PHARMACEUTICAL GRADE
Produced at the same high standards as the production process of prescription drugs.
1.) Exact dosage that is listed on the label. Does not vary from pill to pill.
2.) Each ingredient is inspected before production.
3.) Supplement must dissolve and be absorbed within 45 minutes - This is wildly important.
FOOD GRADE ( STORE BOUGHT )
Loose standards and barely regulated. If the product doesn't cause physical harm, it most likely will be allowed to be put on the shelves with unsubstantiated claims.
1.) Dosage varies. Think of a pepperoni pizza from Dominoes. Not every slice will contain the same number of pepperoni slices and therefore wont contain the same number of calories, nutrients etc. Everything varies from slice to slice - in the case of nutritional supplements, pill to pill.
2.) Ingredients do NOT require inspection. Companies do not inspect each ingredient before they make a pizza ( contaminants may find their way into products ).
3.) No absorption requirement. Products can take hours to dissolve, thereby not providing the benefits they claim. Many vitamins are passed out of the system with waste 70 % undigested.
In short, pharmaceutical grade supplements must meet the USP, or the United States Pharmacopoeia standards. The USP provides assurance to consumers of the purity of the capsule. It must contain in excess of 99% of the ingredients stated. In addition to this, the bioavailability is much higher in pharmaceutical based supplements than that of store or food grade vitamins.
I would warn you, however, to make sure that the pharmaceutical grade vitamins that you choose, are whole-food based. This will ensure the bioavailability into your system and this is what it is all about!
Choosing a vitamin or nutrient supplement is going to be imperative for your life today and into the future. Choosing one with phytonutrients, one that includes ingredients that reduce inflammation and help detoxify the liver, and one that includes micro nutrients such as vitamins and chelated minerals, will help you maintain the blueprint of your health!
So are our vitamins what they say they are? Many brands of vitamins, that are store-grade, are by law, allowed to contain as little as 20% of what they say they are in a tablet. If you are serious about supplementation, make sure you purchase pharmaceutical grade supplements, which are over 99% of what they say they are!
To read in more detail about how food grade vitamins trick consumers and find out how inaccurate labels can be, I invite you to read the follow article : http://www.preventivemedicineps.com/Diet-and-Nutrition/vitamin-industry-fraud.html
