CJW
Power Conserver
miss_thenorth said:http://drbenkim.com/articles-vitamins.html
Here are some facts that you wont find advertised on most of the vitamin supplements at your local vitamin store:
The majority of commercial vitamin supplements are made up of synthetic vitamins
Synthetic vitamins do not perform the same functions in your body as vitamins found naturally in whole food
Many synthetic vitamins deplete your body of other nutrients and tax your kidneys before being excreted through your urine
If you want a comprehensive understanding of what vitamins are and what they do in your body, it would be best to take a full course in biochemistry. Do you remember all of those molecular formulas and chemical reactions that you studied in your high school chemistry class? Biochemistry is really just an extension of chemistry, with an emphasis on the thousands of chemical reactions that occur in your body on a moment-to-moment basis.
Anyone who studies biochemistry learns that vitamins do not exist as single components that act on their own. Vitamins are made up of several different components enzymes, co-enzymes, and co-factors that must work together to produce their intended biologic effects.
Vitamins that are found naturally in whole foods come with all of their necessary components. The majority of vitamins that are sold in pharmacies, grocery stores, and vitamin shops are synthetic vitamins, which are only isolated portions of the vitamins that occur naturally in food.
A good example is vitamin C. If you take a look at a variety of vitamin C supplements, you will find that the majority of them contain only ascorbic acid or a compound called ascorbate, which is a less acidic form of acorbic acid. Ascorbic acid is NOT vitamin C. It represents the outer ring that serves as a protective shell for the entire vitamin C complex, much like an orange peel that serves as a protective shell for an orange. Real vitamin C found in whole foods like fruits and vegetables contain the following components:
Rutin
Bioflavonoids (vitamin P)
Factor K
Factor J
Factor P
Tyrosinase
Ascorbinogen
Ascorbic Acid
When you take only ascorbic acid found in your synthetic vitamin C tablet or powder, your body must gather all of the other components of the full vitamin C complex from your bodys tissues in order to make use of it. In the event that your body does not have adequate reserves of the other components, ascorbic acid itself does not provide any of the health benefits that the full vitamin C complex does. After circulating through your system, the unused ascorbic acid is eliminated through your urine.
Just like vitamin C, almost all other vitamins that we know of offer their full health benefits when they are in the presence of a number of enzymes, co-enzymes, co-factors, and even minerals. For example, Vitamin D may have as many as twelve different active components, while vitamin P has at least five different components. The mineral copper is needed for full vitamin C activity, while vitamin E works closely with the mineral selenium to provide its health promoting, anti-oxidative effect.
Clearly, it is best to get your vitamins from whole foods because whole foods provide complete vitamins rather than fractions of them. In many cases, whole foods also provide the minerals that are necessary for optimal vitamin activity. For example, sunflower seeds are an excellent whole food source of vitamin E and the mineral selenium, both of which need each other to offer their full health benefits.
How do you know if the vitamins on your kitchen counter are from whole foods or if they are synthetic?
If the list of ingredients includes an actual vitamin like Vitamin C rather than an actual food that contains natural vitamin C like acerola cherry powder, you can bet that it is a synthetic vitamin.
If you choose to use nutritional supplements, it is in your best interest to use only those products that list actual foods as their ingredients rather than synthetic and isolated vitamins. While some synthetic and isolated vitamins have been shown to provide minimal health benefits, on the whole, most of them cause more harm than good and you are far better off spending your money on whole foods.
It is important to note that the principles in this article are just as relevant and applicable to minerals and mineral supplements.
Two whole food supplements that my family uses on a regular basis are a super green food mixture and an acerola cherry powder product.
After reading this, i switched to a supplement made from whole foods. It is a powder and i mix it in to my kombucha.
I agree with both of these posts.lwheelr said:Oy, PLEASE don't give her a multi-vitamin! It will cause more problems than it helps.
Multi-vitamins only contain the SAME nutrients that are already in enriched foods. They DON'T contain the micronutrients that she is likely low on (which only come in fresh foods). For people who may be low on some of the nutrients in multi-vitamins, they are not in the pills in highly absorbable forms - enough to OD you if you already have sufficient, but not enough to help if you really are deficient. They should NEVER be used as "insurance", because the overdoses they cause are responsible for many problems that doctors are prescribing for.
The human body is VERY resilient to changes in diet, and a person can go years with minimal input of most vitamins or minerals without ill effect (problems in third world countries which much of the nutrient research has been based on have been from long term complete absence of a nutrient, not just fluctuating levels). Unless she is completely avoiding veggies and fruits, or unless she has a malabsorption condition, chances are she's fine. Seriously. The body is very good at extracting nutrients, and at using them. The more natural her diet is (even if it seems unbalanced), the more likely it is that she is getting enough of the things she needs.
Foods are NOT depleted - at least, not when they are harvested. There is a myth running around that our soil is so depleted that all foods are nutrient lacking. Not true. Foods are fine when harvested, they are simply stripped of nutrients between harvest and purchase. That "soil depletion" myth is created by manufacturers of supplements, who want you to think you have to have their product. In fact, plants can synthesize nutrients, not all nutrients in plants or foods start out in the soil (as we know, from info on sprouting, fermenting, etc).
Supplements should NEVER be used unless there is strong reason to believe that a person is low on specific nutrients. Food is always the best solution even then (good, clean, fresh food) - and supplement should only be used when getting the right foods is impossible, or when the right foods are not being absorbed. If a supplement IS necessary, it should be single nutrients only, in the right doses for each one to address the problem at hand, not just a random handful of mixed compounds like multi-vitamins provide.
Don't give her iron unless you know for certain that she IS in fact low on it.
If she has symptoms which indicate a possible deficiency, then do some research and figure out which one. (Blood tests do not show deficiencies accurately, some trial and error is needed.) If she has no specific symptoms to indicate deficiency, then it is unlikely that she needs any supplementation.
For example, B-12 deficiency can cause nerve pain. Potassium deficiency can cause twitches or heart palpitations. Magnesium deficiency can cause depression. B-6 deficiency causes a range of metabolic imbalances (weight, blood sugar, energy, etc).
Make sure you research overdoses at the same time you research deficiencies, so that if you do recommend a supplement for her, that you will also notice if she starts to get too much (which OFTEN happens over time).
Overdoses on vitamins can cause some VERY serious issues. Too much Thiamine or Riboflavin (which are in most prenatal vitamins, AND in most breakfast cereals in very high amounts) will cause high blood sugar - and are a probable cause of the majority of gestational diabetes cases, and a high percentage of Type II diabetes cases.
High Iron also causes high blood sugar, and can cause other serious problems.
Vitamin A is very toxic in high doses, yet is contained in many multi-vitamins. Persistent headaches are one symptom of overdose, but not the only one.
B-12 supplements are usually cyanocobalamine. They may help to begin with, but you can actually overdose on the cyanide component while still being low on the cobalamine part - because of how it absorbs (and the fact that B-12 requires other elements to be functioning in order to absorb properly). Cyanocobalamine is not a natural form of B-12, it is a byproduct of chemical manufacture, which can be absorbed as B-12 in some circumstances, but not in others (depends on WHY you are low on it). And it is the form that is in almost all supplements. My son and I have both had this peculiar overdose occur (while still being low on B-12), having severe heart arrythmias because of it, which disappeared immediately on stopping the B-12 supplementation, and which was confirmed by repeat trials.
Multi-vitamins dose with a "one size fits all" mentality, often indiscriminately, regardless of individual nutritional status.
I was sick during every pregnancy that I took them, and every time I've taken a multi-vitamin, they've made me sick as well - headaches, fatigue, nausea, etc. Took me years to figure out that they were causing it - after all, my doctor told me I needed it, right? I persistently refused to take them during my last pregnancy (man, do the doctors give you grief over that!), and had the healthiest pregnancy I have ever had, with no excess pain or illness. The difference was night and day.
They do far more harm to health than they do good. They are a beguiling idea, but probably one of the biggest health frauds in existence.
I have a malabsorption condition, and have had to deal with about ten specific deficiencies at different times. I had to learn to recognize both deficiency symptoms, and overdose symptoms as my digestive condition changed (both for worse, and then for better). Doctors were of no help - I had to research it extensively on my own.
With teens, it is hard, because THEY will choose. And you really HAVE to let them take responsibility for their own health. My son complains of nerve pain (he has Crohn's also, which causes malabsorption). I tell him to take B-12. He does for a few weeks, starts to feel better, then stops taking it (he never gets enough to get to the point of overdose). A week or two later, he's having pain again, complaining to me. But I can only advise him to get enough veggies and take that B-12 which he manifestly needs. I can't force him to. He has to accept the consequences and responsibility.
Multi-vitamins are never the answer.
Yeah, I do have a soapbox. But it is a justifiable one.
Laura
Mom to Eight, Web Designer, Milker of Goats, Feeder of Chickens
And, on a side note, now that I have been gluten free, I feel better-I am absorbing the nutrients from my food, and I have never felt better!
