Discount Vitamin Supplement: What You Should Look For When Buying Vitamin Supplements At A Discount

Daily vitamin supplements could benefit many adults. According to the Harvard School of Public Health, the vitamins most likely to be lacking in the average diet are folate, B6, B12, D and E. But you don’t have to spend a fortune to get the vitamins you need. Less expensive store-brand multivitamins are as reliable source of supplemental vitamins as are name-brand vitamins. But super-cheap vitamins, such those found in dollar stores, may not be reliable. According to Consumer Reports, its tests on 18 brands of very cheap vitamins found that almost half failed to contain the labeled amount of at least one nutrient..

Saving Money on Vitamin Supplements

Consumer Reports suggests that consumers save money by buying in bulk and looking for sales on vitamin supplements. Most vitamins can keep for more than one year. If you find several brands with the vitamin content you want, pick the cheapest one. But you should also bear in mind that multivitamin supplements provide a nutrition safety net, but won’t make up for an unhealthy diet.  But don’t buy super-cheap vitamins in close-out stores or dollar stores, because the content may not be reliable.

How Much is Enough?

The magazine also recommends sticking with a basic content in supplements of vitamins A, thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, B6, B12, folate, C, D, E, and K. You should try to pick supplements near the recommended levels. These levels are recommended so that you don’t exceed the safe range for each vitamin. You should avoid supplements that contain “megadoses” of vitamins, which could actually be harmful at high enough doses.

The Fat Soluble Vitamins

For vitamin A, the government’s Dietary Reference Intakes guide recommends 900 micrograms for men and 700 mcg for women. Both men and woman need only five mcg vitamin D, and 15 milligrams of vitamin E. For vitamin K, the suggested level is 120 mcg for men and 90 for women.

The Water Soluble Vitamins

For thiamin, the recommended amount to look for is 1.2 mg for men and 1.1 for women. For riboflavin, try to stick to 1.3 mg for men and 1.1 for women. For niacin, the level is 16 mg for men and 14 for women. The B6 level is 1.3 mg for men and women, and B12 is 2.4 micrograms (mcg) for men and women. For folate, both men and woman need only 400 mcg. Men need a supplement with about 90 mg of vitamin C, while women need 75 mg.