Nutritional Supplement Comparisons

MyAchingKnees.com received this question through the website: “I remember reading months ago that you were talking about a comparison guide for vitamins and supplements. Can you mention this source again? Lori M.”

You must be talking about the “Comparative Guide to Nutritional Supplements” by Lyle MacWilliam. There are two different editions in current use, 3rd edition and 4th edition (the picture above is the 4th edition). In 1998, author, educator and biochemist, Lyle MacWilliam, began a search for a vitamin and mineral supplement for his family. A year later, the first Comparative Guide to Nutritional Supplements was produced, and again this guide is only on multi-vitamin, multi-mineral products and not separate single products.

The basis for the comparison was a “blended standard” based on 18 criteria:

1. Completeness

2. Potency

3. Mineral Forms

4. Bioactivity of Vitamin E

5. Gamma Tocopherol

6. Antioxidant Support

7. Bone Health

8. Heart Health

9. Liver Health (detoxification)

10. Metabolic Health (glucose control)

11. Ocular Health

12. Methylation Support

13. Lipotropic Factors

14. Inflammation Control

15. Glycation Control

16. Bioflavonoid Profile

17. Phenolic Compounds Profile

18. Potential Toxicities

You can read in detail how the factors analyzed for each criteria at this page here:

From these 18 criteria, a Final Product Rating, based on a five-star scale, is determined. A five-star rating highlights those products whose characteristics for optimal nutrition are clearly superior to the majority of products on the market and that approach or meet the pooled recommendations of the Blended Standard. Conversely, a one-star rating or less represents products possessing few, if any, of the characteristics for optimal nutrition reflected in the Blended Standard. Lyle MacWilliam believes that this five-star scale, divisible in half-star increments, provides an intuitive means by which the consumer can compare products, based on product content.

In the 4th edition of the NutriSearch Comparative Guide to Nutritional Supplements, the rating schema in our comparison covers over 1600 nutritional products available in Canada and the United States. The guide is available through this web site, through the NutriSearch website, or through directly through Amazon.com

Note: The 3rd Edition, uses a numerical score from 0.0 to 100.0. The highest rated product received a score of 96.1 and you would be surprised at what and how many well known and commonly available products receive dismal scores, some under 15.0!

The concerned consumer would be well advised to procure a copy of this resource and see what the score the products they are using attained. Another source would be the Physicians Desk Reference. I would not take anything,....anything that is not manufactured under pharmaceutical grade standards. Let the buyer beware.


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