When it comes to supplements, it’s tempting to go straight for the highest numbers on the label. More vitamin C, more magnesium, more collagen – so it must be better, right?
Not necessarily. High potency can be effective, but only when paired with smart formulation and bioavailability, meaning your body can truly absorb and use the ingredients.
“High potency means the supplement gives you 100 per cent or more of your daily recommended dose for at least two-thirds of the vitamins and minerals inside,” PhD Nutrition Scientist and Founder of DITTO Daily, Alice van der Schoot, tells The Standard.
“You can check this on the supplement label by looking for the % next to each nutrient (e.g. ‘Vitamin C: 150%’ of daily intake). Those percentages tell you how much of your daily nutritional needs that supplement is covering.”
Why might the standard daily amount not always be enough?
“These standard daily amounts are what most healthy people (about 95 per cent of us) need to maintain their general health. But if you’re taking supplements to achieve specific results, you might need more than the basic daily amount to actually see results,” explains van der Schoot.
How can you make sure you’re taking a safe but effective dose?
“The key thing to remember is it can be important to have a higher dose that’s optimal for your health goal, but to stay under what experts call the ‘safe upper limit,’” says van der Schoot. “For example, vitamin D: you can safely have up to 4,000 IU (100 micrograms) per day, but go higher and it could start having negative impacts on your health.
Only people who are deficient should go above these limits, and only with their doctor supervising them. It’s important to be aware of this because the supplement industry isn’t well-regulated. Supplements are commonly sold containing doses above the safe upper limits without warning, so you could be taking an excessive dose unknowingly.”
Does the form of the nutrient matter just as much as the amount?
“Bioavailability is huge for effectiveness,” says Alice. “Magnesium is a perfect example: the form ‘magnesium oxide’ is common in supplements because it’s cheap, but your body only absorbs 4 – 30% of it. You could be taking what looks like a massive dose on the pack, but you’re barely absorbing it. Compare that to magnesium bisglycinate – it will have a much higher impact at the same dose.”
We’ve rounded up all of the best high-potency supplements below
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