Part 3 - Lead and Cadmium in Vitamins?? What's Up with That??

How do you find a good supplement?

Dr. Mark Hyman mentions in his "UltraMetabolism" book that the supplement industry is "a sea of poor quality and lowered standards" due to the limited regulation. And he notes that "all brands are not created equally."

So how can you find a good supplement? You can find safe AND effective supplements!! Things to look for are supplement companies that have published clinical studies (this is not a requirement for the industry & most companies do not publish their studies) as well as whether or not the company conducts quality control tests on their ingredients.

Why is it important for you to view clinical studies?

First of all, if a company does not have ANY clinical studies, then they are purely in the supplement industry to make a profit. Secondly, if a company does conduct their own studies, then wouldn't you want to flaunt it?? Sadly, I have yet to hear back from Centrum on their studies!

Why is it important for companies to conduct quality control tests on their ingredients?

Because they need to know if the ingredient is contaminated! There are a couple of companies being sued right now for having PCBs (causes cancer & reproductive problems) in their Omega 3 supplements. That's why you want to make sure the company tests their ingredients for contaminant

An extremely alarming example of lack of quality control regarding ingredients is when the FDA found lead in 320 out of 324 children's and women's vitamins they tested. Yes, you did read that correctly!!! My kids used to take one of the vitamins on the lead list. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, there is NO SAFE LEVEL of LEAD in children.

Is what's written on the label always accurate?

No, it's not! Tod Cooperman, the president of ConsumerLab says "it's shocking how many products really don't have what they claim on their labels. The buyer has to be careful."

Other questions to ask yourself:

Do I feel better taking the vitamin? If you don't feel better after 4 months, then you it might not be helping you.

Does the vitamin contain artificial sweeteners, colors or flavors? Avoid these. Some artificial colors that are allowed in the US are actually banned in other countries.

Does the vitamin contain trans fat? That would be anything with the word "hydrogenated." It's a manmade fat that can block metabolism, cause weight gain, and increase your risk of diabetes, cancer, and heart disease. The super yucky thing is that trans fat products stay stable in land fills for generations!! My kids and I used to take vitamins that contained trans fat. :(

Does the vitamin contain aspartame? Look for words like NutraSweet, neotame, acesulfame potassium, saccharin, sucralose, and dihydorchalcones. This causes an increase in insulin. 92% of independent research shows adverse effects from aspartame. My children's old vitamin used to contain this ingredient!!! I didn't realize what I was given them until I read the ingredient label.

What should I do?

If you want something that's safe and that works, you must research the company. Wish it was easier than that...

To Better Health!

~ Ashley

Part 2 - Lead and Cadmium in Vitamins?? What's Up with That??

Is a synthetic vitamin any different than a whole food vitamin?

Yes!!! How your body processes a wholefood vitamin is much different than how it processes a synthetic vitamin.

I used to take Centrum (a synthetic vitamin), but my friend whose a nutritionist told me to only take a "wholefood" vitamin that was not sold in a pharmacy or grocery store. First of all, she said that grocery stores and pharmacies do not sell wholefood vitamins. But secondly, she said that you do not want to buy a vitamin from a company that spends more money on advertising and marketing than they do on research! So I found a wholefood vitamin and was surprised that I actually felt better! I wouldn't crash in the afternoon like I always did. From time to time I would stop taking the wholefood vitamin, and my energy levels would plummet. I've tried 2 different brands of "wholefood" vitamins, and both have helped my energy. And it only costs me 34 cents a day and 50 cents a day for my kids!

A whole food supplement is important because the human body does not utilize synthetic vitamins as efficiently as whole food supplements. For example, synthetic Vitamin E's bioavailability is reduced at least 50% compared to Vitamin E in a whole food supplement!!

Check out Steve Nash's article in Men's Journal about how much better he feels on whole food supplements.

How regulated is the industry?

I feel like most people have no idea about how unregulated the supplement industry is and how careful you must be about what products you buy. I really didn't know either.

Basically, supplement regulation falls under the FDA, and the FDA regards supplements as "food" and not as drugs. However, the FDA does not have much funding to regulate the supplement industry and instead leaves it to each company to regulate themselves. Too many examples of companies that disregard safety and ethics exist. A congressional hearing was held recently regarding Johnson and Johnson over children's Tylenol/Benadryl/Motrin/Zyrtec manufacturing problems. These medications are regulated, so imagine how many "Johnson & Johnson" type companies exist in the supplement industry!

And a recent congressional report showed levels of mercury, cadmium, arsenic, and pesticides in almost all of the vitamins tested. I certainly don't want to be giving products with those in it to my kids!

To be continued...

Part 1 - Lead and Cadmium in Vitamins?? What's Up with That??

I've been researching a lot lately about supplements trying to find the best products out there for my kids. Mainly for Dane because he was always sick. He was anemic at age 14 months following a "major" virus, and at one point he had chronic sinusitis. Luckily, he's better now! When he was anemic, the pediatrician had me give him a multivitamin as well as an iron supplement. I also learned not to give milk at meals (it interferes with iron absorption) and to add some type of Vitamin C (fruit or juice) at every meal. The Vitamin C helps you absorb iron better. So that's when I started giving my kids a daily multivitamin.

Do I or my child need a supplement?

For children and infants - they need a Vitamin D supplement of 400 IU according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. Carol Wagner, M.D., professor of pediatrics at the Medical University of South Carolina, says that "We know more about vitamin D than we did even five years ago. Because of lifestyle changes and sunscreen usage, the majority of the population shows signs of deficiency as determined by measured vitamin D levels in blood.”

For adults - yes according to Dr. Mark Hyman who wrote UltraMetabolism. Dr. Peter Libby, Chief of Cardiovascular Medicine at Harvard Medical School, and Dr. David Ludwig, director of the Obesity Program at the Children's Hospital in Boston, are both supporters of Dr. Hyman's work.

For ALL adults, Dr. Hyman reccomends you take the following 3 supplements:

1. Multivitamin & multimineral combo (92% of Americans are deficient in AT LEAST 1 or more essential vitamins and minerals.)

2. Calcium, magnesium, & vitamin D supplement (this is in addition to the D in the multi vitamin because most American adults and children are now deficient in this super important vitamin)

3. Omega-3 supplement (Dr. Hyman recommends only taking this from a "reputable company." You don't need to take this one if you are one of the lucky 1% of Americans who gets all the Omega-3's from their diet!!!)

This information also follows the guidelines published in The New England Journal of Medicine and The Journal of the American Medical Association.

Can't I just get all my nutrients from food?

Yes, if you eat a VERY WELL balanced diet of 4,000 calories per day. Do you want to do that??

According to the nation's leading epidemiologist, Gladys Block, a deficiency of vegetable and fruit intake can be catastrophic. She states that, "it is likely that substantial public health benefits and disease reduction could be achieved if consumption of fruits and vegetables were greatly increased over the low levels seen in the United States and other industrialized nations." She also states that, in the United States, "the population's intake of these foods is remote from recommended levels."

To be continued...