It is always best to get your nutrients from natural foods but this is not always easily do-able (see the above "Food Guide" & "Food Ratings" page links). Natural foods have many smaller trace amounts of nutrients that our bodies need that are not listed (some probably not even discovered yet) on most lists of the major known vitamins & minerals. Natural foods also probably provide nutrients in a form that is more bio-absorbable & usable by our bodies. It is therefore wise to look at using vitamins & minerals as a "supplement" to what we’re getting through food, not as a replacement that enables us to eat as we please.

    There have been some articles that caution about possible negative effects from taking too high a dosage of supplements. We have personally gravitated to taking no more than ½ of what we need daily in supplement form (except for the B vitamins). It's unlikely that anyone really knows for sure what level is truly best.

    That said, a few of the recommendations that Balch & Balch give will follow (please refer to their book for the rest) :

  1.    the goal is to build up your immune system & increase your energy level
  2.    for increased energy, exercise & proper diet are essential
  3.    never attempt to treat yourself without your MD’s advice, & current medical treatment should not be discontinued
  4.    our body chemistries differ so if you have an allergic reaction, discontinue that supplement 
  5.    always take supplements with a full glass of water as they are concentrated & can overburden the liver – water also enhances absorption & carries nutrients to the cells
  6.    iron should only be taken if a deficiency exists – always take iron separately, rather than in a multi – do not take iron with a supplement containing vitamin E
  7.    supplementation program should be followed for 3-12 months
  8.    change brands temporarily if you follow a supplement program for more than a year – so you do not develop an intolerance or build up resistance to any of the ingredients
  9.    when completing the supplementation period, decrease dosages gradually so that the body has a chance to adjust
10.   if you do not notice an improvement in a month you may suffer from malabsorption
11.   vitamins & minerals work synergistically – there is cooperative action between them in which they work as catalysts promoting absorption & assimilation – taking a single vitamin or mineral may be ineffective or even dangerous (check out their book on this)
12.   coffee & alcohol hinder absorption & assimilation

    A bit of a caution is probably called for, as to what you will find in the Natural Health industry. It’s a bit like the wild wild west in that there are very few legal standards that are checked or enforced. Advertising can pretty much claim whatever it wants related to what their product will do, with ingredients & amounts not being verified by the government. Be careful of the hype. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

    There is also a wide difference in the quality of ingredients in different brands so you really need to do your homework. Products that contain high dosages of many ingredients in pill form are generally so compressed that your body will only digest a portion of it before it is eliminated from your system. Put it in a glass of water & see how long it takes to dissolve. Marketing knows what you’re looking for but doesn’t always care about it working well. Granular capsules are generally much more absorbable although some brands do have loosely packed pills.

    It will cost you considerably more if you buy your vitamins through one of the many multi-level vitamin businesses out there. You can find products as good or better in Health Food stores at a much more reasonable price. A side benefit is you don’t get caught up in making your friends & relatives a business target.

    We’ll list a few of the brands that we’ve ended up taking although we really don't know for sure that they’re some of the best :

1. Natrol Multi-Caps – orderable through Sangsters, etc.
2. Sisu Buffered C Powder – for sensitive stomachs
3. Natural Factors PMS formula
4. Trophic – generally seen as a good brand name

    A few additional things that we take are : extra vitamin B Complex (brain function, nervous system, moods), Grape Seed extract (antioxidant re degenerative diseases), hemp oil (best single balance of Omega 3 & 6), extra virgin olive oil instead of margarine (using a pump-spray container purchasable at The Bay, Winners, etc.), & garlic. Oils should be stored in dark glass bottles (plastic leaches into oils) to prevent damage from light. You need to research these things for yourself as we’re still very much on a learning curve with all of this & much of it is not very provable in the short run regarding benefit.

    Modern pharmaceuticals did of course initially evolve from herbal & plant remedies used in different parts of the world. To their credit they are now based on scientific research, but their discoveries are still very much an ongoing process. They obviously also have a vested interest in people taking their "patented" prescriptions as opposed to herbal remedies which anyone is free to produce. It is an industry geared to marketing & making money just as is the Natural Health industry.

    A healthy maxim for both realms is probably "Buyer beware!". Both the Natural Health industry & pharmaceuticals have had products that have ended up either not working well or hurting people. There is no way around being responsible for doing your own homework & coming to your own informed conclusions. It is probably wise to assume that neither group has the total corner on truth or is 100% right in what they say about each other.

    RDA’s are a target to shoot for over time, not every day. Any supplement that is 10 times the established RDA is considered a megadose. Megadoses can be helpful in treating some diseases but they can also be dangerous especially in the fat-soluble vitamins (A,D,E & K) because they are not flushed out of the system but are stored in the liver. Water soluble vitamins (B & C) pass out of the body regularly in urine & sweat & must be replenished often. High doses of one vitamin can also interfere with the effectiveness of another vitamin or mineral.

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