Grasping At Straws To Be Healthy

“True food vitamins are superior because they work in harmony with the body, while isolated, synthetic nutrients lack the full range of co-factors needed for proper function.”

Product quality in supplements

Supplements used to be called food supplements because some were food derived or they supplemented food or lack of food nutrients. Today they can be toxic to your health. With health food stores and pharmacies stocking food supplements that sell—mainly due to bully marketing, dominating the marketplace and squeezing out competitors—as opposed to food supplements that benefit our health, the consumer is being led to believe they are buying the best. When you walk into a health food store it quickly becomes evident of the supplement companies that buy shelf space, it is like real estate: the higher the turnover the greater the profit margin. How it works with all marketing is that the manufacturer makes a deal with the retailers; they are told that they will drive sales to their store if they stock the item, they will guarantee sales. It is a no brainer, and stores buy in. I received a flyer today and of course one company dominates the contents; the same applies to monthly magazine, the same company fills the ads. It is quickly assumed by the consumers that the product saturation must mean the brand is the best. If not, why would every store carry their line?

How is the consumer suppose to know what is right for them in this sea of choices? When clients have needs, they ask for help, sometimes with very sensitive situations—what to take to treat a disease condition—and they can be very descriptive explaining their condition. They would never disclose these things to a stranger unless they think this person is reliable, with expertise. The store clerk on the other hand may not know much more than the customers but they represent authority due to their position—it is a dangerous predicament practicing medicine without a license, and it comes with a hefty fine.

In my day product quality was everything, food supplements were very clean and as close to nature as possible. Sure, you had pharmacies but mainly for drug related products and items for first aid and synthetic based vitamins. Customers went to health food stores because they were different, brands in pharmacies would not be found in HFS. Today that has all changed, there is really not much difference, even though some companies change the brand names, selling the same products and appear to having higher quality in HFS.

Nowadays you really have to be a detective to find the information on the nutritional supplements that you would like to take. Advertisements would suggest all kinds of alternatives for vitamins and minerals stating that it is essential for you to take them. You want to be healthy after all, right? The truth is, the companies, (most owned by pharma and corporate interests) behind these advertisements producing the products “are sabotaging the health of millions of people who are unsuspecting buyers of harmful and synthetic vitamins and minerals. I hate to say this as I am in the supplement business, but the people need to know the real goods. The fact is that most mineral and vitamin brands on the market are synthetic, i.e. made from oxide minerals and other chemical substances. These products contain harmful substances, for example: preservatives, fillers, binders, coal tar, bitumen, gelatin, waste products etc. Consequently, these products cannot be digested by the human body and therefore cannot be assimilated. Moreover, they do not have a synergism due to being industrial-made and thus cannot find their way out of the body and get lodged in the tissues and maybe causing disease or enhancing present diseases, (all in the name of health). Multi complexes are manufactured by pharmaceutical and food companies, and are not organic which is the state all digestible foods must be in for the body to break them down in order to absorb their nutrients.”[1]

Whole food vs. synthetic supplements

Whole food supplements are made from concentrated whole foods, containing complex structures of vitamins, enzymes, coenzymes, antioxidants, and other essential compounds that work together synergistically. Unlike isolated or synthetic nutrients, which are separated from their natural complexes and treated like foreign substances by the body, whole food supplements are recognized and utilized efficiently. Synthetic supplements, especially in high potencies/doses, can act like drugs, leading to imbalances and potential deficiencies as the body depletes its stored nutrients to compensate.

The natural synergy in whole food supplements ensures better absorption and effectiveness, whereas breaking nutrients apart diminishes their value. Many supplement manufacturers overload products with isolated nutrients, assuming more is better, but bioavailability and balance are more important than sheer quantity. Excessive intake of single nutrients can disrupt the body’s equilibrium, emphasizing the need for whole food-based supplementation over synthetic alternatives. “The potency of a supplement has much more to do with synergy than with actual nutrient levels. It is a combined effect of all the parts of the food, rather than the chemical effect of a single part, that is most important.”[2]

According to studies, there are synthetic supplements that you should avoid: vitamin A (beta carotene), vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol) and vitamin B is also on the list.

A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial[3] was conducted in southwestern Finland to examine whether daily supplementation with alpha-tocopherol (vitamin E) or beta carotene could reduce lung cancer risk in male smokers aged 50 to 69. Over 29,000 participants were assigned to receive either alpha-tocopherol, beta carotene, both, or a placebo, with follow-up lasting five to eight years. The results showed no reduction in lung cancer incidence among those taking alpha-tocopherol, while beta carotene supplementation was unexpectedly associated with an 18% increase in lung cancer cases. Alpha-tocopherol appeared to reduce prostate cancer incidence but had no effect on overall mortality, though there was an increase in deaths from hemorrhagic stroke. Meanwhile, total mortality was 8% higher among those taking beta carotene, largely due to more deaths from lung cancer and ischemic heart disease. The study concluded that supplementation with these antioxidants did not lower lung cancer risk and may, in some cases, have harmful effects.

A recent meta-analysis suggests a very similar conclusion: “β-Carotene supplementation has no beneficial or harmful effect on cancer incidence; moreover, it might have potentially harmful effects on lung cancer, especially for people who smoke. On the basis of the evidence from this study, supplemental intake of β-carotene is not recommended for preventing cancer, and the establishment of a tolerable upper intake level of β-carotene should be considered.”[4]

Vitamin E was linked to an increased risk of prostate cancer. According to a cancer prevention trial, “[d]ietary supplementation with vitamin E significantly increased the risk of prostate cancer among healthy men”[5] compared with the placebo group.

A cohort study regarding vitamin B supplementation showed similar results: “use of vitamin B6 and B12 from individual supplement sources, but not from multivitamins, was associated with a 30% to 40% increase in lung cancer risk among men.”[6] This has to do with synthetic chemical-based vitamins. They are toxic, that is why due to low cellular delivery the dosage of B vitamins are so high but the body cannot absorb these toxic sources.

Quality at Life Choice

Our formulations are condition-directed medicine combined with proven in practice protocols offering therapeutic results. Our sourcing is what makes us truly unique; if quality is not provided in the alpha stage, it will never materialize in the omega stage. Product quality is the synonym of absorption: formulated to absorb in the cellular level and not the gut level.

Our raw materials have always been non-GMO, USP pharmaceutical grade quality and DMF patented material when available, traced to its origin complete with flow charts detailing each stage until the finished process. Life Choice products are radiation and paraben free and never sourced from animal or human by-products, with the exception of our glandular formulas sourced from New Zealand.

We replaced flow agents’ magnesium stearate (MS) and stearic acid (SA) with ascorbyl palmitate (fat soluble vitamin C). According to neurological studies, MS may collapse cell-membrane and selectively kill T cells and reduce the body’s immunity. It may also compound mental health issues due to its bioaccumulation.

Inactive minerals were replaced with active methylated forms: folic acid with 5-MTHF folate (standard folic acid carries an increased chance of causing miscarriage or neural tube defects via MTHFR enzyme mutation) and B6-pyridoxine with Pyridoxal-5-Phosphate (P5P) (this form does not need to be converted in the body, while B6 may cause sensory neuropathy with higher levels).

For amino acids, we use fermented extraction instead of a chemical extraction; fermented amino acids are created from vegan, non-GMO sugar cane, and use 30 enzyme reactions to generate. Extracted amino acids are created from human or animal materials (including sewage), and use 3-5 enzymes with chemicals to generate (chemical residues may remain). We also use vegetarian capsules instead of animal gelatin to avoid undesirable animal waste by-products, and organic cotton rather than synthetic rayon.

Remember that food-based supplements should be your first choice, as they are closer to their natural form and more effectively utilized by the body. When choosing a supplement, look for products made with high-quality ingredients, carefully processed, and tested for potency and quality. Companies with a strong track record of producing effective, natural supplements are the best option.

Most vitamins on the market are synthetic, derived from petroleum or hydrogenated sugar extracts, even if labeled “natural.” These synthetic forms differ from real food-based vitamins in structure and function, making them less beneficial and harder for the body to absorb. True food vitamins are superior because they work in harmony with the body, while isolated, synthetic nutrients lack the full range of co-factors needed for proper function.

 

A Comparison of Multi-Vitamins

 

 

 

Additional Reading:

 

 

References:

[1] Nikolic, Goran and Markovic, Dragana. 2015.

[2] Ibid.

[3] Alpha-Tocopherol, Beta Carotene Cancer Prevention Study Group. 1994.

[4] Zhang, Yulin et al. 2023.

[5] Klein, Eric A. et al. 2011.

[6] Brasky, Theodore M. et al. 2017.