Plant Based Vitamins... Definitely Not Your Moms Old One-A Days!

Vitamins have been around since the 30's, yet many vitamin manufacturers still use the old, outdated technology from that period. (Could it be because they're cheap to manufacture?) That's the only reason I can understand... because there have been two major revolutions in vitamin technology since the 30's. Let's take just a minute and look at the progression of the vitamins and supplements industry and it's technology.

The First Generation Of Vitamins: "Chemical Synthesis"

Since the discovery of vitamins back in the 30's, many "deficiency diseases" were recognized as being caused by a shortage of certain vitamins and/or minerals. This led to the establishment of the RDA (Recommended Daily Allowance)... the daily amount of vitamins and minerals it was then believed to be necessary to keep a person healthy.

Vitamins were suddenly big business...

Because of this new demand, a lot of companies jumped on the bandwagon and produced synthetic vitamin supplements. Too bad... because they didn't work!

Although these synthetics were identical in their molecular structure to natural vitamins, they were NOT combined with the other components that naturally occur in plants. So, the body couldn't assimilate them.

As a result, all these vitamins produced was expensive URINE!

We now know that it's these OTHER naturally-occurring components that make vitamins "bioavailable." (Can be assimilated and used by the body.)

Because they're not part of a "food matrix", synthetic vitamins and minerals are not recognized by the body as "food". So they mostly pass through the body and are eliminated.

The Second Generation - "Whole Food Extracts"

A study published by the Journal of Food Chemistry stated that, with the exception of selenium, less than 10% of the synthetic minerals contained in the most popular brands of multivitamins were in soluble, bioavailable form. (A good test of solubility is to put a vitamin in a glass of water and let it set overnight. If it doesn't dissolve in water, then it won't in your stomach either.)

On the other hand, plants are able to bond mineral molecules to multiple combinations of amino acids, lipids, sugars and phytochemicals. This is what makes plant-based extracts bioavailable. (Can be absorbed and utilized by the body.)

Still... there are problems with this technology...

Nutrients that are available in whole-food supplements are bioavailable to the human body... but they still have some serious disadvantages.

• Substandard raw materials...
  Most commercially grown fruit and vegetables are severely deficient in nutrient value. So they're not a good starting point in the first place.
• Labeling problems...
  You may not be getting what you think you're getting. Whole food extracts were a solid step forward in providing bioabailable vitamins and minerals. But as whole-food sourced, they can't be standardized... nor can they be labeled for nutritional value.

What was needed were natural whole-food supplements... grown, harvested AND processed in such a way so as to maximize their nutrient value. And packaged in an environment in which they are standardized. AND labeled accordingly. Every bottle contains the same nutrient value as does every other bottle.

The Third Generation - Extracts Taken From "Super Plants"

In 1999 the USDA increased the RDA (recommended daily intake) of fruits and vegetables from 5-7 servings up to 13 per day. (In 1951... 2 peaches a day supplied the RDA of Vitamin A. Today, you'll have to eat 53 in order to get the same benefit!)

As we learned in "The Second Generation", whole food vitamin extracts are a great step in the right direction... IF they're taken from sources that are not grown in depleted soils... regularly doused with pesticides... and harvested green!!

And therein lies the rub... getting good quality (vitamin/mineral rich) fruits and vegetables in the US is difficult.

But a few companies have gotten it right...

They've solved the problem by going all over the world to secure sources of vitamin and mineral-rich raw materials. And using process that preserve the food value. The result? They've produced a product that truly DOES take vitamin/mineral supplements to the cutting edge.

As an example...

It's been known for years that that certain plants have an unusually high ability to uptake and store minerals at the cellular level. (If those minerals are present in soil in the first place!) One of these special plants is the "Brassica juncea"... a variety of mustard green.

A New Jersey company has developed and patented a hydroponic growing process for this plant... one that's producing phenomenal results.

Here's an excerpt from a recent news release on the process:

"This company developed its hydroponics process during the 1990s, using Indian Mustard, widely known as "nature's magnet" for its ability to absorb minerals from the soil."

"Growing Indian mustard using enriched hydroponic cultivation significantly increases the number and amount of minerals which are concentrated in the plant's tissue."

"A recent study showed that Indian mustard grown using enriched cultivation produced concentrations of iron, zinc and chromium many times greater than concentrations found in mineral-rich vegetables purchased from a local market."

Send me an email if you're interested in learning more about these plant based vitamins. I'll be glad to tell you about them.