Find answers to commonly asked questions about vitamins, osteoporosis vitamins and vitamin absorption.

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Distinguishing between the many forms of professional supplements becomes less complex once the four categories of supplements available today are defined. Below is a summarization of the basic differences between these categories.

Whole Food Supplements

Many companies tout that their supplements are made from whole foods; however, there are only a few companies that actually can substantiate this claim. Authentic whole food supplements are made with vitamins and minerals delivered in whole food concentrates. The food concentrates selected have been grown in a controlled environment where budding plants are fed a nourishing broth enriched with bioactive peptide carriers. The peptide carriers act as chaperones, which govern a vitamin's or mineral's ability to be transformed into the plant's cellular matrix. Once the plant�s natural capacity to store the nutrient within its cells is successfully achieved, the growing process is complete, and harvesting is commenced using proteolytic enzymes to break down the cells' walls, and release the intra-cellular material. The whole food extract or concentrate produced is rich in a particular vitamin or mineral and is delivered in a synergistic state, with all of the plant's inherent food attachments intact and unadulterated. These attachments are vital co-factors facilitating the body's natural ability to recognize and utilize the nutrients present within the concentrate. Whole food nutrients are recognized by the body as food, and therefore are better utilized and retained by the body when compared to any other supplemental form. Food is the complex form in which all nutrients are found in nature. Supplements in this category will list the nutrient names vitamin C, folate, calcium, etc., and the mg dosage of each, but they will not denote a fractionated chemical name. Nutrients as they exist in food cannot be listed as one identifiable organic compound in this way, for the reason that they always exist within an interconnected weave of parts, and never as one isolated element. Nutrients in a whole food state will be listed with their food source in the supplement facts panel such as vitamin C (Citrus sinensis).

Food Based

This category of supplements is created from a physical mix of pure, fractionated nutrients with varying amounts of food powders or extracts. There are several different factors that need to be considered when determining the absolute nutritional value of a food based formula. The primary factors that affect the quality of a food based supplement are the amount, variance and form of the foods included in a particular formula. A premium food base formula is one that provides a broad range of unadulterated whole food or plant concentrates (preferred over powders) in at least a 3:1 ratio of food to vitamins and minerals. The broader the range of foods and the higher the ratio of food to nutrients in a formula will significantly improve the bioavailabilty and biological activity of the vitamins and minerals. Delivering isolated vitamins and minerals in a premium food base is an energy-saving process, as the body will not waste vital energy stores to transform the vitamins and minerals into absorbable nutrients. Ascorbic acid is a good example of a chemically synthesized vitamin that has been vastly studied; it has demonstrated enhanced utilization when the nutrient is delivered with its natural co-factors, such as bioflavonoids, rutin and tyrosinase, which always co-exist with vitamin C in food. The utilization factor can be increased by as much as 3 to 5 times (from 10% for vitamins in the first category, to 30 - 50% for food based). To determine if a supplement has a food base, review the label for chemical names (see above), as well as a combination of food extracts or powders. To determine the ratio of nutrients to foods, add up the total milligrams of the listed nutrients and for the food extracts.

Biocultured Supplements

Biocultured supplements are a physical mix of food, pure isolated nutrients and may have one or more strains of yeast and/or probiotics. Once combined, this mixture is allowed to ferment in a controlled environment. The process of fermentation, also known as culturing, biologically alters the biochemistry and nutrient content of the food. Cultured foods have been shown to have numerous health benefits and have played a role in the diet of many cultures for centuries; however, the body cannot sustain optimal health on cultured foods alone. This is due to the loss of substances, nutrients or compounds that are protective of health, such as vitamin C. Depending on the strains used during the culturing process, the generation or inactivation of toxic substances may also occur. In addition, many proteins and enzymes are denatured during the culturing process, due to the production of one or more acids, resulting in a loss or transformation of biological activity of the nutrients. Supplements that fall into this category will denote the foods on which the yeast and/or probiotics feed. Not all cultured supplements list the isolated vitamins and minerals used in a particular formula.

Pure, Hypoallergenic or Natural

This is the most prevalent category of professional supplements available today. Contrary to popular belief, the vitamins and minerals used to create supplements in this category are not derived from consumable food or botanical sources. Instead, they are synthetically produced, fractionated or isolated from refined raw materials such as crushed rock, petroleum by-products and organic solvents to produce a pure, crystalline vitamin or mineral analogue. Although the final compound is an analogous structure to a specific vitamin or mineral, it is no longer attached or associated with any of the synergistic co-factors that the nutrient is inherently found with in foods. As a result, pure vitamins and minerals have significantly reduced biological activity and a lower rate of utilization in the body. It is highly advisable to take supplements that fall into this category with a healthy, balanced meal in order to provide the necessary co-factors required for the body to recognize and utilize nutrients in this form, as well as enhance biological activity. Supplements from this category are readily distinguishable by looking at the supplement facts panel. The vitamins and minerals in the formula will be denoted by a two part chemical name such as vitamin C (ascorbic acid), vitamin A (retinyl palmitate), or calcium (calcium citrate).

Vitamins can kill

Like other Western countries, we're a nation of vitamin pill poppers. About half of all Australians at least occasionally take vitamins, minerals or some other supplement � alone, or more commonly in multivitamin preparations.

There's not a lot of evidence they do any good, but that doesn�t stop many people. What they are really buying is not protection from illness, but a sense of wellbeing. � the illusion that we're doing a bit extra over what nature can do, and that makes us feel satisfied.

Health experts know it's all a bit of a con, but they keep fairly quiet about it � mainly because the prevailing belief is they don't do any harm, as long as the dosage is moderate, and if people want to buy the illusion of wellness in a capsule, well it's their money.

But that's about to be turned on its head after a sophisticated analysis of vitamin studies done by Danish researchers and published in the latest Journal of the American Medical Association.

These researchers looked at clinical trials involving the common antioxidant vitamins beta carotene, vitamin A, vitamin C also known as ascorbic acid, vitamin E, and selenium either singly or in combinations. They looked only at well-designed studies � ones that compared groups of people taking vitamins, single or in combinations with other vitamins � and compared them to similar groups taking a placebo or taking nothing. The researchers were looking for any evidence of an increase in death from any cause in those taking vitamins. There were 68 trials from all over the world, totaling 232,606 people � some healthy, others with specific health problems, but not seriously ill people.

They identified some trials as unreliable because of bias. Amongst the rest, the better quality studies, they found there was a significantly increased risk of death in people taking some vitamins � alone or in combinations. Vitamin A increased mortality risk by 16 per cent. Vitamin E upped the risk by four per cent and beta carotene seven per cent. Selenium and vitamin C didn't show any increased risk (and selenium actually seemed to lower the risk of death).

Cellular effects

Antioxidants mop up free radicals (byproducts of cellular metabolism which destroy sensitive structures like cell membranes and DNA). But the researchers suggest that removing free radicals could somehow interfere with other important cell processes like apoptosis, where cells grow old and self destruct to avoid becoming cancerous or phagocytosis where white blood cells gobble up bacteria.

Previous studies have shown there's a risk to health only when a person consumes large amounts of vitamin. It's known for instance that in large amounts, over longer periods of time, fat-soluble vitamins � including vitamins A, E and K � can accumulate in the liver and cause toxicity.

But the Danish researchers were looking at people who took very modest doses. They say this is a very serious situation, given that 10-20 per cent of the population of Western counties regularly take them. And while the increased risk to an individual is fairly small, when it's applied to millions of people, the number of increased deaths is large.

As you�d expect, the vitamin industry has denounced the findings, arguing the review is flawed, without being too specific about why. The deaths could be due to factors other than the vitamins, they suggest. Besides which, they argue, some people in the studies were already ill, so why blame the vitamins? In fact the analysis showed that vitamins raised the death risk in people already ill.

Moreover, the researchers argue the problem could be actually worse than these findings suggest. That�s because there are a great many studies done on vitamins that are never published. Most vitamin studies are funded by vitamin manufacturers who tend not to publish if there are adverse findings � the researchers didn't include any unpublished studies in their review.

Try food instead

So it's a good reason to leave the pills and capsules sitting on the supermarket shelf. Go to the fresh food and dairy sections instead � there's beta carotene in yellow, red, and deep green vegetables; vitamin A in cheese, eggs, oily fish, milk, and yoghurt; and vitamin E in olive oil and nuts. Tastier, cheaper and they won't kill you.

Peter Lavelle studied medicine at Sydney University and graduated in 1983. He practiced as a GP for several years before becoming a full-time medical writer. For many years he wrote for national medical newspapers and magazines and is now working for ABC.

FAQ: The Best Vitamins | Buy Vitamins Online | Osteoporosis Vitamins

Learn what you can do to take care of your body; if you suffer from osteoporosis and currently take osteoporosis vitamins with increased calcium; or you buy vitamins online and feel they are the best vitamins in the world, your body must be equipped with the systemic enzymes for proper absorption. Best Vitamins Often times people ask what the best vitamins are; the truth is without the correct amount of systemic enzymes within the walls of your small intestines, even the best vitamins are not properly absorbed. Vitamins and minerals need systemic enzymes in order to be assimilated into the body and provide the greatest benefit. Buy Vitamins Online Thousands of people buy vitamins online; however they often buy what they think they need rather that what their body actually needs. Our bodies need vitamins to help your blood bones and muscles; they help to release the energy from our foods. Before you buy vitamins online, be sure you are providing your body the nutrients it needs, by eating fresh fruits and vegetables and provide your body the vitamins and minerals it needs naturally. Osteoporosis Vitamins When people talk about osteoporosis vitamins, they are simply taking vitamins to help prevent osteoporosis. Osteoporosis is is a disease in which bones become fragile and more likely to break. Normal bone is composed of protein collagen and calcium. Osteoporosis depletes the calcium your bones need. Osteoporosis vitamins are supposed to help to provide the calcium and protein your bones need to keep from becoming dense.

The information on MY PATIENTS WEBSITE with Dr. Tindall, D.C., C.C.S.T. are provided for the purposes of education only and is not intended as a substitute for advice from your physician or other health care professional. Any products recommend or claims made about specific products on or through this site have not been evaluated by the United States Food and Drug Administration and are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent disease. . You should not use the information on this site for diagnosis or treatment of any health problem or for prescription of any medication or other treatment. You should consult with a healthcare professional before starting any diet, exercise or supplementation program, before taking any medication, or if you have or suspect you might have a health problem.


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