A Comparison of Vitamins and Supplements

Photo of: Lyle MacWilliam MSc, FP

Garber Gastronomic

Getting the most from vitamins

Which ones support your best health?

by Anne Garber

Are nutritional supplements only good for creating expensive urine? Most health-conscious adults would have heard this at least once in the debate about whether to take or not to take nutritional supplements. From a medical perspective -- until recently -- the view has been quite conservative, the verdict having been: “There's no need to take extra vitamins.”

For example, the American Medical Association took an anti-vitamin stance almost 20 years. But two years ago, Harvard researchers Robert Fletcher and Kathleen Fairfield convinced the conservative Journal of the American Medical Association to rewrite its policy guidelines on the use of vitamin supplements, based on a landmark review of 38 years of scientific evidence. In two reports, the authors concluded that the current North American diet -- while sufficient to prevent vitamin deficiency diseases, such as scurvy -- is inadequate to support optimal health . They concluded that given today's diet, daily supplementation with a multiple vitamin “is a prudent preventive measure against chronic disease.”

“The medical association has undergone a sea change in terms of its stand on vitamin supplements,” says Lyle MacWilliam, a biochemist and former BC MLA.

The case is very strong for taking the necessary nutritional supplementation; the body requires 17 vitamins and vitamin-like substances, a diverse group of plant-based antioxidants, at least 14 trace elements and minerals and several compounds important in glutathione and lipid metabolism. It's valid to acknowledge this point of view. But with so many choices out there, how can you possibly know which multivitamin brand to choose? And one of the problems, Mr MacWilliam points out, is that many retail brands are inadequate because their formulas are based on information that is 40 to 50 years out of date. “People are looking for guidance on how to prevent degenerative disease, like diabetes, heart problem and osteoporosis,” he says.

Taking nutritional supplements and combining them with healthy lifestyle changes can go a long way toward preventing people getting sick in the first place, says Mr MacWilliam. “People shouldn't look at supplements as a panacea or a quick fix. And some people can neglect the need for a proper diet when they're taking supplements or don't exercise regularly.”

Lifestyle, diet and nutritional supplements: These three are pillars for optimal health, he says. Having served on an expert advisory team in Canada for natural health products, Mr MacWilliam has written a book called Comparative Guide that covers about 500 products in North America.

Choosing the right brand for you

“There's a broad -- and surprising -- range out there, from marginal quality to excellent products,” Mr MacWilliam says of the hundreds of brands available. So he decided to consolidate the best expert data out there to come up with an 'ideal' standard, called the Blended Standard. “I thought it was important to come up with a scientific rationale for deciding which is the right supplementation,” he says.

He compiled the daily recommended intakes from seven highly noted nutritionists for the Blended Standard (see below) to assess which products have quality formulations. “This gives us a baseline and an analytical tool to analyse the products in the market,” he says. The top nutritionists include Phyllis Balch, Michael Colgan and Earl Mindell -- who have their own recommendations for daily nutritional intakes.

Mr MacWilliam then came up with 14 criteria against which he compared supplements in the market with the Blended Standard, criteria such as:

Completeness of nutrients:

Does the product contain the full spectrum of nutrients listed in the Blended Standard and considered essential for optimal health?

Potency of nutrients:

The US Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDAs) have become de facto guidelines for nutritional intake, but it's important to understand that the RDAs represent the minimum criteria necessary to prevent deficiencies rather then optimal levels for prevention of degenerative disease. Of those nutrients found in the product, what per cent are found at potency levels meeting or exceeding 50 per cent of the potency for those nutrients in the Blended Standard?

Bio-availability:

Does the product contain minerals in their most bio-available forms as amino acid chelates or organic acid complexes?

Bio-activity of Vit E:

Natural Vit E is quickly absorbed into human cells whereas synthetic forms are broken down and excreted in the urine. (Tip: Look for d-alpha-tocopherols instead of d/l-alpha-tocopherols.)

Cardiac Health Triad:

Does the product contain Vit E, co-enzyme Q10 and magnesium -- three nutritional components important to cardiac health?

With this Blended Standard, buyers can compare the listed ingredients in a multivitamin mixture to see how well they rank. “This could be a tool by which they make a judgment as to which are more effective multivitamins,” Mr MacWilliam says. In his book, he actually rates retail brands according to the standard. The value of nutritional supplements lies in the fact that they contain essential ingredients the body needs. “If the cell doesn't have nutritional ingredients to function, then damage begins to accelerate. Supplementation can slow down the damage,” Mr MacWilliam says.

The US RDA is currently being re-examined, he says. “Now called the DRI or Dietary Recommended Intake, it's beginning to incorporate optimal supplementation rather than just the baseline requirements.” Aging, Mr MacWilliam notes, is a reflection of the rate of oxidation in the body. “Most degenerative diseases like diabetes and osteoporosis can't be cured but they can be prevented ,” he points out. Lyle MacWilliam' book, Comparative Guide to Nutritional Supplements, can be found at Family Health stores, as well as online at Amazon.com.

© worldwide 2004, Anne Garber / evalu8.org evalu8.org Media Inc. © worldwide 2005Restaurant critic and food writer Anne Garber's media career spans 38 years in both print and electronic media. And of course to FoodSiteoftheDay.com Garber Gastronomic columns exclusive to evalu8.org by Anne Garber.

SHORT VIDEO ON THE DIFFERENCE IN VITAMIN QUALITY

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