Part One. Debate on Why Some Nutritional Supplements Are Not Considered To Be Effective
Part Two: Ten Important Concerns About How Vitamin Pills Are Manufactured and Your Supplements Decision
The vitamin mineral industry is a huge 15.7 billion dollar industry that is largely unregulated. It expects continuous growth to a trillion dollar business as people continue to search for wellness and anti-aging products. These are defined as preventative care products rather than a “wait-till-you-get-sick” treatment.
As informed consumers we acknowledge certain facts:
(1) Natural foods with nutrients, enzymes, fiber still remain the best source of balanced cellular structure and energy
(2) Diets do not provide all the nutrients for a number of reasons
(3) Vitamins and minerals play a role in disease prevention
(4) One of the-most important decision is what supplements to trust to deliver these essential nutrients
Now here’s the dilemma. As an example, let’s say we’re browsing among the frenzy of items in a health food store, and we notice a flyer with this information: Enjoy Complete Nutrition. All Natural. Take One A Day! The ingredients sound potent enough with a total of 670 chemical activities, at a very low cost, so we ask for it at the counter. We receive a medium sized box, take it home, open it and to our utter surprise we get a banana!
This revelation has been a major turning point in my wellness education. I looked at fruits and vegetables with a total sense of awe, respect and importance. Just imagine that a banana, an apple, a carrot, or potato already contain an amazing list of hundreds of ingredients for biochemical activities that a bottle of pills can never come close to replicating. The fact that the word vitamin was coined a century ago by scientists to try and explain the benefits of food can never replicate the total nutrients provided by Nature through millennia.
This is the heart of the discussion transpiring for decades. Nature through her holistic balance and synergy already makes food that best suits our body’s needs. Nature already uses plants to produce a synchronized mixture of bioavailable vitamins, minerals, amino proteins, macro-nutrients, micro-nutrients, digestive enzymes, disease-fighting phytochemicals or anti-oxidants, probotic factors for the GI tract, and fiber.
The problem, however, is that the quality of food has been seriously compromised. For example, how can a store-bought banana picked rock hard and green, shipped thousands of miles away, be the same as a yellow fruit ripened by the sun? It should be mentioned that general diet principles of eliminating sugar and grains, eating unprocessed food as close to raw as possible is still the best source of health and supplements should not be taken to replace a faulty diet. The Natural Medicines Comprehensive database provides objective information about any natural ingredient and level of effectiveness for various medical conditions.
So we begin to search for a good dietary supplement in an industry compared to the Wild West full of high claims and competition.
First, how does the average consumer decide what is the best value in supplements? Too often they put their health into “the hands of the lowest bidder.” They look at the price tag even though they realize that lowest price is rarely equated to best quality in any commodity. You can’t buy a Cadillac at Cavalier prices and expect a Cadillac performance. The cheapest route, as with the cheapest cars or the cheapest vitamins, can end up with all kinds of problems. Perhaps you can rent, steal or borrow spare car parts, but, unfortunately, how can you remodel a sluggish or broken body?
Second, education becomes an important ally. Who are the manufacturing companies, who are the suppliers of raw ingredients and what are they, what controls are used in the manufacturing process, and how is the product tested for quality control?
We start at the top with the manufacturing companies themselves and there are thousands of them. They are basically unregulated except by the DSHEA (Dietary Supplement Health Education Act) whose mandate is to incorporate supplements into the same category as food. It was pointed out once that choosing the kind of pizza to eat is not the same as taking supplements for possible therapeutic effects.
For some manufacturers, it’s as easy as placing an order from a supplier for certain tablets and remedies that are custom made and tailored to individual needs. They stick a label on a bottle with marketing slogans for consumers who hear “all-natural” or “cure-all” for what they want to believe. Other manufacturers abide by GMP (Good Manufacturing Practices) standards to ensure their ingredients and processing are along the same lines as pharmaceutical drug-making companies. An exemplary company should have a “stringent commitment to scientific validity, proven efficacy of its formulations, and a holistic approach to cellular nutrition and a voluntary compliance to USP pharmaceutical standards for potency, quality, and purity.” Dr. MacWilliam
So, how do your vitamins measure up? Do you know the answers to these 3 important questions:
(1) What are the sources of ingredients?
(2) How are they manufactured?
(3) What scientific studies show their effectiveness?
In my opinion, my answers to these questions are found in a whole food chewable supplement from the best nutrient-rich sources on both land and sea and formulated by a renowned doctor in the nutritional industry.
How would you answer these questions about your supplements?
Part 2 will look at TEN basic concerns about the vitamin manufacturing process and the best decision you can make about your brand of vitamin pills.
When health is absent, wisdom cannot reveal itself, strength cannot fight, wealth becomes useless and intelligence cannot be applied…Herophilus
AnneMarie Berukoff is certified Nutritional Supplement Distributor and retired teacher. Her WELLNESS mission is whole food preventative health 101 Reasons to Plug Into Powerful Phytonutrients for Health.
Learn more about doctor-formulated chewable supplements from best nutrient sources of land and sea. Plus chewable weight loss product with 10 unique natural ingredients. 212 990 6438