Vitamins Essential to Healthy Living
“Most physicians are uneducated about the benefits of nutrition supplements. They dismiss the value of supplemental vitamins and minerals and behave condescendingly toward their patients who use them. What a person is not up on, they are usually down on. Doctors are no different.” So begins Steven F. Hotze M.D., in opening a discussion on the value of vitamins in his book Hormones, Health, and Happiness: A Natural Medical Formula for Rediscovering Youth with Bioidentical Hormones
To Dr. Hotze, a physician who deals in the total wellness of his patients, such an attitude would be foreign territory. Even though like most doctors his medical school education was nearly vitamin deficient, he’s come a long way in his knowledge of the subject and has excellent advice to offer anyone who wants to live healthy and enjoy life to the maximum.
If you are wondering if you are a candidate for taking supplemental vitamins, according to Dr. Hotze you are – and so is everyone. Much of the food we eat these days simply does not measure up nutritionally. Processing strips it of essential fiber and nutrients, plus many foods are loaded with preservatives. Furthermore, soil depletion has lead to fewer minerals in the foods we eat, nutrients are lost during shipping, cooking and light exposure, as well.
So, what vitamins and in what quantity should they be taken to rectify this situation? Dr. Hotze recommends the following four important considerations when selecting high quality nutritional supplements:
- Read labels and eliminate products that contain artificial colors, sweeteners, wheat, corn, yeast and other allergens.
- Make sure the Vitamin E you select is natural rather than a synthetic.
- Look for minerals in a chelated form. Chelated means in an amino acid carrier much like in the foods that contain these minerals. A chelated mineral that can be utilized by the body is one that has been bonded to two or more amino acids from hydrolyzed protein. A mineral in this chelated state allows easy passage through the intestinal wall into the blood stream, which results in increased metabolism of that mineral.
- Check the label for quality control and testing info. If the product is formulated according to the standards of the Good Manufacturing Practices of the National Nutritional Foods Association they meet the highest quality and purity standards.
Regarding quantity, Dr. Hotze recommends taking vitamins far in excess of those amounts recommended as RDA, the Recommended Daily Allowances printed on vitamin bottles and containers. He dubs RDA as meaning Ridiculously Deficient Amounts. Here are his daily recommendations:
Vitamin C boosts the immune system as an antioxidant. Take 6,000 mg per 150 lbs. of body weight. Vitamin E protects your heart, enhances blood flow, and has antioxidant qualities. Take 800 IU. Coenzyme Q10 supports your heart and cells. Take 120 mg and twice that if on statin drugs. Selenium cuts cancer risk and is important to thyroid hormone function. Take 400 microgram (mcg).
Zinc adds zip to immune function, enhances hormone action and converts Vitamin A to a usable form. “B Smart” and take the entire B Complex, taking at least 60 mcg of Vitamin B12 and 400 mcg of Folic Acid. Take Vitamin D to facilitate calcium absorption, 300-400 IU, plus 15 minutes of sunscreen-free sun exposure 3 times weekly. Calcium 1,000 mg or 2,000 for women with osteoporosis remember to always take at least 500 mg of magnesium with your calcium to aid in absorption. An important mineral to take is Potassium at least 200 mg a day. (Remember to always follow the recommended doses or what is recommended by your healthcare professional.)
The problem is most people think that by taking daily supplements they don’t need to eat a balanced diet. Most doctors would recommend that you eat a healthy diet and take multi-vitamin supplements. In fact, the American Medical Association recommends that all adults take a daily multi-vitamin supplement. You should make sure you choose a quality product that enhances maximum absorption of all nutrients. So check the manufacturer and make sure it is GMP-certified. I would also recommend an effervescent multi-vitamin supplement, like MultiVescence, containing minerals, vitamins, antioxidants, amino acids. Effervescent vitamins are more fully absorbed by the body.