"Food Vitamin"
Supplements
Understanding
the "food vitamin" supplements is
a bit tricky and warrants explanation. There
are three general types of products that are
often referred to as "food vitamins."
One
type is made by taking standard USP (United
States Pharmacopia) vitamins (manufactured
in laboratories by biochemical processes)
and putting them in tablets or occasionally
capsules with dried foods and-or herbs (along
with fillers and other additives used in production).
Taking these vitamins is no different than
taking standard USP vitamins with a meal (but
a lot more expensive).
A
second type of "food vitamin" is
supplements made by adding standard USP vitamins
to a liquid broth containing yeast. As the
yeast grows, the vitamins and minerals are
incorporated into the cell structure of the
yeast. The yeast is then killed in a drying
process, and the residue is pressed into tablets
with herbs, binders, and manufacturing additives.
The companies New Chapter and Megafood use
this type of process to make their products.
Because
of the amount of space taken up by the yeast,
products made this way are very low in potency.
Even if absorption is superior, the low potency
and high cost makes them very cost-inefficient
for anyone wishing to take, say, 500 mg of
vitamin C, or 100 mg of coenzyme Q-10, or
400 IU of vitamin E, on a daily basis. Another
problem I've encountered is that many people
taking these yeast-based supplements for any
length of time develop yeast sensitivities.
This is particularly true for those with a
history of candida problems (common in our
carbohydrate-addicted culture).
The
third kind of "food vitamin" supplements
is products that are actually dried foods,
often organic, pressed into tablets with the
aid of manufacturing additives. Most products
made by Standard Process fall into this category.
Again because of size constraints, these products
are necessarily of very low potency in terms
of the amount of vitamins and minerals present,
although some people feel they have potent
effects. While they may be of excellent quality,
they are very cost inefficient. Taking these
supplements might be compared to eating good
organic foods, in very small quantities.
