Few consumer items are as
mind-boggling as nutritional supplements. Store shelves featuring endless
bottles of vitamins, minerals, herbs and essential oils can leave the potential
buyer thoroughly confused. How to choose?
Fortunately, doctors spent a lifetime
researching nutrition and health, including which forms of nutrients are the
most bioactive; that is, have the greatest potential to provide benefits. In
every case, the form he recommends is the form he specified for the products
sold online via the Vitamin Advisor.
Here are examples of his chief
insights among the major supplement classes:
- Vitamin
A: Some forms of supplemental vitamin A, when taken in even moderate daily
doses, can be toxic. Dr. Weil specifies the use of mixed carotenoids -
these are substances that the body converts to vitamin A, avoiding
toxicity potential and maximizing effectiveness.
- Vitamin
D: Inexpensive vitamins tend to contain vitamin D2 (ergocalciferol), the
kind synthesized by plants. But when humans eat plant-derived D2, it needs
to be converted by the body to D3 (choleciferol), the form most readily
used by the human body and which skin makes when exposed to ultraviolet
light. Although vitamin D2 will contribute to adequate daily intakes, Dr.
Weil specifies D3 in his supplements, as this form has been shown to have
greater biological activity in human tissue.
- Vitamin
E: In nature, this vitamin is found as a combination of eight different
active compounds - four tocopherols, and four tocotrienols. Many
manufacturers use inexpensive, synthetic versions of one or only a few of
those eight forms. In his supplements, Dr. Weil specifies a complete,
naturally derived tocopherol/tocotrienol complex that more closely mirrors
the natural vitamin E found in foods.
- Calcium:
Manufacturers make calcium supplements in many forms, including calcium
carbonate (the main constituent of chalk, and the most common supplement
type), calcium lactate and calcium aspartate. Dr. Weil specifies calcium
citrate because it is more easily absorbed, especially by older people who
may have less stomach acid. Although more expensive, calcium citrate is
more than twice as bioavailable as calcium carbonate.
- Fish
Oils: Oils derived from the fat of cold-water fish are an excellent source
of essential omega-3 fatty acids. Unless carefully sourced, however, these
otherwise natural compounds can be contaminated with toxic heavy metals.
Dr. Weil suggests seeking out products derived from fresh catches and
waterways with minimal pollution, and recommends those that have received
the highest rating for purity - five out of five stars - from the
International Fish Oil Standards program.
"Vitamins and supplements
are much like anything else - you generally get what you pay for," says
Dr. Weil. "But even very expensive vitamins sometimes miss the mark."
He says that one reason he co-directs the Annual Conference on Nutrition and
Health; State of the Science & Clinical Applications, which unites the
world's leading nutrition researchers, is that it allows him to get the latest
news on the best forms of supplements directly from the researchers who
investigate them.
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