Proper use of Multi-Vitamin Supplements

Here is where to find the new guideline, Multiple Vitamin Criteria  But, first, some background for HOW TO PROPERLY USE VITAMINS which adds clarity about how this new guide enhances and complements body functions.*

• Effective dosages, proper nutrient forms, and nutrient synergism combinations are all involved in achieving beneficial vitamin supplement results.

• A good diet will supply most of needed nutrients while supplements should mainly be used in a complementary role for certain conditions like pregnancy or if on restrictive or poor diets, or for those with genetic errors limiting vitamin actions. (This scenario is often mentioned to give the impression that only a few people need to take supplements, but the reality is that very few people have a good diet, maybe about 10%)

• Many vitamins and minerals come in different forms with certain ones preferred that have exhibited greater research benefits with less adverse potential.

• Certain supplemented vitamins, especially fat soluble vitamins, do not need to be consumed every day as body levels can build up and might reach amounts which hinder normal metabolism.

• Best to skip taking your multi-vitamin one day out of every four, or maybe two days during the week. Then, every 2 months it might be prudent to skip vitamins for a whole week as a wash out period.

• Taking incorrect vitamin forms, dosages, with missing synergistic nutrients can be more detrimental to health than not using supplements

• Some supplement nutrients can have opposite effects at low versus high dosages, or with different body conditions, and even at different ages or stages of life.

• Increasing supplement dosages also expands the possibility of vitamin-drug interactions.

• The better your diet, the less you need to take a multi-vitamin supplement and benefit from lower dosages.

• Of course there are some useful nutrients that are under supplied by the typical diet and also by the majority of multi-vitamin supplements. These will get a unique criteria as to usage protocols. EXAMPLE: Immune modulators should be rotated on and off, maybe for durations of two weeks on and two weeks off, or specialized products only taken during certain periods, such as allergy season or vitamin D in winter, assuming some outdoor time in summer.

• Vitamin Supplements appear to have greater impact for prevention over curative powers, but can exhibit both through proper protocols.

• The body has adaptive mechanisms to control nutrient levels that should be respected. EXAMPLE: A certain level of Calcium is needed in blood for critical functions like nerve impulse and muscle contraction. When low, the body will absorb more from food and prevent elimination out of body, and if that is not enough, the body will take calcium out of bone reservoirs. When the calcium level is too high in blood, the body mechanisms lower absorption from food, increase elimination, and if that is not enough, will pack more calcium into bones to get it out of the blood. 

• While dosages in the new vitamin criteria might seem LOW compared to many other vitamin supplements, these dosages actually harmonize into body processes and present less interference to other nutrient pathways.

• Increasing dosages for most supplement nutrients results in a decrease of absorption percentage.

• Nutrient balances or ratios play vital roles in maintaining effective body functions. Most vitamin products do not account for this balance aspect. EXAMPLE: Balance between omega 3 and 6 fats is vital, plus a diet higher in polyunsaturated fats from fish and vegetable oils, increases oxidation potential. article This fact would increase the need for some extra antioxidants such as vitamins E and C to neutralize. Here, vitamin E also needs the help of some other vitamin E family members to offer complete antioxidant protection against radicals, while respecting antioxidant balance points.

• Some vitamins have family members that increase the efficiency of that vitamin plus these family members may have counter balance control functions as well as other functions unique to them to maintain health. Beta Carotene, Vitamin E, and Vitamin C have synergistic related members that Nature often puts together in food.

• Higher dosages make it difficult for the body to control balance points. This uses up energy, nutrients, and organ function activity that should go for regular vital processes. 

• Modern food growing, processing, and storage methods compromise quality for quantity. Many nutrients measure lower today than in the past while other nutrients added to fertilizers are higher.

• The nutrients added to fertilizers are usually the ones to make the plant look healthier and increase yield of the crop, not necessarily those to make the body healthier. While some offer protection against harsh conditions and insect predators, these aspects need chemicals added to the plants during the growing cycle. This presents additional challenges for a healthy supplement program.

• While growing food crops organically attempts to mitigate many of these problems, it potentially generates another adverse aspect by using animal fertilizers which may introduce pathogenic microorganisms. This needs a different supplement protocol.

• A diet with a variety of different food groups will more or less maintain nutrients within a certain narrow window of dosages to each other, and usually within certain ratios. Most foods at normal serving sizes are within these ratios (except dairy), but supplements can be quite concentrated making these ratios difficult to maintain. Plus, supplement nutrients arrive all at once. A concept the body is not yet equipped to properly handle.

• The new vitamin criteria guide takes all these as well as other criteria into account when determining formulas, dosages, vitamin forms, plus nutrient synergism.

• The trends in supplement usage are unfortunately, going in the wrong direction.

• Over 99% of existing multi-vitamin formulas contain numerous design errors that may jeopardize health.

All of these aspects are explained with scientific support in the articles of this website.  

Now, this next article, Vitamin Issues, gives more detailed points leading into the new vitamin criteria. Yes, you can go directly to the new vitamin criteria, but the Vitamin Issues article clears up many of the questions generated by the new vitamin criteria.

* While vitamin supplements may have some roles to play, the food mix you eat is priority one for good health. The acid to alkaline balance is mainly a food element factor, especially for vegetables. Supplement minerals play a role here but care is needed not to overdo mineral balance points. ref