The following questions in supplements Q&A are from our readers. As we receive more questions, this section will continue to expand with newest questions at top of list.
Question: What is a supplement?
Answer: The term generally refers to dietary supplements, which are defined by the FDA as minerals, vitamins, herbs or other botanicals (excepting tobacco), a concentration, metabolite, extract, amino acid, or combination of these. There is actually a very large number of them, so many in fact that we will not list them here. Dietary supplements can vary widely from DHEA to creatine monohydrate; from protein powders to fat burning pills of many types, as well as a host of others.
Question: Are dietary supplements good for the body?
Answer: A wide range of vitamins and minerals are good for the body when used at the recommended dosage rates. However, the FDA does not regulate dietary supplements and many of them make false claims and in fact, can harm your physiology and wellness. Be cautious of the kinds and amounts of dietary supplements you consume and, follow suggested recommendations for dosage rates.
Do not develop the philosophy that if a little is good, more is better. It is better to have a balanced diet and to use moderation than to consume large quantities of these unregulated substances. For your safety, you should seek out information from expert sources prior to new supplement use.
The best method is to research the supplement outside of the company that produces it, i.e., take the manufacturers literature and use an outside source, not a competitor, to obtain the best unbiased facts possible about it. Chances are, if the products claims sounds too good to be true, it is.
Question: What does MyHealthandFitness recommend about dietary supplements?
Answer: We list on the MyHealthandFitness Internet site information about various supplements that have been researched in depth; both their pros and cons. Information is based on scientific research and are presented to show the facts about that supplement and how it can affect your body. As new information is presented on various supplements, we will post them in the Supplements Information section. Be aware that some supplements can be hazardous to your health in the long term
MyHealthandFitness has sought out the very best for those who wish to purchase supplements to enhance his or her current nutritional plan. Following is why we have chosen these supplements for you. Also, you should look at the long-term benefits and realize that future health is what you are striving for.
Each individual has several problems when trying to obtain adequate amounts of vitamins and minerals and also a good quality vitamin and mineral product. For decades, farmers that furnish food to the general population generally have grown that food in the same fields year after year. During this process soil nutrients that are taken up by plants gradually diminished resulting in a less nutritious plant each growing season. Over time, plant growth and yields diminished. As a result, farmers added fertilizers to the fields to enhance plant growth. However, these fertilizers were in the form of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium (these three are called plant macro-nutrients). While this process has increased yield back to normal levels, the micro-nutrients used by the plants were not replenished by the farmer each season, only the nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. This has resulted in less and less vitamins and minerals in the same food products each year than there was in previous years. Thus, the vitamin and mineral content has steadily declined in the vegetables and plant products we eat each year so that to get the same amount we should, we have to eat more of them. This means eating more calories, which is what many of us do not wish to do.
The answer to this problem is to take vitamin and mineral supplements to enhance the foods we eat and to ensure that we are receiving adequate amounts of these substances. This is especially true for those who workout on a regular basis and are more active as a result. Before discussing this, lets look at the importance of vitamins and minerals and what they do. A synopsis, i.e., tables of individual functions for what vitamins and minerals do can be found at the end of this article.
Benefits of Supplements
The benefits of supplements is for enhancement and to ensure adequate amounts of vitamins and minerals are obtained. The supplement you decide to use must be chosen with care. In fact, some nutrients may actually be harmful to your health when taken as a supplement. In one study, researchers found an increased risk of prostate cancer among men who drank alcohol and took beta carotene supplements. In an earlier study, they found that smokers who took beta carotene supplements had an increased risk of lung cancer. It’s possible that alcohol and tobacco change the way your body absorbs and uses beta carotene. In addition, large amounts of beta carotene can alter blood levels of other, similar natural food pigments called carotenoids, some of which may actually be more beneficial to you than beta carotene.
Thus, while we should concentrate on obtaining most nutrients from food, those that cannot be obtained in an adequate amount or because of a hurried lifestyle can be adequately obtained from a good supplement manufacturer. At MyHealthandFitness, we want you to understand that supplements are not substitutes for good nutritious food. They are called supplements because they supplement what you may not obtain from your food(s) of choice. They can’t replace the hundreds of nutrients in whole foods you need for a nutritionally balanced diet.
We have taken the guesswork out of choosing a supplement for yourself. First we will tell you what to look for in choosing a supplement and second, why the supplements we have chosen and had manufactured for us to fit you are the best you can get.
Following are some factors to consider when purchasing supplements:
Avoid supplements that provide “megadoses.” In general, choose a multivitamin-mineral supplement that provides about 100% DV of all the vitamins and minerals instead of one that supplies, for example, 500% DV of one vitamin and only 20% DV of another. The exception to this is calcium. You may notice that calcium-containing supplements don’t provide 100% DV. If they did, the tablets would be too large to swallow. Most cases of nutrient toxicity stem from high-dose supplements.
Look for USP on the label. This ensures that the supplement meets the standards for strength, purity, disintegration and dissolution established by the testing organization, U.S. Pharmacopeia (USP).
Beware of gimmicks. Synthetic vitamins are the same as so-called “natural” vitamins. Don’t give in to the temptation of added herbs, enzymes or amino acids they add nothing but cost unless they have a very specific function and are specifically or biochemically designed for ingestion with various other supplements.
Look for expiration dates. Supplements can lose potency over time, especially in hot and humid climates. If a supplement doesn’t have an expiration date, don’t buy it.
Store all vitamin and mineral supplements out of the sight and reach of children. Put them in a locked cabinet or other secured location. Don’t leave them sitting out on the counter or rely on child-resistant packaging. Be especially careful with any supplements containing iron. Iron overdose is a leading cause of poisoning deaths among children.
Store supplements in a dry, cool place. Avoid hot, humid storage locations, such as the bathroom.
Explore your options. If you have difficulty swallowing, ask your doctor whether a chewable or liquid form of the vitamin and mineral supplements might be right for you.
Play it safe. Before taking anything other than a standard multivitamin-mineral supplement of 100% DV or less, check with your doctor, pharmacist or a registered dietitian. This is especially important if you have a health problem or are taking medication. High doses of niacin, for example, can result in liver problems. In addition, supplements may interfere with your medications. Vitamins E and K, for example, aren’t recommended if you’re taking blood-thinning medications (anticoagulants) because they can complicate the proper control of blood thinning. If you’re already taking an individual vitamin or mineral supplement and haven’t told your doctor, discuss it at your next checkup.
The Supplements from MyHealthandFitness
There are a number of things that make the our supplements unique. The public is accustomed to purchasing vitamin and mineral formulas by price, which is related back to the numeric values of nutrients listed on each label. In other words, how much am I getting for my dollar. Admittedly, unless you know about chemistry and the biochemical function of each nutrient and how it works synergistically with the other nutrients in the human body, you may not have a good method of determining whether you are getting your moneys worth or not. That is why we have done this for you.
The supplements offered by MyHealthandFitness, their formulas, are not based on current marketing strategy in the industry. They are based on bioavailability, the ability of the nutrient to access the cell, and balance from good chemistry. We can stick hundreds of milligrams of vitamins, minerals and amino acids in these products but if they’re not bioavailable, you have lost your money!
The Supplements From MyHealthandFitness Are An Investment In Your Health!
Make sure the formula is balanced and stable.
Using nutrients balanced for their synergy is much more potent, effective and safe than taking one nutrient synthetically or from nature and raising it way up and out of proportion to the other nutrients. Nutritional factors such as the phosphorus-calcium balance within the body must be accounted for within nutrition and supplements. Many manufacturing companies do not concern themselves with this. Thus, nutrients out of proportion, become competitive and may inhibit the absorption of other nutrients that would otherwise work synergistically in the formulas. An example of balance would be our Vanadyl Plus product. We took the vanadium and balanced it with chromium and other nutrients to establish your Glucose Tolerance Factor (GTF). If we had only put Vanadium in the product and recommended high dosages you might excrete your chromium via urination because of competition rather than synergistic augmentation and become out of balance and toxic. Therefore, the balance and ability of the nutrients to work together yield the product more effective. As a result, you just made a good investment and got your moneys worth.
We have transport systems built into the products that require them.
Just throwing Amino Acids in a Capsule and expecting to completely absorb them could be hit and miss. We set up the conditions in the digestive system for proper absorption for you. The amino build formula for instance has an active transport system built into it to get it across the gut and into the bloodstream.
We use the highest grades of nutrients.
For instance, in our Life Assurance (Multiple Vitamin and Mineral formula) we use some very unique mineral chelations to stabilize the minerals and than direct them to certain parts of the body. The Pharmaceutical B vitamins are blended with rice powder to ad in cofactors from nature needed to stabilize them.
We Use Free Amino Acids in Our Formulas.
Each Amino Acid has a function of its own and cannot perform this function while bound to peptides. Most dietary peptides are not active and require an enzyme to react with it and carry it into the liver where it requires further digestion. If this part of digestion does not take place properly peptides can slip into the blood undigested and cause problems. Our Free Amino Acids can be used to synthesize new proteins according to your own genetic code latter on in the process if need be. This also eliminates allergy symptoms, arthritic symptoms and encephalopathy (affecting the brain negatively).
Capsules and Tablets
We use both Capsules and Tablets in formulating. We may make this determination depending on the formula and the nutrients contained and where and when we want them released for best absorption. Some of the tablets being manufactured on the market today do not have good breakdown times or do not break down at all. Our tablets are adjusted for breakdown time so that the nutrients are released at the best time for efficient absorption and utilization.
The Manufacturing Plant.
The newest most advanced equipment is used in manufacturing our products. A no dust system backed up by a multi-million dollar air filtration system guarantees no cross contamination of products. So, if you are a competitive or Olympic athlete, you will not have to concern yourself about testing positive for something that should not be in your system.
Laboratory Facilities.
On-site laboratory facilities allow us to quarantine and double check all materials for authenticity and bacterial counts against certificates of analysis.
Our products are manufactured under a Pharmaceutical Registration, A.C.E.R.I.S (Academy of Environmental Research and Informational Sciences), NNFA and APHA. They will be added to the MyHealthandFitness store soon.