"Researchers at the University of California found that individuals who consume 17 or more different dietary supplements per day were found to be far more healthy than those who take no supplements or those who only take a multiple vitamin. The study was recently published in the Nutrition Journal. Avid vitamin-taking participants consumed a variety of supplements including a multivitamin/mineral, B-complex, vitamin C, vitamin E, calcium with vitamin D, herbs, carotenoids, omega-3 fatty acids, flavonoids, coenzyme Q10, glucosamine, zinc, probiotics, and more. The researchers found that taking these vitamins paid large health dividends as a greater degree of supplement use was associated with more favorable concentrations of serum homocysteine, C-reactive protein, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and triglycerides, as well as lower risk of prevalent elevated blood pressure and diabetes. The vitamin-taking group had much better nutrient concentrations in their blood and far lower amounts of disease-related biomarkers. This study clearly supports the use of a wide variety of nutrients to help sustain health. It really is common sense. Nutritional reserves are the foundation of health and the natural way your body helps itself. "
Byron Richards, CCN, Friday, January 25, 2008
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Gary Moller comments:
There has been much hoopla in the media recently about a meta analysis study which found that those taking nutrition supplements were less healthy than those who took nothing. What the reports did not tell us is that hundreds of studies were excluded from this meta analysis.
There is no question at all that providing the right nutrient(s) for a person with an identifiable deficiency will improve their health. There is no rocket science required to understand this - just common-sense. The only side effects of good nutrition are looking and feeling great. Sadly, processed foods tend to be stripped of many of the nutrients needed for a long and healthy life. Nutritional supplements are very useful for making up any deficits and their use may be short or long term, depending on the individual circumstances.
I am not in favour of dishing out nutrition supplements willy-nilly. While no harm will come, this can be an expensive way to try to stay or get healthy. I recommend a carefully considered, targeted approach to nutrition supplementation in conjunction with improvements to diet and lifestyle. This works very well and the health benefits can be considerable.
If you would like my assistance in working out your basic nutrition needs, please start by completing the Active Elements Assessment. Please include some information about yourself, including any health issues and tell me what you hope to achieve from consulting me.
Email Gary: gary at myotec.co.nz (Replace the "at" with @ and remove spaces). Please include any relevant background information to your question.
with modern agricultural farming methods its often debateable whether eating a diet high in unprocessed foods will give you the nutrients you need,
ReplyDeleteyou can grow just about any commercial crop just about anywhere by only adding nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium to the soil,
you can still end up with numerous nutrient deficiencies on a wholefood diet, even an organic one.
it takes a far greater variety of nutrients for a person to thrive than nitrogen phosphorous and potassium.
I agree with MOST of this article. But not this statement.
ReplyDeleteResearchers at the University of California found that individuals who consume 17 or more different dietary supplements per day were found to be far more healthy than those who take no supplements or those who only take a multiple vitamin.
17 or more? Who can afford to take 17 single-nutrient supplements? That would be hundreds of dollars a month.
A multivitamin or multi-nutrient supplement is a much smarter choice.
To maximize benefits, take a multi-nutrient supplement that's been formulated by a biochemist, someone who understands the synergy between nutrients.
Don't try to mix and match supplements on your own.
Visit Dietary Supplements Guide for more info.
If you read my comments Zach, you will see that we are in general agreement; but that is the finding of the study. What it tends to reinforce is that taking a multi is generally bit of a waste of money. But rather than blunderbus ones way, it is better to have a trained nutritionist help determine your individual needs and then go from there. This might be dietary changes and it might include a supplement or two.
ReplyDeleteWhy are companies putting pomegranate in everything?
ReplyDeleteWhy are they putting pomegranate in everything from supplements to make-up? Well, it's all about the antioxidants. First antioxidants were thought to be bad for you but it turns out they are very good for you. They give your body many benefits like stopping plaque build -up in your arteries, they help thin your blood, helping with lowering and maintaining cholesterol and blood pressure levels, all of which, help against many diseases like heart disease, heart attacks, colon cancer and strokes to name a few.
The reason they use Pomegranate is because it's a super-antioxidant, which has 3 times more antioxidants than red wine or tomatoes. You can get antioxidants from fruit, grains, nuts, juices and many more sources but pomegranates are very tasty and they supply a great source of antioxidants from one product. It easy just mixing pomegranate with their product, instead of adding 2 or 3 ingredients to get the amount of antioxidants found in pomegranates.
This is one reason pomegranate is used in supplements. But how important to your overall health are antioxidants? As you have read there are many great benefits from taking antioxidants but they are just one part of your overall total health regiment, but due to their popularity as of late, many people are lead to think they alone make a complete supplement and this is not true. A true supplement should supply you with everything your body needs, like antibacterial and immune building properties that will help fight diseases and illness. Amino acids, which combine together to form 50,000 enzymes your body uses to control, heal and maintain most of your bodily functions and organs along with building new cells and repairing muscle tissue and of course vitamins, nutrients and antioxidants.
All of these components are just as important as antioxidants when it comes to choosing a supplement. It is much healthier to have a balanced supplement, than a supplement made up of just one ingredient such as antioxidants. Have you ever heard the old saying "too much of anything is bad for you", well it's also true with supplements. Not enough of the right vitamins or too much of the wrong kind can be harm full to your health. Not getting the proper amount of just one, of the 22 amino acids, your body needs, can have very adverse affects on your body. A supplement should supply you with a balance of antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, nutrients, amino acids, immune building and disease preventative properties. This is why Poga Moonga Juice was created. It contains a great source of antioxidants from both Moringa and Pomegranate and gives your body everything else it needs to be healthy. In fact Moringa is so nutritious, it has replaced many standard supplements given to children and pregnant women to fight malnutrition in 3rd world countries!