The Need for Supplementation

Food Consumption Choices

The U.S. Department of Agriculture conducted a food consumption study in the mid-1980’s which evaluated the food intake of 21,500 people over three days. Not a single person met the recommended dietary allowance (RDA) for the top ten nutrients. And we know that the RDA set by the National Academy of Sciences is unrealistically low.The current RDA is only enough to keep otherwise healthy people from dying of diseases directly attributable to a deficiency of vitamins and minerals. Unfortunately, the typical American diet has not improved since the mid-1980’s.

Food Missing Vital Nutrients

Agriculture, both crops and livestock, depletes soils of mineral nutrients, because of the nutrients contained in the produce grown and harvested. Since the 1950's, the increase in farm productivity and high-yield crop growth has increased the nutrient depletion rate. Dr. Michael Karr, Ph.D., ARCPACS Certified Professional Soil Scientist, in his Mineral Nutrient Depletion in US Farm and Range Soils Report, states that when commercial growers attempt to replenish the soils of only some mineral nutrients by fertilization they may exacerbate mineral nutrient imbalances. In public range and forest tracts leased by ranchers, there has been relatively little effort to replace minerals removed by livestock grazing. Consequently, there is evidence of widespread mineral nutrient depletion in U.S. farm and range soils.^1,2

Stress and the Demands We Place on Ourselves

We are learning to cope in a very stressful world. We deal with anxiety associated with raising a family, providing for them, demands at work, financial issues, a social life, getting enough exercise and sleep, and all of life’s little ups and downs. Sometimes we take our health for granted. But, just like a fine piece of machinery needs maintenance and care, so does our body.

RDA versus Optimum Daily Allowance

The U.S. Department of Agriculture issues the Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) for vitamins. RDA standards are established to be just enough to avoid common vitamin deficiency diseases, such as scurvy, rickets or beriberi. RDA does not account for what’s needed to maintain optimum health. RDAs are not only too low to reach optimum health, but they can’t even be easily obtained from today’s foods. What people should be striving for is an optimum daily allowance (ODA), which is often 5 to 100 times higher than government RDA guidelines.

According to Linus Pauling, the RDAs recommended to the general public are seriously deficient. Dr. Pauling wrote “They’re quite straightforward about saying that the RDA of vitamin C is the amount that keeps you from dying of scurvy, that the RDA of vitamin B-1 is the amount that keeps you from dying of beriberi. These quantities keep people in ordinary poor health. . .”

Despite RDA standards being so low, a disturbing reality is that many people age 65 and older do not even meet these skimpy requirements. If “ordinary poor health” or “not dying of scurvy or beriberi” is not your goal, then you need to learn more about optimal healthy levels of vitamins and other nutrients.

What You Should Do

Invest in your health as if your life depended on it! It may very well when you need to have a strong immune system to fight disease, cancer or sustain a healthy energy level through stressful times. You want your body to support you when you are trying to be your best mentally and physically.

Everyone should start with a top quality multinutrient vitamin. Use up-to-date science to determine the best multivitamin. Using recommendations from 7 nutritional experts:

• Phyllis Balch, CNC,
• Dr. Michael Colgan, Ph.D.,
• Dr. Earl Mindell, Ph.D.,
• Dr. Michael Murray, N.D.,
• Dr. Richard Passwater, Ph.D.,
• Dr. Ray Strand, M.D., and
• Dr. Julian Whitaker, M.D.

Lyle MacWilliam formulated a composite recommendation he called a “blended nutritional standard.” This protocol and huge study was published in the Comparative Guide to Nutritional Supplements. The analysis and recommendation is based upon 18 criteria which include: completeness, potency, bioavailability, cardiac health triad, Homocysteine reduction triad, bone health complex, antioxidant triad, glutathione support, metabolic support, bioflavonoid profile, phenolic compound profile, lipotropic factors, and potential toxicities. 1,300 multivitamins were evaluated, and only 13 brands were ranked in the top 1 percentile.

Don’t Be Fooled by a Huge Advertising Budget

Some of the worst vitamins in this study (where 5 Stars is highest, 0 is lowest) included the most heavily advertised. Avoid these like you would avoid giving your teenage daughter a Ford Pinto with Firestone tires, no bumpers, no seat belts, no insurance and tell her to stay safe. Don’t be naïve (or penny wise and pound foolish) and give your daughter only a 5% chance to grow up healthy.

Calcium and trace minerals.

Is there a Bias Here?

Why do our products all fit our recommendations? Because they were formulated to support our philosophy. That philosophy is:

• Use the best ingredients available
• Use up-to-date science to formulate the supplements and keep updating them
• Keep the cost reasonable
• Keep it simple (as few pills as possible) so it is easy for busy people to take
• Expect wise people to invest in their health – like their life depended on it!

Every year, treat yourself to a diagnosis and tune-up with your anti-aging, regenerative medicine physician!

1. Follett, R.F. and B.A. Stewart. 1985. Soil Erosion and Crop Productivity. American Society of Agronomy, Inc., Madison,Wl., pp. 12 -15; 34 - 47; 57 - 62; 339 - 342.

2. Karr, Michael Ph.D., Mineral Nutrient Depletion in US Farm and Range Soils