Everyone wants to be healthy. Most people take some sort of vitamin supplement, assuming it will help them stay healthy, or improve their health. We are advised by “holistic” practitioners, as well as health food store clerks and on-line health coaches, to take mega doses of antioxidants and other vitamins. Everyone seems to at least be taking a multivitamin, “just to be on the safe side.” I am writing this to persuade you to stop this unhealthy and possibly dangerous practice. Here’s why:
Vitamins are complex substances, naturally found in unprocessed foods. The only place to get them is in whole food, or whole food supplements. The isolated chemicals that make up almost all vitamin “supplements” are not the same as the naturally occurring substances found in food. They are pharmaceutical chemicals, derived from coal tar. Your body can’t metabolize these artificial substances. It ends up stealing co-factors from other tissues in an attempt to make a usable complex out of the isolate, creating long term deficiencies in the process. There has never been a single study verifying the benefits of supplementing with synthetic vitamins. (There have been several documenting the harmful effects, much to everyone’s dismay.) And the expensive health food store, multilevel marketing, or on-line versions which claim to be “natural,” are no better. All brands are sourced from a few chemical companies which supply all vitamin producers.
So what to do? I’ve been working in the health field for over 20 years. Nutrition has always been a primary focus of my practice. I used to give the standard advice—“you need a good B Complex for stress, Vitamin E for hot flashes, Vitamin C for your immune system.” I didn’t know then, what I know now. Now, after many years of research and experimentation with my own health, I’ve come to the conclusion that it is critical to stop taking all synthetic vitamins. Then, after adopting a nutrient dense diet, use only whole food supplements from Standard Process as your nutritional support system.
And you DO need a nutritional support program. Our food supply no longer contains the vitamins and minerals that it once did. At the same time our environment is laden with chemical pollution that taxes our detoxification systems. We have never been more in need of nutritional support. But it’s crucial to get this from whole food sources. The ONLY company I’ve found that makes supplements strictly from food, not chemicals, is Standard Process. They’ve been doing this since 1929, and are the gold standard for quality, integrity, and just pure genius in formulating whole food supplements.
So kick the “vitamin” habit, and talk to your practitioner about a Standard Process nutritional protocol for your needs and lifestyle. You body will thank you with better health.
