Vitaminworkshop.com - Whole Food Vitamins

There are some issues that whole food or the Food Form Vitamin companies need to address. The claim is that these vitamins are all natural from food or are in a food like structure form and contain all the co-factors and synergistic nutrients found in foods that make up vitamin actions. But this impression is far from reality.

Vitamin E contains 8 different forms in nature, but only 1 is listed on labels. Do the whole food or food form vitamins contain all 8 forms?
- Analyzing the nutrients in the food sources listed that supply these vitamins reveals that whole food vitamins or food form vitamins do not contain significant amounts if any of the other vitamin E family members. While the nutrient box on vitamin labels does not require these nutrients to be listed, it is a fact that they cannot be listed until after the box by a very strange Government rule. The Government still does not recognize the importance of these other vitamin E forms: beta-, gamma-, and delta- tocopherols, and alpha-, beta-, delta-, and gamma-tocotrienols. ref See this article for vital functions of these other E members on brain activity. Here is another article with many other functions the other 7 vitamin E family members do better than the only 1 E member the Government allows to be called vitamin E. Another article, check out which form of vitamin E is more effective on cancer cells?
During Digestion, most vitamin compounds breakdown to their isolated form, and then once inside the body, attach to their body wise carrier or transporter protein. Therefore, what advantage is gained to first put an isolated (synthetic and/or natural) vitamin back into a food form like structure in the growing yeast cell mixtures?
- This may be why even most synthetic vitamins have some level of function as a vitamin. The isolated synthetic vitamin is often very similar to an isolated natural vitamin. Synthetic Vitamin E represents the largest exception at just 50% functions of natural form. Plus, synthetic beta carotene also only contains one of the forms found in nature. These tow nutrients should never be consumed in their synthetic form. Since the exact form added to the growing yeast cell mixture in the manufacture of food form or whole food vitamins is not specified, no determination is possible as to which form(s) they contain. There may be a little natural source vitamin in the foods added to the finished products, but not anywhere near the label amounts. The label amounts are from the vitamins added to the growing yeast cell mixture. This information is relevant to these Brands: New Chapter, MegaFoods, and the older Garden of Life multiples. To properly analyze, the starting form of vitamins added to the growing yeast mixture would have to be known. The new MyKind Organics Multiples represent a different approach. See here.
- One advantage that some whole food or foodform vitamins mention is that they exhibit a greater absorption percentage over isolated vitamins. This is usually true since the food part can help here as well and the nutrient dosages are lower, which helps any vitamin increase absorption. But, there are a few exceptions like synthetic folic acid. Also, certain combining elements or isolated vitamin forms like phytosomes can increase isolated vitamin absorption, too. It may depend on price differences if whole food or foodform vitamins gain an advantage over isolated vitamins. If a whole food vitamin claiming a 300% absorption benefit is three times the price, is there really any value gained?
The marketing story that whole food or food form vitamins contain co-factors and synergistic food elements sounds very important and significant. First, what are these co-factors and synergistic elements? Plus, are the amounts found in the supplements significant enough to make a vital difference in the body?
- There simply is not enough space in a few capsules or tablets for the bulkier co-factors and synergistic elements. Fibers, lignans, phytonutrients, minerals, proteins, and fats take space and are also almost impossible to condense. Vitamins are very tiny. The food based multiples may have a spoonful or two or food value added. And in cases where the fibers and water are first removed, any toxic heavy metals present will also be concentrated in the finished product, like in green powders of wheat grass, chlorella, and spirulina. This especially applies to whole food and food form vitamins, especially if organic food sources are used. Natural fertilizers can contain more heavy metals than synthetic fertilizer. Minerals by far take up the largest space in supplements.
- Rather than think of the added foods as supplying nutrients or co-factors, think of then as a better filler, if free of heavy metals, than the artifical colors and non-food chemicals many other supplements use.