Articles by Dr. Erdman are for informational purposes, and are not to be taken as specific medical advice.
In the last article, we saw that our food supply just isn’t
what it used to be. Our soils are depleted of vital nutrients, and so is our
food. We concluded that proper supplementation is necessary, even vital, to our
good health.
Let’s start by looking at the major categories of
supplements: synthetic, natural inorganic, natural organic and natural carbon
based organic.
Synthetic vitamins: This type is manufactured in the
laboratory and appears the same as natural vitamins in their atomic structure.
However, they can be differentiated in the laboratory. Most Americans are
taking this type of vitamin. Go to Wal-Mart and CVS, they are cheap! But, they
are less bioavailable and the synthetic elements can actually end up being
deposited and stored in extra cellular spaces, fatty tissue and interstitial
fluids; where they reside, potentially causing toxicity and chronic disease.
They are designed for low cost purposes. They are created
from plentiful and inexpensive sources, not from whole foods or plants. They should
be avoided at any cheap cost!
Natural inorganic vitamins: When comparing vitamins, the
difference between synthetic and natural is hard to discern. “Natural”
generally refers to nutrients that come from quality sources, with maximum
retention of natural material; no artificial colors, sweeteners or
preservatives.
I often ask my patients to think about this: Why is it, when
you purchase quality supplement pills, the bottle says one dose is three or
four capsules; yet the ones that are the cheapest say it has all that goodness
in “one-a-day”? Simply put, it doesn’t!
Natural vitamins cost a little more, but are definitely
superior to man-made vitamins.
Natural Organic Vitamins: There are two definitions of
“organic”. One is the “grocery store” definition which means whole food
derived, minus the insecticides, pesticides and herbicides. The other is the “scientific”
definition which says it is related to or belonging to the class of chemical
compounds having living carbon as a base.
The grocery store organics can have some inert ingredients,
are moderately absorbed, are derived from plants with small to large molecular
sizes; and are often heat processed.
Natural carbon based organic supplements are composed of
living plants with exceptional absorbability, no preservatives, and ultra-small
molecular structure. These should be a liquid supplement, although there are a
few in tablet form that can be used. These are cold water processed and highly
beneficial to your good health.
Heat processed supplements have less nutrient value. Heat is
a double edged sword that kills nutrients and microorganisms alike. Cooking our
food wastes some vital nutrients, and boiling bad water kills pathogens,
instead of them killing us.
Most liquid supplements use heat processing because it is
easier to force synthetic chemical nutrients and elements into solution with
heat. This often includes additives and nutrients that must be supported with
preservatives to stay in solution and remain fresh.
Both types of organics carry higher prices due to higher
costs of production. Beware of ‘proprietary blends’ which won’t list all of the
ingredients, this may hide inert or synthetic ingredients. One product I can
think of that you cannot obtain what is in their product is a certain
multilevel marketing acai juice product. They will not disclose their mixtures
of juices. You just have to ‘trust’ them that it is all the acai they say it
is, but you’ll never know for sure. It may not be a bad product at all. In
fact, it sounds like good stuff; but you won’t be able to find out, I tried.
Organically bound supplements with living carbon
compounds are the best supplements of all. I have found one that I like. It is
called Intramax. You can find it online at DruckerLabs.com. It is a liquid,
cold processed, all in one multivitamin, multimineral, probiotic with over 415
essential nutrients. I have it available in the office, I use it, and it costs
about $85 per month to take. Good health ultimately is worth the price. There
is no more important investment you can make.