subject: Pharmaceutical Grade Vitamins -- What Are They? [print this page] The average person has never heard of pharmaceutical grade vitamins before. I myself hadn't heard of them until recently. But as I was researching many different types of supplements, trying to figure out which supplements were essentials that everyone should take, and which ones were superfluous, I came across pharmaceutical grade vitamins. Most people think that all supplements are created equal, that 1000mg of Vitamin D is 1000mg of Vitamin D. Sadly, this isn't really the case at all. As you'll see if you continue reading, there is quite a big difference sometimes between brands and grades of supplements, pharmaceutical grade vitamins being leaps and bounds ahead of the more cheaper, common grocery store supplements. But are pharmaceutical grade supplements the best that you can take, or are their better supplements still? Read on.
Here are the different grades of vitamins that you can take and some more information about each of them. I'm listing them in ascending order, meaning that they go from worst to best.
1. Regular Grocery Store Vitamins. These supplements are generally what's known as synthetic isolates. Your body can only partially absorb and utilize synthetic isolates. Not only that but regular grocery store supplements often have "fillers" in them, meaning they're impure. They put extra inert chemicals into them to make them cheaper. They aren't even always required to print on the label the different dyes and fillers that they have in their final product. There may be things in there that you're allergic to or just plain aren't very good for your body.
2. Pharmaceutical Grade Vitamins. These supplements are held to a higher standard, one set by the pharmacies themselves. Regular supplements differ in that they only meet the standards for human consumption. That is the reason why they are often times referred to as food grade vitamins and supplements. Pharmaceutical grade vitamins have a higher quality standard, meaning two things. In the first place, you won't find an unlabeled fillers like you so often do in the grocery store variety. Second, depending on which kind you buy, they should be more bio-available, meaning that your body can more easily absorb and utilize them.
3. Whole Food Vitamins. This is really the best form of vitamin that you can take. It's not a synthesized vitamin with artificial elements. Whole food vitamins are made with all natural foods, generally raw foods, and have a very high quality standard. Because of this, whole food supplements are generally branded as a multivitamin because of the plethora of different types of compressed fruits and vegetables that they contain. The large benefit to whole food supplements is how bio-available they are. Since they're made directly from real food, your body can utilize the whole pill. There aren't any side effects or any unknown fillers to watch out for, and your body doesn't have to work extra hard to absorb and process it. If you are searching to get what you pay for, then this is where you want to go. This is undeniably the safest, most useful type of vitamin on the market. They're generally more expensive, so it's up to each individual person which supplement is best for them.
