When we extract a vitamin or mineral from a food (or create it synthetically),
how do we know that we have extracted all the components in the food (e.g.,
enzymes, amino acids, trace minerals) that are needed to promote health and that
Nature intended us to eat? What chemicals might that food contain that we need
for health but have not yet discovered? Scientists are now discovering a wealth
of phytochemicals in fruits and vegetables that promote health and are different
from the vitamins and minerals previously discovered. Research shows that 90%
of a fruit's or vegetable's antioxidant power is in the peel or just below the
skin. Does your supplement contain the peel, skin and pulp? More
importantly, is it safe to take these isolated supplements in a pill
rather than as part of the food they naturally occur in? Or could there be
side effects from taking them in a way that is not natural to our body?
Consider this recent research:
-
Early
infant multivitamin supplementation is associated with increased risk for
food allergy and asthma. (PEDIATRICS, Vol. 114, No. 1, July, 2004, pp.
27-32)
- There is now strong evidence that antioxidant supplements—vitamins A, C
and E and beta carotene—are not effective in protecting against
gastrointestinal cancer. On the contrary, there may be a small
increase in mortality from these tumors among people taking antioxidants
compared with a placebo. (Goran Bjelakovic, professor, internal medicine,
University of Nis, Serbia and Montenegro; Eric Jacobs, Ph.D., senior
epidemiologist, American Cancer Society, New York City; Oct. 2, 2004, The
Lancet)
- Patients in the Vitamin E group (daily doses of 400 IU) had no
significant difference in cancer incidence, cancer deaths, and major
cardiovascular events but higher rates of heart failure and
hospitalizations for heart failure. (Effects of Long-term Vitamin E
Supplementation on Cardiovascular Events and Cancer, March 16, 2005, Journal
of the American Medical Association, 2005;293:1338-1347)
Based on our combined 90+ years of holistic experience, we have come to
the conclusion that nutrition from whole food products is far superior,
safer and more holistic than isolated supplements. To support this
conclusion let us look at some old research.
Back
in the 18th century, European travelers were crossing the Atlantic Ocean to
the New World. They discovered if they drank fresh lime juice
they did not
get scurvy (a Vitamin C deficiency resulting in weakness and joint pain,
internal hemorrhages causing black-and-blue marks to appear on the skin,
gums hemorrhaging and becoming weak and spongy, teeth root break down where
teeth loosen and eating becomes difficult and painful). It was not until the
20th century that scientists finally isolated the beneficial component in
citrus fruits as Vitamin C. What is not commonly known is by taking isolated
Vitamin C in the form of ascorbic acid one only gets rid of the symptoms of
scurvy. When the ascorbic acid is discontinued the symptoms and disease
returns. However, if one takes Vitamin C made from an extract of
whole green peppers not only do the symptoms disappear but the scurvy is
gone when discontinued. Vitamin C in the form of a whole food product
contains rutin, bioflavonoids, Vitamin E, selenium and zinc that Nature
dictated is needed for Vitamin C to work optimally in our body. All these
complementary nutrients are present in whole food sources of
Vitamin
C (e.g., green peppers, oranges, rose hips, acerola cherries). By eating
only an isolated supplement with just ascorbic acid or by juicing an orange
and throwing away the pulp and peel, one is missing all the above necessary
nutrients. I have proven this to myself by taking a megadose 2,000 mg
Vitamin C tablet and a whole food Vitamin C made from rose hips and acerola
cherries (vitamin C=250 mg) to my chiropractor when I had a cold or flu.
Through nutritional testing the chiropractor determined the 2,000 mg
supplement would help me recovery from the cold or flu but the 250 mg whole
food tablet would do just as well or better.
Consider these facts:
more expensive Vitamin C supplements are buffered to prevent nausea for
those with a sensitive stomach (can’t tolerate ascorbic acid). Nature
included the buffer ingredients needed in the pulp and skin of whole
food sources of Vitamin C (i.e. the white pulpy part of the orange). So,
who is smarter—the scientist that discovered we need to put back the
buffer ingredients in Vitamin C supplements or Nature? New research has
shown that 90% of the antioxidant power of whole foods is contained in
the pulp and peel. So, why do most super nutrient, antioxidant juices on
the market today contain only the juice?
If you give an eleven year
old a kick ball and tell them to go have fun, they naturally know what
to do with the ball and can immediately begin to play. If you give the
same child a bicycle in a box, they will have to spend time assembling
the tools, reading the instructions and assembling the bicycle before
having fun. Such is the case in our body when we take an isolated
supplement. When taking just ascorbic acid, the body must now search for
other sources (and sometimes robs the body) of rutin, bioflavonoids,
Vitamin E, selenium and zinc to make the vitamin C work optimally. When
eating oranges, rose hips or acerola cherries, the body absorbs all the
whole food nutrients at once and begins the holistic healing process
immediately. Whole food nutrients are more efficient and totally
holistic, while isolated supplements may be naturally derived but not
completely holistic in function.
Some
people would counter this by arguing that we need supplements because we are
so deficient that foods cannot supply the amounts we need. We would answer
by suggesting that people consume superfoods, that is, foods that are
naturally extremely high in certain nutrients and thus promote the body’s
natural way to heal. Traditional cultures knew this instinctively and
would feed superfoods to those with a higher need for nutrients such as
those with illnesses, children, elderly, pregnant women and parents-to-be.
The superfoods would vary depending on what was available in their
area but included cod liver oil, raw cream, spring-time butter from
pasture-fed cows, fish eggs, chicken eggs, algae
(BioSuperfood-Algae-Spirulina),
Chinese Goji berries (Wolfberries),
bee pollen, kelp, etc.
Most supplement studies are done using isolated (sometimes synthetic)
sources of a single nutrient, for instance calcium. They vary the
dosages of the nutrient and then determine the benefits based on these
dosages to determine the Minimum Daily Requirement (MDR), Recommended
Dietary Allowance (RDA) and therapeutic dosages needed to produce
results. The fallacy is that these results are only valid if one is
using the same exact isolated nutrient source (sometimes synthetic) in
the study. If one uses another source of calcium (e.g., bone meal,
oyster shells, coral calcium) or perhaps a calcium supplement that
contains Vitamin D and magnesium (complementary nutrients Nature
dictated are needed to make calcium work in the body), the results might
be totally different. New research shows that the absorption and
utilization rate of isolated supplements is only 20-25% (the rest goes
down the toilet but you still pay for it). Many supplements are tested in short-term studies (e.g., 6 months–1 year) and show great promise. So, everyone jumps on the bandwagon and
must have this new great product. But what are the real results and
long term effects?
When comparing the MDR, RDA or prescribed therapeutic dosages of
supplements to whole foods, one must look at real results in terms of
absorption and utilization in the body, not allopathic dosages. It's
like comparing the benefits of apples to oranges. For example, if one
takes a 1000 mg isolated calcium supplement and multiplies by the
absorption rate of 25%, one utilizes only 250 mg of the supplemental
calcium. However, whole food products have a 90-95% absorption rate
because they contain all the complementary vitamins (i.e., Vitamin D),
minerals (i.e., magnesium), amino acids, enzymes, etc. Nature dictated
are needed to make calcium work. So, from a whole food product 95% X 350
mg, one will absorb 333 mg of the calcium from the whole food product.
Since 333 mg absorption is better than 250 mg from the isolated
supplement, a whole food product containing "only" 350 mg calcium is
better than an isolated calcium supplement advertising 1000 mg.
Taking some supplements is like putting your finger in the dike to stop the
water leak (remember the little Dutch boy fable?). Yes, the symptoms go away but
have you holistically healed the body? By taking isolated supplements what other
imbalances have developed? Did you know?
- Glucosamine may impair insulin secretion through competitive
inhibition of glucokinase in pancreatic beta cells and/or alteration of
peripheral glucose uptake. Patients with diabetes should be cautious
since glucosamine may affect insulin sensitivity or glucose tolerance.
(Source: Physicians Desk Reference for Non-Prescription Drugs & Supplements,
2005)1
Glucoasmine may also aggravate
glucose intolerance as suggested by U.S. and Japanese research.
(Source:
Lidtke - Maker of glucosamine-free ArthroStat)
- Glucosamine (derivative of glucose, a sugar
molecule) made within your cells typically is
hidden from the areas where yeast and fungi grow. Orally ingested glucosamine passes through your digestive tract and into your bloodstream
where yeast live then feed on the glucosamine (sugar derivative). Thus, glucosamine provides
yeast with a source of energy as well as an important building block for
overgrowth and a flare-up of Candida symptoms.
We tell people BioPreparation/BioSuperfood will improve digestion because it
contains over 4,000 live enzymes. When people look at the ingredients list and
do not see the digestive enzymes of amylase, lactase, protease, lipase,
bromelain, papain, etc. they wonder how can BioSuperfood help with
digestion? People are so conditioned by the marketing of the supplement
companies to expect to see these enzyme buzzwords, otherwise, the product cannot
work for digestion . Let's look at the practice of supplementing the body with
digestive enzymes.
The body is supposed to get enzymes from at least three sources: raw animal
meat, live plant foods and by manufacturing its own, such as digestive enzymes
in the pancreas. When we do not eat enough uncooked foods (heat kills enzymes)
our source of live enzymes is diminished. As we get older our enzyme production
decreases. If we eat too much processed foods, then our bodies do not have
enough raw materials (for example, co-factors, co-enzymes, minerals, amino acids, etc.)
to manufacture its own enzymes. For whatever reason, our body is not
manufacturing enough digestive enzymes, so it sends a signal to the brain, "I
need more digestive enzymes." So, the body starts to look for more raw materials
and increases its signal to the pancreas to produce more enzymes. Maybe you are
smart enough to recognize this from your symptoms or a doctor diagnoses a lack
of enzymes so you start taking a digestive enzyme supplement with amylase,
lactase, protease, lipase, bromelain, papain, etc. Soon, the symptoms of enzyme
deficiency disappear and the body sends a signal to the brain, "my enzyme
deficiency has been resolved." What have you done to make the body naturally
heal itself by manufacturing more enzymes? Have you given it more raw materials?
Have you increased the strength of the signal from the brain to the pancreas?
The answer is obviously, no, so one must continue supplementing this digestive
enzyme deficiency for life, frequently increasing the dosage as the body ages. A
malfunctioning or over stressed pancreas can result from eating too much
processed foods with excessive carbohydrates and sugar. Will taking digestive
enzyme supplements fix a lazy malfunctioning pancreas? No. In essence, by
supplementing the digestive enzyme deficiency one has left a lazy pancreas and
made the body dependent on the supplement for the rest of its life.
This is what we call just supplementing the symptoms! Now let's look at
what happens when a superfood, such as
BioSuperfood, is introduced into
the equation. The brain is sending out the signal, "I need more digestive
enzymes." So, the body starts to look for more raw materials and increases its
signal to the pancreas to produce more enzymes. BioSuperfood is introduced with
all ten essential amino acids plus 12 more, all known essential minerals and
trace elements and over 4,000 live enzymes (co-enzymes and co-factors), etc.
as raw materials for the production of more digestive enzymes. BioSuperfood
then energizes and wakes up the three master glands in the brain (pineal,
pituitary and hypothalamus) to amplify the brain's signal to the pancreas to
manufacture more enzymes. After a short while, the pancreas is now manufacturing
sufficient digestive enzymes and the symptoms disappear. As the body's wellness
is maintained with BioSuperfood the initial dosage used to alleviate the
symptoms can generally be decreased as the body heals itself. So, which of the
above examples is true holistic wellness? Taking a supplement of digestive
enzymes, leaving a lazy pancreas and having to increase the supplement with age?
Or, using BioSuperfood to provide the raw materials so the pancreas can now
manufacture enough enzymes on its own, literally waking up the brain to address
the enzyme deficiency and activating the body's own natural ability to heal so
that the dosage of BioSuperfood can be decreased? This is the paradigm shift
between just supplementing the symptoms and activating true holistic wellness
(what BioAge calls a quantum leap in wellness). Do keep in mind, the above
examples are very simplified and many other nutrients and processes take place
for enzyme production than mentioned above. Here are some final thoughts from
two prestigious sources:
- To reduce cancer risk, the best advice presently is to consume
antioxidants through food sources, rather than supplements. (“Common
Questions About Diet and Cancer,” American Cancer Society)
- “…there are insufficient data to justify an alteration in public
health policy from one that emphasizes food and diet to one that
emphasizes nutrient supplements. (“Essential Nutrients: Food or
Supplements?” Journal of the American Medical Association,
2005;294:351-358)
At Optimum Choices, we do not sell vitamins, isolated supplements, herbs or
extracted products. We only sell whole food products (superfoods) that promote
100% holistic wellness. Check out the details on the following whole food
products:
We encourage you to do your own research and determine what is
right for your body. You deserve more than just the elimination of
symptoms. You deserve total optimum wellness.
1Scientific references:
- Balkan B, Dunning BE: Glucosamine inhibits glucokinase in
vitro and produces a glucose-specific impairment of in vivo
insulin secretion in rats. Diabetes; 43(10):1173-1779.
1994.
- Monauni T, Zenti MG, Cretti A, et al: Effects of glucosamine
infusion on insulin secretion and insulin action in humans.
Diabetes, 49(6): 926-935. 2000.


For a detailed research paper on why whole
food products
are superior to supplements,
click
NOT Another Supplement! or
the STOP
Supplementing Symptoms button for a PDF summary flyer:
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