Why Synergy is Crucial when Formulating Mineral Supplements

Most people are aware these days that supplementation of vitamins and minerals are essential to achieving and maintaining optimal health. “Don’t forget to take your vitamins” has been said by countless concerned mothers to their children in likely every language known to man. What most people do not know, however, is that in many cases vitamin and mineral supplements are seldom made by companies to provide maximum value to the body. This can be attributed to several factors (not the least of which is profit), but a major key to getting the most benefit from your supplement is to ensure that it is formulated to resemble food as closely as possible.

All healthy food is made up of several compounds, each working synergistically to deliver nutrients to cells in a way that provides a net positive result to the body. For example, good food does not rob the body of one resource in order to digest and assimilate another. The key word here is “synergistically.” According to the Oxford Dictionary, synergy is defined as “the interaction or cooperation of two or more organizations, substances, or other agents to produce a combined effect greater than the sum of their separate effects.” The concept of synergy is crucial when it comes to formulating effective and therapeutic vitamin and mineral supplements.

Without optimum synergistic formulation, many of the supplements consumed by the public fail to absorb to the cells where they are needed most. In such cases, not only do the minerals not perform their intended tasks, without absorption they can also accumulate and actually bring harm to the body. Calcium, for example, is the most abundant mineral in the body and is essential to life it self. Calcium deficiency is the leading cause of osteoporosis which affects over 200 million people world-wide, creating a large demand for calcium supplementation. If the calcium supplement is not formulated to act in a synergistic manner with compounds that enable absorption to cells, accumulation occurs and the calcium deposits eventually form in joints. The critical question then becomes, “Which compound is the best option to be formulated with calcium in order to enable absorption and avoid accumulation?”

Calcium Orotate

Unfortunately, most calcium supplements on the market are formulated as calcium carbonate, a far inferior form of calcium that has no way of entering the cells without a chelating agent. This means that the body is forced to use calcium from the bones and other tissues to buffer the compound and, as a result, can actually promote osteoporosis.

Calcium Orotate is the “only known form of calcium that can effectively penetrate the membranes of cells.” Orotate formulations for calcium and magnesium are the most effective for enabling cellular absorption, and should be a main consideration for those who are considering supplementations for these minerals. It all comes down to which formula is the most effective in delivering the compounds to the cells. Otherwise, the minerals stay in the blood stream unable to be absorbed and result in unhealthy deposits through-out the body that only accumulate over time.

This is why our formulator and CEO, Eldon Dahl, DNM, has chosen to use orotic acid to formulate Life Choice® Opti-Cal/Mag Complex with K2. Calcium orotate and magnesium orotate absorb to the cells up to 8 times more than other formulations. This directly translates into true value, as one dose of the Life Choice® supplement equals the value of 8 doses of a calcium carbonate, without the harmful side effects of accumulation or robbing the body of its nutrients in order to buffer the material.

Life Choice® Opti-Cal/Mag Complex with K2 was designed to promote bone growth by increasing the production of osteocalcin in osteoblasts, which allows calcium to anchor to bone and thus build bone. It also inhibits the production of osteoclasts, which break down bone thereby acting as an inorganic calcium scavenger for reabsorption to the body.

There are several ingredients in this calcium and magnesium supplement, each chosen for their “synergistic” affect on the others.  For more information on Life Choice® Opti-Cal/Mag Complex with K2, please read Dahl’s White Paper on the subject and watch the video linked below.

OptiCal/Mag Complex with K2 Video

OptiCal/Mag Complex with K2 White Paper by Eldon Dahl, DNM.