Product Comparisons
Here we will be going over comparisons of various products to show how they match up against each other.
All health food products sold in multiple formats by various companies come under consumer scrutiny, and with good reason. Westerners spend potentially thousands of dollars annually on multi-vitamins, iron supplements, calcium, vitamin C, and weight loss products. With that kind of money at stake, consumers have the right to know which brands and styles of supplements work best.
Health Product Comparisons
This article will focus on products like multi-vitamins, weight loss products, and calcium. Each one represents a sizable chunk of the health food and health supplement industries. All of them come in multiple formats and make many promises to clients, but there is more attention paid to weight loss supplements than any other. Consumers are emotionally tied up in these purchases, and if they should fail to cause the shedding of pounds, the result is psychologically devastating.
Weight Loss Foods and Supplements
Comparing items in this industry is convoluted. It is necessary to determine which angle to look at: meal replacements, appetite suppressants, or fat burners. Cleansing products are also considered as weight loss aids for many individuals, but leaving them aside there are still other challenges to one’s decision making process. Which ingredient delivers the most powerful results (if any)? Are items by some competitors in the market more potent than others?
Where nutrition is concerned, consumers need a certain number of calories daily according to their height and age. Those calories should come from particular nutrients but are often derived from sugar and refined carbohydrates, generally. Any supplement which serves up lots of these ingredients is selling a false dream; fueling the need for yet more carbs and laying down the foundations for poor nutrition and fat retention in the long run while leaving a body malnourished.
Meal replacement products must be palatable to be appealing yet full of fiber to fill a person up and also full of the nutrients missing from the regular meal she would have eaten. Bars and shakes can work to a limited extent if they fit these criteria and do not become “extras” instead of “replacements.”
Consumers must realize that a healthy lifestyle is not replaced by food or supplements. In some cases, they also fail to realize that a product is promoted in tandem with a special diet or cleansing regimen.
Studies have yet to confirm the efficacy of fat burning pills to melt fat or increase energy. Appetite suppressants sometimes work and often do not. Raspberry Keytones, Green Coffee Bean Extract, and Garcinia Cambogia are three supposedly fat melting products. Rave reviews cover the internet regarding these ingredients but some items on supermarket and specialists’ shelves contain 50% or less of the active ingredient.
Once you identify items that contain 100% of the ingredient you are interested in, price is all that remains. You have already shaved off cheap and ineffective supplements so now you can buy the cheapest one, but there are still no guarantees that it will work.
Calcium and Multi-Vitamins
Which is easier for your body to digest: a liquid or a chewy candy? Maybe a pill would or a chalky pastille would be better. These are 4 of the ways calcium and multi-vitamins are marketed, powdered drink forms being another. Usually, you will find a lot of refined sugar in tasty pastilles, candies, and drink mixes. Liquids can also be sweet while pills are tasteless as long as you swallow them.
Parents attempting to encourage a child to take vitamins will have a dreadful time promoting the healthiest item with the best ingredients, yet colorants and sugar take something away from the health-giving properties of a vitamin. Some of these trigger allergies and behavioral problems.
Then there is price to consider: liquid vitamins and calcium are gone quickly and cost more than items made with cheap fillers. Consumers who are able to narrow their choices to items they are able to take have an easier time in one sense: there are fewer options. Allergies to gluten or eggs, for instance, contribute to that selection. Some items are made using animal by-products and are unsuitable for vegans.
Nutrients are most fully absorbed from liquid vitamins and calcium, apparently. Your ongoing health reports and personal experiences will either verify that statement or call it into question.
A Side Note
One thing consumers often forget is that vitamins and minerals interact with each other. Certain products help others to be more effective. Iron and Vitamin C is an essential pairing. Calcium needs Magnesium and Vitamin D to do its job. Scan bottles for their ratio of partner ingredients besides no-no’s like sugar, aspartame, and food dyes.