Discount vitamin and mineral buying is easy. Just stop by any

supermarket or drugstore and you'll find many possibilities

likely claiming to be the cheapest, the best and so on. How do

you really know which discount vitamin and mineral product is

the right one to choose? It's a valid question and an important

one, since vitamin manufacturers are not regulated.

And are vitamin and mineral supplements really needed? Numerous

studies have concluded that because of soil depletion that has

been ongoing for decades, overall nutrient value of foods

continues to decline. Less than one out of ten people meet or

exceed the USDA food pyramid's daily requirements for

consumption of important vegetables and fruits. So taking a

quality discount vitamin and mineral supplement daily to help

fill in the 'nutrient gaps' that everyone has is an important

part of a healthy lifestyle. Again, the question is - which

one? Is the cheapest one the best way to go?

Here are questions you should ask for any discount vitamin and

mineral product you're considering taking:

1. Is the price low because cheap, inferior ingredients are

used? There can be huge differences in the quality and costs of

individual ingredients. Since your health is the issue, priority

should be given to quality since the final product is only as

good as the raw ingredients used. For example, most beta

carotene used in supplements is synthetic and contains only

about 3% beta carotene that costs about $60 per kg. However, a

much more effective higher potency natural 98% beta carotene

costs about $2,800 per kg. The more effective natural form of

Vitamin E d-alpha tocopheryl succinate costs more than the

synthetic version called dl-alpha tocopheryl.

2. Are potencies listed actually contained in the product? How

do you know that what you're paying for is actually included in

the product? And does the manufacturer have a system in place to

verify that the ingredients used are what their suppliers claim?

3. Are there impurities in the discount vitamin and mineral

product? Cheaper raw ingredients may include other substances,

some unwanted, that should not be in the product. Does the

manufacturer do heavy metal testing to ensure that there is no

contamination with mercury, lead, arsenic or cadmium.

4. Does the manufacturer conform to pharmaceutical standards in

their manufacturing processes? High-volume discount

manufacturers can cut costs by shortening the mixing time and

by mixing at higher speeds. This can mean that the product must

be tableted harder, which can result in a vitamin that will be

more difficult to dissolve and may pass right through your

system.

5. Does the product come with a money-back guarantee? You

should be able to get your money back if you are not completely

satisfied.

Buying a discount vitamin and mineral is not the same as buying

a cheap pair of socks or a shirt - it is about the nutrients and

their quality that'll be going into your body. You generally get

what you pay for, and there are dozens of discount one-a-day

vitamins. However, taking a one-a-day multivitamin is probably

a waste of money. It's impossible to fit the necessary vitamins

and minerals needed for a quality supplement in a single tablet

or capsule - it would be much too large to swallow.

Cheap supermarket supplements are a poor value for the money as

they consist of cheaper, lower quality ingredients and will not

include other beneficial nutrients that provide documented

health benefits. These kinds of discount vitamin and mineral

products tend to use high quantities of cheaper ingredients,

which can lead to an unhealthy imbalance of nutrients. In the

case of nutrients, more is not always better. And the cheapest

part of nutritional supplements is the vitamin and mineral

part.

There ARE manufacturers that design and make supplements that

provide high quality at very reasonable prices. There is one in

particular that uses pharmaceutical grade ingredients, many

supported by clinical studies. Ingredients are linked to

relevant clinical studies on their website.

Taking a quality discount vitamin and mineral supplement should

be about better health and energy, freedom from illness,

improved sexual vigor and slowing the aging process. Learn as

much as you can about what finding the best discount vitamin

and mineral supplement really means - before spending your

money, be informed about the nutrients and substances you'll be

putting into your body every day.