sure to see whether the product is to be taken only on training days, with a loading phase, after workout or before workout and so on. Not only that but if possible consult with your supplement retailer for any further advice on getting the most out of its use. Sometimes there are things unwritten that have been discovered by users of the product that can enhance its effectiveness that you would otherwise never have known about.

Keep a healthy diet including plenty of water

For the majority of supplements well hydrated muscles and bodily systems are required for the complete assimilation and effect of the supplement to occur. Even the right supplement put into a poorly hydrated or kept host body might yield lesser results. You don’t want the good your supplements might do be offset by YOUR crappy health habits. Also, particularly with amino acid complexes make sure your protein levels are regulated with protein supplementation and healthy eating. Amino acids can become toxic in a system starved of protein.

Give it time

Don’t expect to see results immediately. Unless the product suggests it definitely don’t expect the promised benefit to occur straight away. Give the supplement time to do its thing. If you’re recording everything properly you will know anyway how effective it has been and will better be able to make the decision whether or not to continue its use.

As we all know, vitamins are very important when it comes to keeping your heart healthy. You need to eat the right foods of course, although you also need to supplement the food you eat with the necessary vitamins your body needs to stay in shape and keep your heart working healthy for a long time to come. If you don’t consume the right nutrients, you won’t be doing your heart any favors – and may end up having problems later on in life.

The first vitamin that comes to mind for most people is vitamin E, a vitamin that is essential to improving the overall health of your heart. When taken correctly, vitamin E will stop the cholesterol in the body from harming the arteries that surround the heart. Anytime cholesterol oxidizes, it sticks to the sides of the arteries and can lead to blockages which can cause heart attacks or other serious problems with the heart.

To help you keep your heart healthy, most doctors recommend that you take additional supplements that contain vitamin E. They may also suggest that you eat foods that are naturally rich in vitamin E, such as nuts. Nuts have high amounts of vitamin E, and most of them taste great. You can find other foods that contain vitamin E as well, although nuts have the highest amounts.

In the past, research has shown Vitamin E to help those who have already suffered the wrath of a heart attack. This vitamin helps to prevent heart attacks in the future by opening up the arteries and eliminate blockage. Those who have had a heart attack in the past are always encouraged to add more vitamin E to their diet.

What many aren’t aware of, is the fact that you can use vitamin C to boost the effects of vitamin E. Vitamin C is known as an antioxidant, which prevents the damaging effects that cholesterol has on the body. Along with preventing cholesterol from damaging the body, vitamin C also helps vitamin E with it’s functions – such as protecting your arteries and your heart. More on detox diets at http://www.diet-detox.info

By taking both vitamin C and E as a combination, you’ll be well on your way to a healthier heart. Overall, this is the easiest way that you can be sure you aren’t damaging your heart, especially if you have had a heart attack in the past. If you have a history of heart disease or heart problems in your family, these vitamins are essential to your diet.

Even if you are just concerned about the health of your heart, these vitamins will give you the peace of mind in knowing that you are eating for a healthy heart.

As far as your dosage goes, it will vary from person to person, although 400 international units of vitamin E and C are the recommended amounts for most people. On it’s own, vitamin C can be tolerated in large doses, without imposing any harmful effects. You can take around 500 mg of it twice a day, and ensure that your heart remains healthy.

To be on the safe side, you should always make sure that you get the proper amount of vitamins in your daily diet. Taking additional vitamins and supplements isn’t a bad idea either, especially if you are trying to boost the health of your heart. Detox diets vary, but they typically advise restriction of the diet to raw vegetables, fruit, water and yoghurt

Your heart is one of the most important organs in your body, which is why you should always take care of it. If you eat the proper diet and take the necessary vitamins – you’ll be well on your way to keeping your heart healthy.

Herbal supplements are available almost everywhere these days. As herbs grow in popularity, many people are choosing to use herbal supplements in an effort to combat the effects of our diets, pollution and other lifestyle choices. There are a few things to remember if you are considering herbal supplements, however.

First of all… herbal does not mean organic. If you want an herbal supplement that is organic, please be sure to read the label carefully. Herbs can be grown using fertilizers and pesticides, just like any other crop. Herbal supplements will be made of herbs grown on farms rather than being wildcrafted due to the sheer amount needed by companies that make supplements.

Check out the companies that make the herbal supplements you are interested in. Herbal supplements do not have to be tested before they are marketed. If you stick to supplements that are based on gentle herbs like garlic, you should be fine. If you are responding to hype about how strong a supplement is, you may be putting yourself at risk unless you can consult someone knowledgeable not only about that herb, but that supplement in particular. Make sure it has the potential to do what you hope it will do.

For an example, let’s look at garlic supplements. Garlic is well known for its health benefits. It can help lower blood pressure, prevent cardiovascular disease and can help fight off illness. To get these benefits, many people choose to take supplements instead of eating several cloves of fresh garlic every day. Garlic breath is what makes many of them choose the supplements. In response to this, many garlic supplements say they are odor free. However, the same compound that makes the familiar garlicky fragrance is responsible for the majority of its health benefits. Remove the fragrance, and you remove the benefits.

As you can see, in some ways you need to be even more cautious with herbal supplements than you do with fresh herbs. Once you find a company you feel you can rely on, go ahead and try the product you were interested in. If you see problems starting, stop taking it immediately. Don’t wait until the symptoms are severe. If, on the other hand, you see benefits after a few weeks, you’ve found something that obviously works for you.

Supplements can make it easier to get needed nutrients, vitamins and minerals. If you are unsure which would be the best for you, be sure and ask your doctor. They should be able to give you suggestions on what to look for and what to avoid. Do your research. Herbal supplements are like any other medication… do your research and choose wisely. There are good products out there… you just want to be sure that those are the products you end up with.