Skip to: Site menu | Main content

Vitamins, Minerals and supplements

  • Vitamins and Supplements
  • Choosing a Quality Supplement
    		•
  • What Supplements Should NOT Include
  • Anticoagulants
    		•

    True Health Through Vitamins and Supplements

    Deciding whether or not to take a nutritional supplement and which brand is not an easy decision to make. Should you take a multi vitamin or individual nutrient supplements? Do one a day vitamins work?

    When it comes to your health prevention is definitely better than cure, but a lot of the information relating to supplements seemed to be based on wives tales or superstition with no scientific or medical backing to their claims. This web site has been put together to answer questions like-

    The health conscious world is divided into two groups - those who believe that nutritional supplements are essential and can make an enormous contribution to health, well being and recovery from disease, and those who believe vitamins, minerals and nutritional supplements are a waste of money.

    As with most arguments - there is truth on both sides. This site reviews some of the scientific studies suggesting the benefits of adding nutritional products to our diet.

    Modern Food

    Our food should contain all the nutrients our bodies require for true health, however poor soil, depletion of the soil by modern farming techniques, early picking of fruit before its food value has been established, the use of toxic spays and chemicals, storing, processing and cooking, depletes many of the foods of nutrients they would contain when grown in optimal situations.

    Our bodies require many essential minerals and chemicals, building blocks to enable them to build our billions of cells, to protect them from bacterial and other invaders, and to help our bodies recover from injury and illness. If these are not in our food, then our bodies will be starved and will work less efficiently.

    "Today we have much more food but far less nutrition and we have more medicine but less health"

    What are Our Choices? Many modern scientist believe nutritional deficiency is a major cause of today's diseases (heart attacks, heart failure, strokes, cancer, osteoporosis, arthritis). With poor nutrition, our bodies degenerate faster than they should. A body built with poor nutrients, vitamins and minerals is like a car built with cheap materials - it falls apart. We can choose:

    1. To accept this current situation, by not changing our diet. This means conceding that today's chronic degenerative diseases are inevitable.

    2. To find top quality food . preferable grown organically, from soil containing all the nutrients we need, picked at its prime and eaten before any nutrients are lost by storing or cooking. A complete selection of foods needs to be very carefully chosen to provide all the nutrients we require.

    3. To eat as well as possible and in addition take a good nutritional supplement. This allows the body to select the compounds, vitamins, minerals and nutrients it requires, from the food and the supplement.

    CONCLUSION THE CHOICE IS YOURS!

    1. Ignore all the above data and hope that your body will get all the nutrients it needs from the food we eat. If we do this, then we need to be very choosy in the type and quality of our food. Unfortunately many of today's chronic degenerative diseases - coronary disease, stroke, cancer, emphysema, arthritis - have flourished in our modern polluted and nutrient depleted world.

    2. We can accept the logic and evidence that, by providing the body with all the minerals, vitamins and other nutrients it needs to function properly, it will be more resistant to disease and cope with illness better. This will require the addition of good nutritional supplementation.

    We must never forget that our main weapon against disease is our own body, its defensive and immune systems. The body can also mend itself when injured or recovering from disease. These protective and repair systems are incredible.

    Most modern medicines only provide a crutch, while the body does the work of healing. How can we expect our bodies to function properly if we starve them of essential nutrients? Combining this logic with the above compelling scientific data from some of the most prestigious journals in the world leaves no doubt that our bodies do benefit from top quality nutrition.

    In today's world an ideal diet supplying all the necessary nutrients is almost impossible to achieve, so good quality supplementation is necessary.

    [ Back to top ]

    Choosing a Quality Supplement!

    The world of nutritional supplements is a confusing landscape for most people.. Arcane terminologies, metric measures and comparisons of individual nutrient formulations leave most people scratching their heads. How does a milligram compare to a microgram? What in an international unit? Why do some products use mineral salts, while others use chelated minerals? What is a chelated mineral? How do you make an informed choice.

    Next time you are in a pharmacy or health food store, stop and watch how shoppers make their purchase decisions. Often they will pick up a product, glance at the label and then pick up another to compare. Next, they may go to individual nutrient supplements and investigate this avenue of choice. Often they end up simply walking away confused.

    "It runs counter to the most basic principals of nutrition - balance and completeness"

    People often approach nutritional supplementation in a piece meal fashion. some take vitamin E to promote cardio vascular health. Others a vitamin C or zinc supplement to support a healthy immune system. Many skip from one product to another month after month, chasing the latest buzz-word or "magic bullet" that has been flaunted in the media. This approach to choosing a nutritional product is just plain wrong. It runs counter to the most basic principals of nutrition - balance and completeness.

    Product Quality Checklist

    Here is a quick do it yourself ten point checklist to help you evaluate whether a particular product is worthy of your consideration. Ask yourself these questions:

    1. Is the product delivered in a single dose? (one a day vitamins simply cannot provide the levels of potency needed for optimal nutrition without being to large to swallow.)

    2. Are the potency levels high enough to provide optimal daily nutritional without compromising safety?

    3. Are the ingredients provided in their most bio available form? ( Mineral salts are not as well absorbed as chelated minerals or minerals bound to an organic carrier.)

    4. Is the safety profile of each ingredient thoroughly researched and evaluated?

    5. Does the company meet pharmaceutical guideline - not food grade guidelines - for Good Manufacturing Processes (GMPs)?

    6. Is the product formulated to meet pharmaceutical standards for full disintegration and dissolution?

    7. Is the product potency guaranteed for a specific shelf life?

    8. Is the product potency independently tested and guaranteed for potency and safety?

    9. Is the product manufactured in house? (or is it contracted out to the lowest bidder?)

    10. Is the product free of ingredients that may have cumulate toxicities (pre formed vitamin A and iron?)

    If the product meets all of this criteria, you know that you have a nutritional supplement of exceptional quality. If it doesn't keep looking.

    In reality, its just not feasible for the consumer to consider all these points about the product just by scanning the label. Many nutritional manufacturers don't make such detailed information easily available.

    There are independent publications that have made the comparisons for you. The most comprehensive I have found to date is Comparative Guide to Nutritional Supplements, Australia-New Zealand Edition by Canadian biochemist, Lyle MacWilliam BSc, MSc, FP. Lyle MacWilliam uses a rigorous 14-point score, to assess product quality. His Blended Standard for optimal daily intake is derived from the independently published recommendations of several well known nutritional authorities. Using these criteria, MacWilliam evaluates nutritional supplements.

    Comparative Guide to Nutritional Supplements Comparative Guide to Nutritional Supplements, Australia-New Zealand Edition"


    For more information, Click Here.

    What Supplements Should NOT Include

    the term 'supplements' is used simply to describe the nutrients which should be in our food. This may mean more than we would normally eat in the modern world, but when we study the diet of our primitive ancestors, the doses of antioxidant vitamins especially was much higher.

    We also need additional nutrients to cope with the poisons and toxins of this modern world. As long as we take supplements which our bodies can excrete if we consume more than is necessary, there is no problem.

    There are however 2 ingredients frequently found in supplements which should NOT be included -vitamin A and Iron.

    VITAMIN A
    This is a fat soluble vitamin and its level can build up in the tissues causing skin problems, bone pain and fractures, nausea, vomiting and weakness. A good vitamin supplement will have beta carotene instead of vitamin A. If the body needs more Vitamin A it can convert it from the beta carotene, but if not then the beta carotene is harmlessly excreted.

    IRON
    This is frequently found in supplement tablets, and for most people it causes no problem. BUT one person in 300 has a condition called haemochromatosis which means that the iron will continue to build up in the body tissues, especially the liver, pancreas and the heart, leading to cirrhosis, diabetes and heart failure - which can be fatal. Unfortunately only a special blood test can confirm the presence or absence of haemochromatosis, so to include iron in a routine supplement could potentially kill or maim one person in 300. Some people do need iron (for anaemia), but it should be taken as a separate tablet, only after a blood test has confirmed that there is a need.

    [ Back to top ]

    Anticoagulants, The Use of Supplements with Drugs

    Because good supplementation simply ensures that your body gets all the nutrients which should be in your food, but are not, then taking quality supplements should be no different from eating a top quality diet. This means that reliably produced supplements can be taken safely with medications. However it is best to discuss with your doctor what you are taking.

    There is however one drug/supplement combination which needs careful consideration - vitamin K and oral anticoagulants (warfarin). If you are on anticoagulants please read this section very carefully and discuss it with your doctor.

    ANTICOAGULANTS, VITAMIN K AND SUPPLEMENTS

    Many people are taking anticoagulants to reduce the risk of clots forming in the arteries, veins or in their heart. In most cases it is very important that the blood clotting measurement (called the ESJR) is within the desirable limits (usually between 2-4). Lower figures may cause clotting, higher levels increase the risk of bleeding. Usually regular blood tests are done to check the level, and the doctor will increase or reduce the warfarin dose to keep the INR in the desirable range.

    If the INR level goes too high, one way to reduce the effects of the anticoagulant is to give a high dose of vitamin K. This means that if you take high levels of vitamin K in your diet or supplements, then it may reduce the INR reading.

    Some foods have a lot of vitamin K in them (avocado, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, raw cabbage, chick peas, green beans, green tea, liver, lettuce & raw spinach) and if you have a binge of these it can lower the INR. It is best to try and eat a similar amount of these foods most days, and so they will have a consistent effect on the INR.

    Most good vitamin supplements contain vitamin K which could also lower the INR. This is where the quality of the supplement is very important. If the supplement is made to pharmaceutical standards - then each tablet contains exactly the same amount of vitamin K, and if you take the supplement regularly then the INR will not change.

    If however the supplement is simply made to food standards, as most supplements are, the accuracy of the contents is similar to the contents of a pizza (one slice may have a lot of pepperoni, another slice almost none).

    A supplement made to food quality could mean that one tablet may contain a high dose of vitamin K and another almost none. This can cause marked changes in the INR, so supplements containing vitamin K and made to food standards should not be used by people taking anticoagulants such as Warfarin.

    However supplements made to pharmaceutical standards, taken regularly each day are fine. It is however important to discuss this with your doctor before starting such supplements, as he or she may have to slightly adjust the warfarin dose.

    People on warfarin can take vitamin supplements, but only if they have "potency guaranteed" on the label, and they take the same dose every day

    Because of all the potential benefits of being on good supplements (listed above), it would be unfortunate for people on anticoagulants not to be able to have the same advantage. By using pharmaceutical grade supplements, this is possible. Pharmaceutical grade supplements are usually labeled "Potency guaranteed".

    [ Back to top ]

    Additional information: contact us | disclaimer