Beware of the Vitamin Shoppe

There's a group of monks in western Andulusia that brew beer. That make a small batch each year and they have never advertised. Their beer is considered some of the best in the world. It is not very expensive (if bought from the monks), but beer conniousours will go to great lengths for a batch. You probably enjoy a cold one on a Friday night, so why haven't you heard of this beer if it's supposed to be the BEST in the world?

Because the people who know don't want YOU to know. Then they wouldn't be able to get it as easily.

There are many products like this. The mass marketed isn't the best product, it is simply the easiest to make. And the best product is sometimes even ANTI-marketed because the people buying aren't ready for other people to take away the prize they've found.

This beer example also occurs in the nutritional world. The Vitamin Shoppe is a large nutritional chain. The Wal-Mart of vitamins. They supply the easiest, but not the best. If you're looking into real quality orac value or possibly even life extension, I would suggest some of the niche vitamin sellers, like Mark Sisson's company, Primal Nutrition. Okay, you've probably guessed it by now, this hub is a plug, a "plub" if you will. But, that's not to say in all earnestness the best stuff still IS hard to find, and Primal Nutrition carries some of the best.

Hopefully my beer story has convinced you not to go with a major label. So, you're out there hunting for a new company to buy vitamins from. But what vitamins should you look for?

1) A super charged multivitamin - Any vitamin can give you the bare essential, and most one-a-day capsules have a little bit extra lycopene or calcium. But, what you want is a multivitamin that reaches into the thousand percentage range on many of the essentials. 10,000% of your B1 and C is a good start.

2) Phosphatidyl Serine - this is often hard to find in a multivitamin, but other than the essentials, it's the one nutrient I would reccomend over all others. It reduces cortisol in the system, which acts as a potent stress reliever.

3) Omega 3s. These are pretty much essential as well. They are fish oils (or sometimes flax seed oils) and they are great brain vitamins. Don't supplement without them!

A good multivitamin is hard to find. Phosphatidyl Serine is even harder. If you're going to buy vitamin supplements, I'd suggest starting with the Master Formula as a multivitamin, and then going with some Proloftin for your phosphatidyl serine.

In closing, I'd like to point you in the direction of some great benefits.

1) The benefits of Vitamins is a great page on general orac nutritional information.

2) Omega 3 Benefits has plenty of info on fish oils, amino acids, and the like.