1. What are dietary supplements?
Dietary supplements are tablets, capsules, powders or drops containing active substances to improve your health. Supplements are supposed to be an addition to your daily diet. Vitamins are the best-known supplement, but products containing minerals, spices, fish oil, probiotics, glucosamine or other more innovative products can be seen as dietary supplements as well. They may look like medications, but they are not. Dietary supplements are for sale at drugstores, pharmacies, health stores and supermarkets. Apart from the previously mentioned retailers, there are specific supplements that are only available through a prescription from a therapist, nutritionist or personal trainer.
2. Why would you use dietary supplements?
There can be a variety of reasons. Not everyone can manage to vary between food and to eat healthy food every day (2 pieces of fruit, 200 gram of vegetables and fat fish twice a week.) A multivitamin, fish oil or Vitamin D supplement can be a good addition to your diet. In certain circumstances the body requires additional nutrients, for example: during pregnancy, sports, a chronic disease, stress, or when coming of age. In addition, some people choose to use a supplement for a good night’s rest, to support a strong bone structure or for a healthy cholesterol level.
3. For whom are dietary supplements intended?
Dietary supplements are available for a variety of target groups. There are products specifically developed for people trying to lose weight, children, professional athletes, pregnant women, vegetarians, seniors, smokers, drinkers, people on medication, or people with a dark skin. A multivitamin supplement for pregnant women contains additional folic acid, vitamin D and sometimes fatty acids from fish. Supplements for children usually contain additional calcium and vitamin D. There are specific supplements available to athletes as well; these supplements increase the performance and / or stimulate the recovery.
4. Are dietary supplements suitable for everyone?
No, but in practice almost everyone (young and old, men and women, Caucasian and black) could use a dietary supplement. There are situations where you have to be alert to which supplements you consume, for example: with very young children, during pregnancy, when on medication or when you have a food allergy. The label of the product can help, but it is recommended to consult a specialist.
5. Where can you buy dietary supplements from Virtuoos’ @sport line?
Virtuoos’ dietary supplements are available through a select group of Sports Medical Centres and leading personal trainers – professionals that know your personal situation and whom can add value to our supplements. By sending an e-mail to info@virtuoos.com we can bring you in contact with a qualified distribution channel in your neighbourhood.
6. Why do you have to consume a dietary supplement in combination with a meal?
Food contains nutrients that increase the digestion of dietary supplements. Fat – for example – increases the digestion of fat-soluble vitamins. For this reason we advise you to consume dietary supplements during or directly after a meal. However, this not the case for all supplements. The performance product ‘Sport Max Gold’ has to be consumed 20 minutes prior to a workout or tournament, for example.
7. What does the label mention?
The label always mentions the words ‘dietary supplement’. Apart from that you will find the product composition, the expiration date and user advice. It is important to stick to the user advice unless a specialist advices otherwise.
8. How do you know if the indicated dose is right?
When the total intake of nutrients through dietary supplements and food is between the Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) and the safe level, you will be fine. The safe level is a quantity that has been deemed safe. The safe level is usually much higher than the RDA.
9. Can you trust everything on the Virtuoos labels?
The Dutch law has a lot of requirements when it comes to labelling. Only health claims that have been scientifically proven are allowed to be mentioned. It occurs that incorrect claims are made on a label or in advertising material. The Dutch government addresses this together with the Dutch Advertising Code Committee (specifically Keuringsraad KOAG/KAG). Virtuoos allows the KOAG/KAG to thoroughly inspect its products as a standard procedure. This means that all health claims made on Virtuoos’ packages are approved.
10. Are natural vitamins superior to synthetic vitamins?
Natural vitamins are not always better than synthetic vitamins. This varies for every vitamin. Vitamin E and pro-vitamin A (beta-carotene) are absorbed better in their natural form. On the other hand, our body can process synthetic B12 better than natural B12. Sometimes a synthetic form is chosen because it is not always possible to extract vitamins from a natural source.
11. Are Virtuoos’ dietary supplements always safe?
The Dutch law has a lot of requirements when it comes down to the quality and safety of dietary supplements. Dietary supplements that are available in the Netherlands are almost always safe. Most food also contains these ingredients. Excessive consumption is never healthy, which applies to both food and dietary supplements. Virtuoos specifically chooses to test every product batch in authorized, certified laboratories. This process starts with a strict identity and quality inspection of the raw materials used, followed by a thorough quality inspection during the production process and a meticulous final inspection of the end product.
12. Can you use multiple Virtuoos supplements at once?
You can consume multiple dietary supplements, just like you can consume multiple types of food. A multivitamin and fish oil capsule can be combined, for example. You have to be alert to the fact that certain ingredients can overlap when you use multiple dietary supplements. Virtuoos’ @sport line products match well on nutrient level, which means that multiple dietary supplements can be consumed with peace of mind.
13. Is it possible to combine dietary supplements with medicines?
Most dietary supplements can be used next to medications – there are exceptions, however. People using anticoagulants should not consume a high dose of vitamin K, for example. When on medication, please check the label for a warning. When in doubt, please consult a doctor, therapist or pharmacy.
14. Can vegetarians use Virtuoos’ dietary supplements?
Yes, all dietary supplements produced by Virtuoos are packed in V-caps. Our V-caps have been manufactured from cellulose and are perfectly compatible with a vegetarian lifestyle. These V-caps contain no preservatives and have all the advantages of a gelatine capsule: it is easy to swallow, transparent and long lasting. Our V-caps are produced according to the standards of the Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP).
15. Are Virtuoos’ dietary supplements dope-free?
Yes, Virtuoos has signed a promotional agreement with the NPN to be able to use the NZVT-logo on all its orange dietary supplement packages. The NZVT is the Anti-Dope Authority for the Netherlands. This means all our supplements will automatically be checked by the NZVT. The NZVT logo on our packaging is what professional athletes crave for. This way it is clear to professional athletes that they are dealing with a high quality dietary supplement, which is proven to be dope-free. Virtuoos also has product references on the website of the NZVT.
16. What is the difference between a good and a bad dietary supplement?
A good supplement does what you expect it to do, it contains meaningful ingredients (biologically active ingredients), is safe and is tailored to a specific audience. A bad dietary supplement does not have the desired effect; the composition of the ingredients has not been analysed thoroughly and the doses may be insufficient.
17. Why are Virtuoos’ dietary supplements relatively expensive?
Our basic principle is to only produce high quality products. When selecting raw materials (biologically active ingredients) Virtuoos takes advantage of its world-wide network of suppliers. Quality is one of the three core values of our organization and when it comes down to product development we prioritize quality over price. In our opinion the existence of a dietary supplement is directly related to its effectiveness. This means our end products contain expensive, effective and exclusive extracts, which results in a higher retail price. Besides, our Virtuoos @sport line supplements are produced in a high-end production facility (GMP) and we have all our batches inspected by the NZVT (the NZVT is the Anti-Dope Authority for the Netherlands). This adds up to a relatively expensive, but safe and effective product.
18. Where can I find additional information?
If you have any questions, please e-mail them to info@virtuoos.com. For professional advice about a dietary supplement or about the combination of multiple Virtuoos supplements you can always visit a qualified outlet of Virtuoos’ @sport supplements.
