I recently got a question about supplement potency and what one should look for when buying them. My answer is short: USP verification.

USP stands for U.S. Pharmacopeia, and they test dietary supplements to verify that what is on the label is actually in the product. Right now, all you’re likely to find with the USP seal is bottled capsules and tablets – sports products almost never go through USP verification.

Look For This Seal

The USP seal is the only thing I care about when I buy things like vitamins. Not all types of products, though, are going to go through this process. If you buy things like creatine, whey protein, and other sports nutrition products you just want to buy from a company you trust, because even the reputable companies don’t seem to get those types of products verified.  I trust Optimum Nutrition for my protein, and NOW foods for seemingly everything else (NOW sells protein too, but I like Optimum better).  NOW is one of my favorite companies to buy from because the vast majority of their products, are subject to some sort of independent testing or USP verification.

I’m not all the reliant on supplements, as whole foods are priority #1, but I do make sure to get the best for the least when I do buy them. Fish oil comes from Carlson, whey protein from Optimum, a multivitamin and vitamin D from Wal-Mart (Equate brand, baby!), and creatine from Optimum.

Bottom line is, if the ingredients are the same, why pay more? I know guys who lovetalking about taking their Animal Pak multivitamins. They feel soooo great taking these packets of 7 or more pills to get the RDIs of every vitamin. Animal Pak has done a great job at selling to suckers under the premise that if 100% RDI is good, then 1500% must be 15X better. Not so. And guess what? If I did want to take a worthless mega-dose of vitamins I could just pop 8 Equate multis. At 4¢ a piece, taking more than necessary still wouldn’t break the bank (Animal pak runs about $35 for 44 days worth, making each dose about $.80 each).

I don’t stress about taking vitamins because I try to eat for my vitamins, and I do a pretty good job of it. Anyone who eats a balance diet of lots of different colored vegetables and fruits doesn’t need a whole lot of help from multivitamins, and certainly not the mega-doses that many brands claim are crucial to health or athletic performance.

The bottom line? Pick the cheapest product that gives you the VERIFIED potency you are looking for.

Come back on Thursday, March 18th for my thoughts on buying fish oil, and feel free to comment on brands that you know and trust!