Top 5 Arguments For Vitamin And Mineral Supplements
1. Chemical agriculture has depleted, polluted and destroyed the soil and our water supply. If the minerals are not in the soil, they are not in the food. If the water is stripped of its minerals and polluted, and crop rotation and composting is not practiced, then the food is in a sorry state to begin with. Vitamins are highest when foods are freshly picked, and many decline rapidly post-harvest, both chemically and organically grown. Worldwide shipping and storage of fruits and vegetables give us further depleted food.
- Glyphosphate blocks calcium, magnesium, manganese and iron from being absorbed in genetically modified grains, fruits, legumes and vegetables
- Spinach and asparagus lose 50-70 percent of their folate when kept at room temperature for three days.
- Vegetables such as asparagus, broccoli, and green beans typically lose 50 percent of their vitamin C before they reach the produce counter
- Potatoes lose as much as 78 percent of their vitamin C during long-term storage at 36 degrees.
- Nitrogen fertilizers used in non-organic agriculture may lower vitamin C content in fruits and vegetables
- Blanching of vegetables prior to freezing can destroy half the vitamins
- Freezing meat can destroy up to 70 percent of its vitamins
3. Sugar, refined carbohydrates, stress, coffee, and alcohol consumption has created depletion on top of toxicity.
Who Can Benefit From Whole Food Organic Multivitamins
Many people can benefit from supplementation with a multivitamin. One study found that most US adults dont meet their recommended daily doses of the top ten nutrients, including vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin D, calcium, and iron.
Its safe to say that if you have a diet that comprises of lots of junk food and small amounts of fruits and vegetables, adding a multivitamin to your routine is a good idea.
Even if youre doing your best to consume a balanced and nutritionally complete diet, if you have a medical condition that impedes absorption, dietary restrictions or food allergies, a multivitamin can also be helpful.
People who have problems with their immune system such as the elderly also greatly benefit from extra vitamins. Vitamin E, B6 and C are great immune boosters.
That said, multivitamins should never replace a healthy diet. Taking a multivitamin does not mean you can get away with eating diet of only processed junk food.
With so many supplements available many people have forgotten the basics of health, a good diet and exercise. I am not slating supplements there are many that are very useful. However, many people think of supplements as wonder cures which mean they dont have to think about the rest of their intake.
The Problem With Synthetic Vitamins
You know you need a steady supply of vitamins and minerals so your body can function properly.
Their solution is to create cheap vitamins in labs, fortify your foods and beverages with them, and dump them into multivitamins.
The problem is these synthetic vitamins are not what your body is looking for either.
Almost all multivitamins are from synthetics. The same goes for fortified foods.
Theres a good reason for this. Synthetic vitamins are cheaper to make and usually more stable.
This means they can last on shelves for months or years, be added to foods in high doses, and create small dense tablets packed with insane amounts of every type of vitamin.
These vitamins are allowed to call themselves natural even when they are synthetic because scientists say the synthetics are virtually identical to the ones found in food.
However, the way these compounds are made is not remotely similar to the metabolic processes that plants and animals use to create them.
Avoid dietary supplements that use words ending in -acid, -ide, and sometimes -ate or use the dl before the name.
Synthetic vitamins are isolated or simulated nutrients that do not take into account all the countless phytonutrients that come along with them.
These synthetic vitamins, according to a multitude of studies, are:
- NOT as bioavailable as whole food vitamins
- NOT absorbable or usable
- NOT what we find in natural foods
- NOT recognizable to the body
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The Two Types Of Vitamin Supplements
This is my favorite analogy to use when discussing vitamins with customers that visit us in Woodstock.
Imagine you are in the store with us in the Town of Hippies, and need to get home. So I hand you a steering wheel and tell you to be on your way. You wont get very far at all. But youre chill about it, because this is Woodstock, man.
While a steering wheel is a crucial component of a car, it will not drive you.
Giving you Vitamin C is like handing you a steering wheel. Giving you an orange is giving you the car. Giving you a true whole food supplement is like giving you a car that is missing hubcaps or the bumper. Its not perfect, but it gets the job done.
When vitamins exist on their own, outside of their food sources, they are called isolates. Dehydrated, properly processed powders from ground up foods are whole foods. Whole food powders will contain vitamins, but they will also contain other important nutrients and cofactors typically found with those vitamins. An orange has thousands of identified compounds , and Vitamin C is just one of those.
Our goal is to live longer, have less disease, and be happier. Traditional isolate multivitamins will not do that for us, and theres now LOTS of evidence that proves that. No matter how much we want it, traditional multivitamins are just a box with steering wheels, radio knobs, and windshield wipersthey are not the whole car and will not drive us anywhere. We must eat a healthy, varied diet to accomplish this goal.
Online Shopping Also Has Good After
The best thing you can do for yourself before buying a naturelo whole food multivitamin product or service is research what services are offered after the sale and how much it costs. Some companies offer free repairs, but others charge for them.
We all want to get the most for our money, and sometimes that includes after-sale service. Check if there are any warranties or guarantees on parts from salespeople who may have lied about their experience with said itemssometimes these will be listed as service options after purchase but sometimes not so much which means more expense down the line for repairs/replacement expenses later-on.
After you buy a naturelo whole food multivitamin product, its important to have a good after-sale service.
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We Offer You Real Nutrition From Real Whole Foods
Absorb the Vibrant Energy of Nature
Our bio-enhanced, whole food supplements dont just provide vitamins and minerals in their free state. We surround them with the natural goodness of the raw food components that make them whole. Our free-state nutrients are captured as unbound molecules that are highly bioavailable, meaning they are ideal for maximum absorption by your body.
Surround Yourself with Farm Fresh Factors
Our free-state vitamins and minerals are derived from whole food sources including our Farm Fresh Factors raw nutrition from whole plants that captures all the vibrant energy and goodness of nature. The combination of food-sourced vitamins and minerals within the Farm Fresh Factors matrix support the bodys natural detoxification processes. These proprietary formulas support the nutritional benefits of all the vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients they contain. With Whole Earth & Sea, the whole truly is greater than the sum of its parts.
Whole Food Multivitamin For Women And Men With 62 Superfoods
This supplement promotes a strong immune system, enhances metabolism levels, and helps with joint comfort but also with your overall wellness, making sure to boost your health from all sides!
The fruits and vegetables used as ingredients are sourced from farmers and are therefore natural and high quality.
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Why Trust Verywell Family
A personal note on my recommendations written above. As a dietitian, I am careful to recommend supplements, especially for children. I spent time reviewing the most current research on vitamin and mineral supplementation for children, and I looked at multiple brands and products. As a mom, I understand how parents want to keep their children as healthy as possible with the highest quality products. I believe the supplements in the round-up are made by trusted brands that are devoted to product purity and are composed of high-quality ingredients. Eliza Savage, MS, RD, CDN
Lauren Cohen, MS, RD, LDN contributed to the FAQs.
The Major Studies On Multivitamins
1. A large randomized double placebo clinical trial in 2012 looking at 16,451 male doctors over 50 with a history of cancer followed for more than a decade found that those who took a multivitamin had an 8% lower incidence of cancer returning, however, it did not have any effect on prostate cancer or men without a history of cancer. It also did not show any reduction in heart attacks or strokes.
2. A 2006 study looked at the efficacy and safety of multivitamin and mineral supplement use to prevent cancer and chronic disease in adults. In a poorly nourished Chinese population, combined supplementation with beta-carotene, alpha-tocopherol, and selenium reduced the incidence of and mortality rate from gastric cancer and the overall mortality rate from cancer by 13% to 21%.
In a French trial, combined supplementation with vitamin C, vitamin E, beta-carotene, selenium, and zinc reduced the rate of cancer by 31% in men but not in women. Multivitamin and mineral supplements had no significant effect on cardiovascular disease or cataracts, except that combined beta carotene, selenium, alpha-tocopherol, retinol, and zinc supplementation reduced the mortality rate from stroke by 29%.
3. The study from JAMA looked at 68 trials with over 230,000 participants taking different varieties of antioxidants and concluded that treatment with beta carotene, vitamin A, and vitamin E may increase mortality. The potential roles of vitamin C and selenium on mortality need further study.
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Why Should You Take Whole Food Vitamins
Well, the first thing you should try is to make sure your diet gives you as much of the vitamins as possible.
This is why you should focus on consuming whole food vitamins instead of consuming synthetic vitamins.
The advantage of using these superfoods in your diet is that they will always cater to making your body healthier.
Synthetic vitamins can have adverse effects on your health. However, whole food vitamins will always work on making your body healthier.
Warning: Not All Supplements Are Created Equal
Unfortunately, the supplement industry is highly unregulated and its tough for the average consumer to know which supplements are effective and which ones are toilet flushersespecially at health food giants, like Whole Foods Market, where everythingfrom vegan Mac & Cheese to frozen cauliflower pizzais labeled healthy.
For instance, a scientific review of 20 different research studies on fish oil found that a vast majority of supplements on shelves are rancidmeaning the fatty acids in the fish oil supplement have gone bad due to over-processing and high-heat conditions supplements are subjected to during shipping. In other words: You may not be getting any fatty acids your body needs in that fish oil.
Another report by the New York Attorney General revealed that 79% of herbal supplements found at stores like GNC, Walmart, Walgreens, and Target didnt contain the ingredients they claim replacing real herbs with cheap fillers like wheat and soy powder. Each of the companies received a cease letter to stop selling the supplements.
And Consumer Lab releases reports daily regarding false and misleading claims and adverse side effects from many consumer-facing formulas.
Are you choosing quality supplements?
Here are my top 10 supplement picks you can find at Whole Foods Market to optimize your health .
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Look For Special Indicators
Special indicators can alert you to synthetic products. Ingredients that end in -ide or -ate may indicate that your multivitamin has been made with synthetic ingredients, but you can always consult your doctor or pharmacist for help if you are having trouble figuring out what is natural and what is not.
Determining whether whole food multivitamins are worth it largely depends on your own personal values and priorities. If clean supplements with natural ingredients are something that you consider to be very important, finding whole food multivitamins may be at the top of your priority list.
However, if you dont have a preference on what your vitamins are made of as long as you are getting the nutrients you need, do your own personal assessment of the potential risks when using synthetic vitamins.
If you need further guidance in order to make a decision, you can speak with your doctor about the pros and cons of whole food multivitamins.
Your doctor will be able to help you determine the best form of vitamin for your needs and concerns. It is always best to talk to your doctor before you start adding new vitamins to your diet.
Do Mens Multivitamins Really Work
While multivitamins seem promising, especially when you know you arent getting all of your nutrient needs through diet alone, the research on their effectiveness is mixed (
29 ).
If your healthcare professional determines youre deficient in a specific nutrient, they will likely recommend taking a single vitamin, rather than a multivitamin, as a multivitamin will likely contain additional nutrients that you dont need.
Its important to note that multivitamins are not meant to replace a balanced diet. Instead, supplements are designed for people who are unable to meet their nutritional needs through their diet alone.
For this reason, a multivitamin may not be necessary for everyone.
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Why You Should Take Natural Whole Food Vitamins
Your daily vitamin intake should come from food sources as much as possible. Supplements wont fix a poor diet and should never take the place of food for nutrition.
You should always eat a diverse, nutrient-dense diet. Superfoods are a way to get more vitamins from each bite.
However, our soil doesnt have the same nutrients in it as it used to, and this causes your food to lack the same high nutrient content. So, taking a multivitamin can help your body.
Whole food vitamins take large amounts of fruits and vegetables and condense them. You get more vitamins and minerals from whole food sources without having to eat crazy amounts of food.
Think of it this way: You cant eat a crate of oranges in one sitting just to be sure you have enough vitamin C. Whole food vitamins give you the exact same nutrition as the food you eat daily, in a more concentrated, easy to consume package.
Plus, your body can easily absorb the nutrients from whole food vitamins. Your body is made to take nutrients from food, and you receive all trace vitamins, minerals, enzymes, and coenzymes not found in synthetic vitamins.
So if you want a multivitamin, reach for the ones that use whole food sources like basil, guava, and other herbs, fruits, and vegetables.
Bio Naturals Whole Foods Multivitamin For Men & Women With 100+ Nutrients
This product is a multivitamin supplement containing more than 100 different natural ingredients.
It does not feature any fillers, preservatives, or any other artificial ingredients.
Instead, it is formulated with all kinds of vitamins, namely A, B, C, D, E, iron, calcium, zinc, magnesium, potassium, selenium, sodium, lutein, iodine, as well as an omega blend, a mix of herbs and so much more!
It is a potent product due to the many essential minerals and vitamins included in it that are meant to increase performance, stamina and energy, mental clarity and focus as well as blood circulation, heart health and strength of the bones.
It contains probiotics and digestive enzymes, which will not only help ease your stomach but will also increase the bodys absorption of all the other nutrients contained in the same supplement!
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Whole Food Based Supplements:
Nutrients come from real whole foods. The nutrients are coming from real live foods like fruits, vegetables, herbs, and superfoods. Leaving them unaltered in their whole food state allows the nutrients to work synergistically within the body as all parts are necessary in order for a particular nutrient to do its job.
The foods are raw and never heated to high temperatures. This low heat method is extremely important to keep the vital nutrients intact so that they do not become destroyed by heat, and are properly assimilated in the body.
They are gentle on the stomach and easy to absorb. So gentle that they can even be taken on an empty stomach without making most people nauseous. Capsules are made from easy to digest plant cellulose without nasty fillers, and tablets are soft enough to crush since there are no unnecessary binders. The body recognizes the real food and it is readily absorbed.
Who Should Take A Multivitamin
Although it might seem like taking a multivitamin can only be a good thing, there are some situations in which people should not take multivitamins. Therefore, it is important to talk to your doctor before taking any type of multivitamin in order to ensure that the vitamin will not cause any interactions with your current medications or existing health conditions. For example, people who take medications that contain a large amount of vitamin A, such as Accutane, should not take a multivitamin containing vitamin A, as having too much of the vitamin can cause vitamin A toxicity. High levels of vitamin A can also be dangerous for pregnant women. Therefore, it is always best to check with your doctor before you start using any new prescription medication, over the counter drugs, or dietary supplements. Although multivitamins are not right for everyone, they do offer benefits for many people. The following groups are most likely to benefit from the regular use of a multivitamin:
People with certain digestive disorders that impact nutrient absorption, those on low-calorie diets, individuals with a small appetite, and those who do not receive enough vitamins and minerals from their diets may also benefit from a multivitamin.Other groups of people that can benefit from a multivitamin include individuals who have had gastric bypass or other types of weight loss surgery, as these procedures may impact the bodys ability to absorb and utilize certain nutrients from food.
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