This will be no surprise to some of you.

This survey from consumerlabs.com found problems with about half the multivitamins tested. Some were contaminated with lead in ways that could lead to toxic levels in the body if taken regularly for a prolonged period of time, some had much more (or much less) than the amounts of substances claimed on the label, and some failed to dissolve in the required time.

[www.msnbc.msn.com]

I stopped taking a multi late last year. I still take B12 and D and sometimes zinc, though.

I was concerned about this as well. So I've decided to only buy vitamins that are certified by a third party. I know it does not guarantee anything, but it provides an extra level of protection. It is absolutely amazing that the overwhelming majority of supplements, including from top brands, are not certified by any third party.

[www.usp.org]

Note that there are *two* USP certifications, which makes things confusing. IIUC, USP Verified Supplement is a more rigorous certification than verified ingredients. Only a few brands have it.

[www.usp.org]

Also note that only some supplements within each brand are certified. Look for the seal on the package.

A lot of supplements have the word "USP" on them. IIUC, this means that they are claiming that it was made to USP standards, but it does not mean that USP certified it -- in other words, there was no third party certification. Thus, again, just look for the "Dietary Supplement Verified" seal.

The brand that I found in my pharmacy is Nature Made. They are pretty much sold all over the country (USA). I didn't like their multivitamin though. It has fish in it, and I think some other problems as well. I am still thinking about whether to buy it. The other ones that I bought are C, E, and Calcium (with D), following LPI's recommendations.

[lpi.oregonstate.edu]

My biology professor in College told me vitamins don't work at all. Total scam.

I think that at best they can be useful to provide some insurance. But they are no substitute for a good diet.

The only things I really need to watch are B12 (because I don't want to eat animals or animal products), D (because I don't sun), and zinc (because it's hard to get enough from plant foods). Everything else, I can get it from my food. It means a little bit more greens than what I prefer, though.

Isn't zinc found in pumpkin seeds?

Yes..they are, I freaked out once and thought I had a zinc defieciency, because I was sad alot, and I bought expensive stuff from dr cousen's and lol, I don't think anything happened, I was eating too many nuts and overweight..

Well, I'd like to see the results, but I'm not paying 10.00 to do it.

Supplements have their place. Most people don't know enough about them to use them properly, though, hence the overuse and popularity of the multi-vitamin.

Judy

coconutcream,

when do you sleep?

morrisson66 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> coconutcream,
>
> when do you sleep?

lol, I'm fairly convinced she doesn't!

Judy

I am not sure that pumkin seeds are a great source of zinc. They contain phytic acid, which binds it up and renders some of it unavailable for use.

This is a problem with plant-based diets. Some plants have a lot of nutrients, and a lot of antinutrients, too.

Plant-based diets have phytate:zinc ratios of about 15:1 (compared to ominvorous ones at 5:1) and this leads some experts to suggest that since our uptake is reduced, we need to increase zinc intake to at least 50% above RDA (for a woman, RDA is 8 mg/day, but they say we would do better to get 12 mg/day).

It's hard enough to meet the RDA, but exceeding it is even more difficult.

I was eating pumpkin seeds that were: soaked, sprouted, then dehydrated. I thought I was getting all the zinc I needed in the 1/4 a cup per day, for 1 full year! One day, I'm giving myself a manicure, and low and behold!! WHITE SPECKS on my finger nails, which is an indication of zinc deficiency. I chewed them super well, as to get the iron, protein, zinc & other benifits from them.

I even was, instead of pumpkin seeds, eating raw pumpkin butter, alternating the two.

I will post here in a few, a link that was fascinating to me, since I'm very intrested in learning about oxalates, phytates and inhibitors.

But I was soooo sad, because I love raw foods, and the company I bought the seeds from were not exactly cheap. But I felt my health was worth every penny.

Ironically, I hate like hell to say it, because of my romance with raw, which I love and embrace, but before I went "raw", I was eating Eden Foods roasted pumpkin seeds, and my libido was so high, and my hair was shiny and I was glowing. I ate a 4oz bag almost every day and it was my secret to looking radiant. I noticed a difference (I'm my own test rat) when I stopped eating them, a few times. I never had white specks on my nails ethier.

It worked. And they were roasted. I'm wondering if they were roasted at low temps, or if the roasting time was enough to reduce most of the inhibitors, and still preserved the vital nutrients and did not effect the good fats to much.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/20/2007 08:02PM by Rawrrr!.

that's very interesting. i know that cooking increases the bioavailablity of nutrients in carrots but that can also be accomplished with juicing. i wonder if there is something similar that assists nutrient absorption in pumpkin seeds?

Protein assists, high calcium intake hinders.

Here is a chart showing phytate contents of foods in mg/100 g of food. Seeds, legumes, and grains are highest. That's something to think about. Many people here avoid those foods anyway.

[www.ajcn.org]

They don't list pumpkin seed but you can see that the other seeds are very high in phytate.

Cooking does reduce phytate level. I am not sure how much but I estimate (based on a vague recollection of something I once read somewhere) by about 20%.

If you are interested in further reading, this is a good paper, it's not too technical, and there was no conflict of interest with funky funding.

[www.ajcn.org]

LOL, when do I sleep? well, to be honest my heart was broken recently. I apologize for being mean and nasty in some posts..bitter ..I find it hard to sleep and during this time this board has saved me ..but hopefully I will get to sleep at night and will not be up bothering you guys with every opinion on every topic I have! LOL

I am feeling better, he was a meat eater anyways!

Unfortunately, no synthetically derived vitamin, mineral, enzyme or co-enzyme, or nutrient for that matter, is safe for ingestion. Synthetic molecules are not the same as organic ones - & the body knows. Who knows what biochemical changes are provoked by synthetic ingestion? Do we really need to find out when we already have more than 60,000 chemicals with which our bodies must contend daily, just to DETOX THEM, if it can?

Simple facts: organic is what the body recognizes as FOOD. I know of no organic vitamin supplements. Do you?

Best we can do it dehydrated SUPERFOOD powders - that's it. Raw foods really do have all we need...if we know what we are eating.

Blissed be, Annie

Bodybyblis I think that B12 is too hard or too expensive to synthesise so it is extracted from its natural source: bacteria. How it is extracted determines its efficacy.

As for natural vitamins... I tried "New Chapter" whole food vitamins. I did not feel any different than any other day. However if you want to give them a try, their website is .

Coconutcream I left some messages in your blog asking you if the cherry pitter you bought is a steel one and what it looked like. I cannot find the messages anymore. Do I need to need to fill out my email and such to allow the messages to remain there?

>Synthetic molecules are not the same as organic ones - & the body knows. Who knows what biochemical changes are provoked by synthetic ingestion?

The only difference is carbon-14 dating. If the substance is identical, the body will respond to the substance the same as if it were from a natural source. The compound will have the same number and type of atoms, the same number of electrons, the same number of protons, the same arrangement, the same reactivity. This is basic organic chemistry. You said you took it.

But some compounds can be in different arrangements or mirror images (natural as well as synthetic), and we need the correct isomer, entantiomer, etc. to be used by the body.

Also I guess you are saying you are not a vegan. This is a vegan forum.

Many vitamins are derived from natural sources, and if they are identical to the natural version dervived from food or made in the body like arugula pointed out, the body does recognize it and use it. It has to. The problem is absorption and also all the co-factors and the balance of dosages that you usually get in the full complex of a food. High amounts can create imbalances or defficiencies in other vitamins, and too much of certain ones can cause toxicity or free radicals. Then there is the problem of the other junk in most supplements. All the fillers etc. like silicon dioxide and all which is not a usuable form of silica so the body just stores it or gets rid of it but can't use or absorb it. Overall food concentrates are better, like camu camu instead of isolated vitamin C.

There is a lot of zinc in Napa Cabbage I heard and it shouldn't have phyates etc. I don't think. B12, just make sure it's yeast derived and the meth kind and is not full of a bunch of nasty fillers in it. Too much zinc can deplete copper and can be toxic. As far as Vitamin D, don't we need only 10-20min a day of sun on Some part of our body? I know it's hard to always get some sun, but I also know that the sun provides more then just D. It makes the body produce all sorts of beneficial hormones that protect it.

Veg Life B12 and their multi-vitamins are great and animal free!

Peace,

Marcos

Go Vegan for your life, your health, the planet and, most importantly, the animals that we share this wonderful world with!

bodybyblis Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
I know of no organic vitamin
> supplements. Do you?


Yup. I do. Vitamin C from rose hips for a start.....

Judy

The link was [www.new-chapter.com] . I do not know why in my previous message the link did not show up.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/26/2007 04:18AM by VeganLife.

rawmark Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Veg Life B12 and their multi-vitamins are great
> and animal free!
>
> Peace,


They maybe vegan but they are cyanocobalamin which is not nearly as absorbable or bioavable as the meth kind. They also have a lot of fillers in them.

Other ingredients: Maltodextrin, mannitol, fructose, stearic acid (vegetable-based), malted barley, VegiBlend (carrot, broccoli, and tomato concentrates), citric acid, natural vegan flavors, magnesium stearate and silica

Pure Advantage is much better. It is a spray of methylcobalamin and only has purified water, vegetable glycerin and potassium sorbate as it's other ingredients.

[secure7.nexternal.com]

They also have this Homocysteine Control Spray that has Folic Acid, B6 and Trimethyl Glycine as well that's supposed to be even more effective.

Does anyone know of any that are even more pure and absorbable then these ones? Thanks



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 01/26/2007 08:56PM by nik.