The Startling Truth About Vitamin Supplements

Vitamin supplements are not food and are not generally effective at keeping you well in absence of a healthy diet.

Two recent, separate reviews of studies looking at the effectiveness of taking vitamin tablets concluded that they are worthless at best.

Synthetic (vitamin) supplements are manufactured from chemicals, not living plants or animals. When a supplement tells you to take the pill with a meal, it's not because you will absorb it better. It's so you won't get an upset stomach from eating what was once part of a rock.

Differences between Natural and Synthetic Supplements

Synthetic vitamins are single, isolated forms, many times in a "mirror-image" of the form your body was designed to use.

In the body vitamins naturally occur in association with other vitamins and co-factors which are necessary to complete their functions.

Nutritional supplements are usually manufactured based on cost rather than effectiveness. For example, fish oils are usually refined in a unnatural, synthetic ester form, which is cheaper to make. The triglyceride form, which is the natural form and more expensive, is absorbed 50 times better by the body.

Synthetic vitamins use "Food-Grade Glaze" (like shellac) to stick the chemicals together.

Evidence from industrial "Port-A-Potties" has demonstrated a large number of vitamin supplements never dissolve in the gut. (You can even read the brand on the tablets after they finish their voyage).

How many are in your multivitamin?

If It Really Works There Will Be Good Research Done On It

First of all, what do you do if you're selling a product but don't have any research on it?

USE TESTIMONIALS! You should view these as pure B.S., grab your wallet and run.

Case studies are published studies about one or occasionally several individuals. These are NOT research. The purpose of a case study is to suggest that this topic might deserve a large study. Or maybe not.

Research published by the parent company is very suspect and should be only considered when accompanied by other good peer-reviewed research.

The old saying, "Figures lie and liars figure" is very true, even in the research world.

Good research is published in a peer-reviewed journal. This means that other independent researchers have examined the study and judged it worthy of publication.

Poorly-done studies have a much tougher time getting into print.

This is what you need to see done on your supplements.

Why Should I Need Studies?

• Both the GAO (Governmental Accounting Office) and the North Carolina University School of Pharmacy did studies on the content of supplements for sale.
• Over 30% failed to have the content they said was in the bottle.
• Most vitamin supplements are made by companies whose main concern is profit. They have a strong tendency to cut corners and use the cheapest, not the best, methods of manufacturing their product. Remember, most of them are pharmaceutical companies who bought up the original company.

It's About Marketing, not Your Health...

You are at the Mercy of the Marketplace.

Pharmaceutical companies have huge advertising budgets to make you think you and your children need to buy their products.

Most of these companies are divisions of large pharmaceutical companies and their only concern about you is, "What's in your wallet?"

Vitamin merchandising by pharmaceutical companies aimed at children is reminiscent of that used by fast-food chains to create "customers for life".

Choose wisely, for your family...

Research is the only way you can trust your supplement to do its job.

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