Vitamin Supplements

Vitamin D is needed to help the body use calcium properly. It is converted into a hormone, calcitnol, that works with parathormone to promote the absorption and retention of calcium. Vitamin D deficiency among the elderly is far from uncommon. According to a survey published in the New England Journal of Medicine, 57 per cent of 290 senior citizens in hospital had low blood levels of this bone-building vitamin. Read the rest of this entry »

Glucosamine sulphate (GS) is an essential part of cell membranes and the cellular ‘glue’. It therefore plays a fundamental role in the formation of joints, tendons, ligaments, synovial fluid, bone and many more body parts including skin and blood vessels. Read the rest of this entry »

Minerals in multivitamin and mineral tablets often omit the `elemental’ value of the compound, stating only the amount of the mineral compound. For instance, 100mg of zinc amino acid chelate will provide only 10mg of zinc and 90mg of the amino acid to which it is chelated (attached).

You want to know the amount of the actual mineral — in this example, 10mg. This is called the ‘elemental value’. Most reputable manufacturers make your life easy by stating something like ‘zinc amino acid chelate (providing 5mg zinc) 50mg’ or ‘zinc (as amino acid chelate) 5mg’, both of which mean you are getting 5mg of elemental, or actual zinc. Read the rest of this entry »

Now you know how to read the labels and find out if a particular supplement contains what you need, here’s how to turn your nutrient needs into a supplement programme.

Theoretically, you could take a mega-mega-multi that has everything you could possibly need in it. The trouble is, this would be enormous, impossible to swallow and no doubt give you a lot more than you need of some nutrients. The other extreme is to take one supplement for each vitamin, exactly matching your requirements — but you’d end up with handfuls of pills. Read the rest of this entry »

Now that you’ve worked out what to take, you’ll want to know when to take them. This depends not only on what is technically best, but also on your lifestyle. If taking supplements twice a day would mean that you’d forget the second lot, you’re probably better off taking them all at once. After all, nature supplies them all in one go, with a meal. Here are the `ten commandments’ of supplement-taking: Read the rest of this entry »

Most of the minerals essential for health are supplied from food to the body as a compound, bound to a larger (food) molecule. This binding is known as chelation, from the Greek word chela, meaning ‘a claw’. Some form of chelation is important, since most essential minerals in their ‘raw’ state are positively charged. The gut wall is negatively charged, so once separated from food through the process of digestion, these unbound positively charged minerals would be attracted to the gut wall. Read the rest of this entry »

Phytochemical

Plants are a rich source of nutrition, but everything that is found in plants is not necessarily a nutrient.

Nutrients are things that our bodies need to grow and function correctly. If you think of a person’s body as a chessboard, nutrients are the chess pieces that are needed to play the game. Sometimes, however, the plants also contain some substance_s that are not chess pieces, although they can influence the game.

Many plants contain chemicals that, just like prescription medicines, have a modifying effect on the body’s processes. About 25% of prescription medicines come from plants. Aspirin, for example, comes from the bark of a type of willow tree, but is a chemically purified and modified form of the original salicylate. Read the rest of this entry »

Who benefits from supplements?

The answer is simple: Everyone. Many of my colleagues will probably want to burn me at the stake for this but there is enough evidence to prove that most people today do not eat a balanced enough diet to get all the vitamins they need. In addition, the fast pace, stress and pollution of modern society result in a greater need for vitamins and other nutrients. Read the rest of this entry »

Food supplements are here to stay and can give you a kick-start when you need it, but the utter confusion they sometimes cause does more harm than good

One of the fastest growing sections of the health industry is that of vitamin preparations. However, there is still a great deal of ignorance among both the public and health workers as to their desirability and meaningful use. The budget that most people have for “luxuries” like vitamins and health literature is limited. Read the rest of this entry »

They keep hormones in check

These essential fats also help to control the sex hormones in both men and women. In adolescents, they help to alleviate the hormone fluctuations so common during puberty, and thus prevent against outbreaks of acne, mood swings, and even ‘growing pains’. In adults, they help to stimulate fertility, decrease the severity of pre-menstrual syndrome and regulate menstrual cycles. In menopausal women, they alleviate mood swings and depression, and make this rather rocky ride a little easier to cope with.

They indirectly help to improve insulin resistance

For this reason they are used in fat loss programmes. Read the rest of this entry »