How to Evaluate Anti Aging Vitamin SupplementsThe Wellness Industry Means Big $$$$. Can We sort Through the Hype?The wellness industry is being fueled by people who have the desire to feel younger, look younger, and stay healthy as well as those who may have a health challenge.Many in this group are interested in finding ways to help their bodies achieve wellness, not just continue the management of their disease symptoms. Patients as well as the public are asking healthcare professionals for advice about nutritional supplements. Because knowledge about nutrition science and technology has increased significantly, the task of recommending the right nutritional supplement is becoming increasingly more difficult and complex. The primary source of vitamins, minerals, fiber, phytochemicals, glyconutrients, and other nutrients the body requires to maintain health should be our daily diets. Our ancestors had access to a large variety of hunter-gatherer foods which supplied those nutrients. Advances in technology have improved our lives in many ways, but they have also brought about major challenges in obtaining an adequate supply of necessary nutrients. Modern Agricultural Practices Deplete NutrientsMultiple studies have repeatedly confirmed that modern agricultural practices such as intensive same-crop farming, green-harvesting, genetic modification, ect. have significantly decreased the amount of many important nutrients in foods of over the past 50 years. Some studies show a 25-30% decrease in vitamins and minerals.In addition, crops selectively raised to increase water content (more weight=more profit)also have less fiber and nutrient content. Additional nutrients are lost throught the processing of foods to increase their shelf life convenience. Cooking foods also depletes more of those vital nutrients.
Hostile Environment TooWe also live in a hostile environment where stress, toxins, pollutants and many other factors actually increase the body's requirement of those same nutrients to maintain health and protect against premature aging and disease. With a high percentage of our population already overweight, the solution is not to simply consume more food (and therefor calories) to get the needed nutrients.
Supplements Now Considered VitalAn article in the June 19, 2002 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association stated, "Most people do not consume an optimal amount of all the vitamins by diet alone...It appears prudent for all adults to take vitamin supplements."Which Supplement is Most Beneficial?The old Latin phrase "let the buyer beware" is certainly appropriate for this question. While we may have a shortage of nutrients in our diets, with about 5000 nutrition companies trying to sell their products, there is no shortage of theories or claims being used to support any particular formulation.It Started in the 1930's. First Generation TechnologySince the initial discovery of vitamins in the 1930's, certain deficiency diseases were recognized as being caused by a lack of vitamins and minerals. This realization led to the development of the Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA), which is the amount of essential nutrients from food that is necessary to keep a healthy person healthy."First generation" supplements were developed using synthetic versions of vitamins and minerals (United States Pharmacopeia-USP) created in the laboratory to provide an inexpensive and standardized way to meet RDA requirements. The vast majority of vitamin and mineral supplements, including some of the most popular brands, are still made using synthetic vitamins and minerals. Disadvantages of Synthetic Vitamins and Minerals.Synthetic nutrients were assumed to have the same nutritional benefit as natural nutrient complexes found in food.USP (synthetic) vitamins are not food. Plants are able to manufacture vitamins into a variety of different forms that are required by the plant and at the same time are very beneficial to the human body, e.g. multiple forms of vitamin E. The bioavailablity-or uptake and utilization-of natural food complex vitamins has been proven to be better than most USP vitamins. Dirt and Rocks are not Food!The actual solubility of minerals and their subsequent uptake and utilization in the body are also critical factors.A study published in the Journal of Food Chemistry stated that, with the single exception of selenium, less than 10% of of the synthetic minerals contained in the most popular brands of multivitamins were in a suluble bioavailable form. Plants, on the other hand, utilize the original "nano" technology. They bond mineral molecules to multiple combinations of amino acids, lipids, sugars and phytochemicals making them available to the body for multiple uses via various pathways. While a supplement label may list 100% or more of the RDA for a given nutrient, this does not mean your body will be able to absorb and utilize all of that nutrient. As explained in Food Chemistry 71, (2002), p.181-188, "Because eventual absorption of minerals by the body requires them to be soluble, achieving the 1005 RDA criterion (in a supplement) by total of mineral content alone is insufficient to meet daily nutritional requirements."
Plants are the Best Source of Vitamins. Second Generation Supplements Developed.Recognizing that plants are the body's natural and most bioavailable source for vitamins, minerals, and an important new group of nutrients called phytochemicals, a second generation of supplements was developed.Supplements from Whole Food Extracts-Second Generation Supplement.Second generation supplements include:Fruit and vegetable extracts. Single exotic plant or fruit products, e.g. Aloe Vera, Gogi, Noni, ect. Nutrients that are available in whole-food supplements are bioavailable to the human body. However whole food supplements have some disadvantages. Fruits, vegetables and exotic plants are often deficient in important nutrients. Whole food supplements cannot be standardized for the amounts of vitamins, minerals, or phytochemicals they might contain and therefore cannot be labeled for nutritional value. No single plant/fruit/vegetable can meet all RDA requirements. While plants can have substantial levels of vitamins, they are generally very low in mineral levels. Next Major Advance-How to Standardize the Amount of Various Plant Nutrients.Third Generation TechnologyThird generation supplement technology-vitamin/mineral/phytochemical supplements-have many advantages.Standardized natural vitamin complexes. Standardized plant-derived minerals. Standardized plant-derived phytochemicals. All sources of these individual nutrients should be specifically indentified and labeled. Buyer Beware-Distinguishing Third Generation Vitamin/Mineral/Phytochemical Supplement TechnologyA major challenge in evaluating a supplement lies in interpreting the marketing literature coming with the product. Nutrition buzz words are easily recognized but often convey very little real information. For example,Provides the Body With What it Needs in 90 seconds. Guarenteed Burst of Energy 98% Absorption Leading Edge of Science since 1978. Synthetic vitamins in a liquid form are more bioavailable than food. Claims made about minerals can equally confusing. Actual absorption/availability rates are: Mineral Salts-less than 10% Chelated Minerals-fractionally better than mineral salts Plant-sourced-80-100%. Product labels must be checked for either chelated minerals or mineral salts in the ingredients. Collodial minerals and liquid minerals-very tiny rocks are still rocks. Solubility-not size-is the key factor for absorption in the gut, and the body best recognizes a plant source. Plants concentrate minerals poorly. Realistically, when a product claims to have a 100% or more of the RDI or RDA of minerals from "whole food" or plant based sources, the size and number of tablets needed to suppley the required per-gram amounts would be huge. Any claim about whole food sources should be accompanied by a list of ingredients. Third Generation Breakthroughs.Currently, efforts are underway to increase the levels of minerals in plants to meet nutritional needs. Certain plants that have an unusually greater ability to concentrate minerals are being grown hydroponically in mineral enriched water. This results in significantly higher amounts of minerals in these plants, but it also allows for the standardization of plant minerals that can meet RDA levels.PhytochemicalsSometimes called phytonutrients, these are the chemicals or nutrient derived from a plant source that can have a beneficial effect on health.Certain specific categories of phytochemicals have proven very beneficial for maintaining health and being chemo-protective against cell and DNA damage. Studies have proven that they contribute to multiple aspects of vitamin and mineral usage by the body. Buyer BewareSupplements can list a large number of plants, herbs, ect. with no indication of how much of each is included.Green harvesting and processing techniques can dramatically reduce the amounts of beneficial phytochemicals. Again, standardization is extremely important. The Bottom LineWe need natural, plant-sourced vitamin/mineral supplements combined with phytochemicals.These components must be standardized and labeled accordingly. We need to understand some of the science in order to cut through the marketing hype and buzz words so we can make intelligent decisions. Remember, it is about your health-invest in it wisely.
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