This is a repost of an article I wrote in 2013.  Usana vitamins were featured on Dr. Oz on January 22, 2015, and I was so excited that I decided to send this information out again!  This is a company and a product I truly believe in, and I hope more people now can experience their value.

Other than an occasional Vitamin C powder drink, I didn’t think much of vitamins when I was younger. I wasn’t taught about them in physical therapy school and, overall, the medical community either shuns vitamins or just has no knowledge of them. My patients would always ask me what they should take. I’d say “ask your doctor”, who in turn would say “ask Jessica”. I knew I needed to learn more, but didn’t quite know where to start. I was healthy and happy so I kind of put vitamins on the back burner.

Then, in 2005, I was diagnosed with endometriosis. I had surgery, but the problem with endo is that it doesn’t just go away. You have to find a way to live with it, and I was determined to not let it win! I wanted to have kids and feel great, so I made it my mission to take control over the disease. I learned that one of the best ways to control endometriosis symptoms is through diet – which includes vitamins! What I didn’t know at that time is that it really does matter what brand you chose.

I can thank my boyfriend at the time (now my husband) for the start of my love affair with Usana vitamins. Soon after my endometriosis surgery, he found one of the big, name-brand vitamin bottles in my cabinet. He immediately threw it out. He had recently discovered a company called Usana and informed me those were the vitamins I needed to take.

I generally am not good at doing something just because someone tells me to. I want to know WHY. Why should I take pills I have to have shipped to me instead of the one off the shelf? Why should I take more than one a day? Why is this supposedly BETTER when I’ve never heard of it? Why would I never have been taught this at school if it’s so important? I realized if I was going to take something this important, and if all my clients were asking what I was personally taking, I better have a darn good reason for it other than “my boyfriend told me so”.

I’ll spare you all the research I did over the next year, but basically I made a few surprising discoveries:

1. Vitamins and supplements in our country do NOT need to be registered with the FDA before being sold. They are held to much lower standards than even our conventional food (and we know how bad that can be!) That means you can’t trust that what is in the bottle is what the label says or that it’s what your body needs or even that it’s safe.

2. There is an amazing book called the Comparative Guide to Nutritional Supplements. Heard of it? Yeah, I hadn’t either. It studies over 500 supplements and vitamins and ranks them 0-5 on their effectiveness, safety and completeness. The one my hubby threw away and has the most commercials on tv? Yep, it was a big fat 0 in the guide.

3. No matter how wonderful and pure and colorful your diet is, you can’t get all the nutrients your cells need from your food. You need both a good diet AND good vitamins and supplements.

I finally had my “why” and my solid belief in the company was formed. Usana vitamins are manufactured to pharmaceutical guidelines – NOT food guidelines (these are much stricter rules!). They are number one in the Comparative Guideline for their supplement quality. They are found in the physician’s desk reference and they are science based.

Looking back, all the science and facts are important, but the REAL reason I started taking Usana vitamins? Because someone I loved said “This is important. Please do this for me.” There were times he had to remind me over and over to take my vitamins, but I did and kept on doing it. The reason I keep taking them? I know they work. I feel better, I have more energy, I hardly get sick, and I have a beautiful daughter that doctors told me I wouldn’t be able to have. Are they the ONLY reason I’m healthy? No. I can’t eat fast food all day and then take my vitamins and think I’m all good. Are they one of the MAJOR reasons? Without a doubt. Do I want everyone I meet to see the same benefits I have with Usana? Absolutely.

I don’t want this article to make you feel bad about taking or not taking vitamins or about what vitamins might be in your own cabinet. I want to share my trials and errors and research with you, so you don’t have to do it yourself! I just like to talk about things I love, and Usana vitamins are one of the things I love. They are my “secret weapon” to living a healthier life, and I figure we all need more of those! I am not a nutritionist or registered dietitian. I’m simply someone who happens to love my vitamins.

To find more information or to order Usana vitamins, visit www.vitaminpitstop.com. This is my favorite place to order because there is no minimum purchase commitment and they are the lowest prices I’ve seen for the Usana products.

Note: While I do have a relationship with Usana Health Sciences and Vitamin Pit Stop due to my belief in the products, all opinions expressed here are my own. As always, talk to your doctor before starting something new