Supplements in practice - Supplement Forms

Question 1

Natural supplements?

Answer 1

There is often debate about whether people should take natural or synthetic vitamins. But what is a ‘natural’ supplement?
* The term ‘natural’ can be used even if only 10% of the product is natural. The other 90% could be synthetic.
* Depending on the manufacturing process, natural supplements may actually contain synthetic nutrients added to a food paste and grown into a more nutritious food matrix.
* Some methods involve synthetic nutrients being biochemically incorporated into yeast or algae.

Question 2

Whole foods or manufactured synthetic isolates?

Answer 2

How do you know if the vitamins you choose are from whole foods or if they are manufactured synthetic isolates?
* The answer is that it is hard to know the difference because of the limitations of labelling laws.
* But there are clues. For e.g. if the label lists ‘acerola cherry powder’ as an ingredient you will know it is a natural source of vitamin C.
* The body recognises when nutrients are derived from food and include the necessary co-factors. It may not recognise isolates.
* It should be acknowledged that ‘food-state’ or ‘food-grown supplements’ are also not ‘whole foods’ themselves.

Question 3

Natural source:

Answer 3

• Category: Natural source
• Source: Nutrients from vegetable, animal or mineral sources.
• Examples: Vitamin D from fish liver oils, vitamin E from vegetable oils, and natural beta-carotene. Vitamin K.
• Comments: Natural may have better efficacy than synthetic forms, although are generally not available in higher doses.

Question 4

Synthetic:

Answer 4

• Category: Synthetic
• Source: Manufactured with identical molecular structure to the same natural nutrients. Most standard vitamin supplements are this type.
• Examples: Vitamin C: As this is a weak acid, many supplements use salt forms (calcium ascorbate, magnesium ascorbate) to decrease acidity.
• Comments: The ascorbic acid in food is found within the vitamin C complex along with other compounds, including bioflavonoids, which offer additional health benefits. Sometimes used preferentially by practitioners when trying to use higher doses.

Question 5

Food cultured:

Answer 5

• Category: Food Cultured: Hydroponics = growing of plants in nutrient solutions with or without an inert medium (such as soil)
• Source: It is thought culturing makes nutrients that are more bioavailable. Nutrient supplements are often grown in yeast or algae. The theory is that yeast / algae contain the nutrients they are fed in a whole food-complex form. Hydroponically grown brassica is also used to bio-accumulate high levels of nutrients.
• Examples: Whole food multi-vitamin and minerals and other nutrients. Raw materials (often synthetic nutrients) are added to yeast / algae suspensions where they concentrate within cells. The yeast / algae are then harvested, ruptured, and made into a vitamin supplement.
• Comments: This involves the same process behind cultured foods like yogurt, kefir, miso, and sauerkraut. Sometimes food cultured vitamins are combined with synthetic vitamins to ↑ potency.

Question 6

Food based:

Answer 6

• Category: Food based: This is a physical mix of isolated nutrients within a food base but there may not always be bonding at a cellular level. However, the metabolic outcome may be the same as food-cultured as the body recognises these two forms as food.
• Source: Made by enzymatically reacting synthetic and natural vitamins with extracts containing vegetable proteins and then making this into a supplement. This is not food cultured, because the nutrients are not grown into a whole food, as in yeast / algae suspensions.
• Examples: This vitamin C states that the nutrients bond, grow and transform to become part of the food paste.
• Comments: Manufacturers don’t often use concentrates or extracts derived from whole food sources because of low nutrient potency, fluctuating nutrient levels and limited shelf life. Nutrients are easily degraded by heat, pH changes, light, and oxygen.

Question 7

Some common vitamins to choose or avoid:

Answer 7

The label of your supplement bottle will offer insight into the origin of the nutrient:
Vitamin: Vitamin A:
Choose: Retinol palmitate
Avoid: Retinyl palmitate.

Vitamin: Vitamin B1 (thiamine):
Choose: Benfotiamine*, Thiamine hydrochloride,
Avoid: Thiamine mononitrate.

Vitamin: Vitamin B2 (riboflavin):
Choose: Riboflavin, Riboflavin 5 phosphate.
Avoid:

Vitamin: Vitamin B3 (niacin):
Choose: Niacinamide (nicotinamide), Nicotinic acid may cause flushing.
Avoid:

Vitamin: Vitamin B5 (pantothenic acid):
Choose: Pantothenic acid, Calcium D-pantothenate.
Avoid:

Vitamin: Vitamin B6 (pyridoxine):
Choose: Pyridoxal 5 phosphate
Avoid: Pyridoxine hydrochloride.

Vitamin: Vitamin B12:
Choose: Methylcobalamin, Adenosylcobalamin, Hydroxycobalamin,
Avoid: Cyanocobalamin.

Vitamin: Folic acid:
Choose: Methylfolate,
Avoid: Pteroylglutamic acid.

Vitamin: Choline:
Choose: Choline bitartrate, Lecithin,
Avoid: choline chloride.

Vitamin: Vitamin C (ascorbic acid):
Choose: Vitamin C complex with bioflavonoids (listed as food), Ascorbic acid (good for detoxification protocols).
Avoid:

Vitamin: Vitamin D:
Choose: Vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol),
Avoid: Irradiated ergosteral Calciferol.

Vitamin: Vitamin E:
Choose: D-alpha tocopherol, d-alpha tocotrienol
Avoid: dl-alpha tocopherol, dl-alpha tocopherol acetate or succinate.

Note: The “dl” form of any vitamin is synthetic.
*Benfotiamine is not legal in all countries so check before recommending its use.