Whole Food Vitamins

Why should I take a vitamin? Does it matter what kind of vitamin I take? Aren't they all the same? In the past two weeks I have started a journey to find the type of supplememt we want to carry in our chiropractic office. The reason the journey has started so early (a year early to be exact) is because I will not ever suggest or advise on anything that I haven't turned inside out and/or tried myself. We are pretty close to finding a winner and when we do I will let you all know. As for now to answer myself, a vitamin is a supplement of nutrition. We would be hard pressed to get all the vitamins and minerals we need each and every day just from the food we eat. One of the reasons behind this is because our fruits and vegetables don't contain as much as they used to (we can get into the science of this another day). It does matter what type of vitamin or supplement you take. They aren't all the same.

To narrow it down there are two catergories whole food and synthetic. A synthetic vitamin is made from isolated portions of the whole food. Your body is only able to use a portion of what is actually in the synthetic vitamin, and even that portion isn't absored to well. This should help you understand why your urine is a fluorscent yellow after taking a synthetic vitamin, that is where the majority of the nutrients end up, in the toilet. A whole food vitamin contains everything from the food. Thereby making it all available to your body. I have taken both, and am happy to report no fluorscent pee after the whole food vitamin.

Now there is an important thing to realize, if you are getting the whole food vitamin, you will be paying more. There is no gentle way to put it, quality products cost more. The cheaper the vitamin, the cheaper the processing that went into it. I am not saying the you need to find the most expensive whole food vitamin to have a quality product, I am saying that the bottle of Equate (Wal-Mart) brand where you get 240 capsules for $6.00, will provide you with flourscent yellow pee. Really you are beter off flushing your $6.00 down the toilet as that is where most of the "vitamins" end up! Here is an article that helps me explain what I am trying to say. ;)
Whole Food Vitamins ROCK!

If quality and natural matters to you, then make sure the source of your vitamins is whole foods. Is your supplement a synthetic (made up in lab) vitamin? If it is a whole food vitamin then the company will usually be proud to advertise as such and list the source of the vitamin. Here are the critical points you should know about whole food vitamins.

Don't ever select a vitamin based solely on price point. There are significant reasons why one vitamin is cheaper than the other. When you decide on what is an acceptable quality, then comparison shop for that similar quality vitamin so you are comparing oranges with oranges and apples with apples. Watch out for companies with well recognized names who have purchasing power. Read the label even more.

Your body prefers to absorb vitamins and other nutrients from natural or whole foods. In other words, these are foods in their natural, unprocessed or unpolished states. Therefore, most health and wellness experts agree that whole food sources of vitamins and minerals and other nutrients are superior. Synthetic may mimic but will not be superior as good as natural. Your body will absorb and utilize the whole food vitamins more than synthetic.

The fewer additives the better and the fewer opportunities there are for allergic reactions. Remember, avoid artificial flavoring and colors. The supplement market is very competitive; the better the quality the better and more prominent the labeling stating such. Vague labels with minimal information are strong indicators of lower quality.

Find out if your vitamin is made by a company with rigorous quality control standards that are validated by a third party certification provider such as the NSF or ISO. Your vitamin needs to be NSF or ISO certified. Why would you take any dietary or nutrition supplement made by a company without one of these certifications? NSF certification for example assures the consumer that the product has been tested and will continue to be tested through periodic audits. In other words, the certification of a product is continuous, not a one time process. The product should have the high quality ingredients and manufacturing process that a company claims.

Vitamins are supplements. Just as all dietary supplements, they are not cure alls for disease states. They supply what the body is missing to heal itself for perform natural physiologic functions. They are not medicines. However, if not used in an appropriate manner they can harm you. For example, if you are on a blood thinner such as coumadin for whatever reason, you would not want to take vitamin K supplementation. It will oppose the coumadin to try and thicken the blood.

The question is frequently asked, who should take vitamins? The answer is most people. Most do not get enough vitamins because of a deficiency of adequate fruits and vegetables and whole foods in the diet. Look at the plate of most people eating around you. Are those plates colorful with fruits and vegetables or are do they lack color because of all the starch and meat?

Use a vitamin that is from a whole food source and that is NSF or ISO certified. Choose a supplement based on quality not price.