How do I make sure I have sufficient vitamins and minerals intake without taking vitamin supplements?
How much fruits and vegetables do we need daily? Based on USDA (United States Department of Agriculture), for every meal, we must fill half of our plate with fruits and vegetables.
Based on WHO (World Health Organization), we must consume at least 5 portions of fruits and vegetables a day. Potatoes, sweet potatoes, cassava and other starchy roots are not classified as fruits or vegetables. More info about healthy diet from WHO --> HealthyDiet
It is very clear that experts are aware that human should consume more plants than meats in order to be healthy. However, it is a challenge for us who living a fast paced lifestyle. We tend to eat our meals at irregular timing, consume less variety of fruits and vegetables, or loss of nutrients of vegetables due to overcook.
As a conclusion, there are many benefits of eating more wholesome vegetables and fruits everyday.
However, most people will choose to take vitamin supplements (or multivitamins) to secure their health. Reasons are:
Convenience (take vitamin C as example, instead of peeling an orange and have to wash hands after eating, vitamin C pills/capsules are convenient way for replenish loss of vitamin C in body)
Longer storage shelf life (vitamin supplements can keep in the bottle/packaging for longer period because it is synthetically produced, and chemicals is added as preservatives, while fresh fruits will get decomposed in short period of time)
Cheaper (with lower price, multivitamin pills provides more vitamins and nutrients than fresh fruits and vegetables)
Advertisements (Health benefits by taking vitamin supplements)
etc etc.
In spite of everything, as I mentioned at earlier articles about synthetic vitamins (Click to read previous articles: Part 1 and Part 2) , thus, I choose to eat wholesome plants and fruits for my daily vitamin and mineral intake.
Due to frequent eating outside, although I did cook sometimes, it is very hard for me to eat enough of vegetables and fruits everyday. And that is why I choose to take VegeColor in helping me to take enough of vitamins and minerals!
What is so special about VegeColor?
Each packet of VegeColor contains 28 types of fruits and vegetables! (Yes, is 28 types of different colors of fruits and vegetables!). With one packet of VegeColor, you can easily take 28 types of fruits and vegetables each meal!) Take a look at the ingredients of VegeColor:
and this amount of fruits and vegetables are equivalent to
No washing, no cutting, and no cooking is needed! All you have to do is just sprinkle on your food and stir it, then eat it. ^^
It has passed through various of strict safety inspections, such as micro-organism, heavy metal, 1822 types of poison, and micro-lens tests.
It was manufactured with high-end technology techniques, which is freeze-drying, that is why it is able to fit all 28 types of fruits and vegetables in to small, convenient packet, and still retain its nutrients!
It is chemical free, pesticide free and preservatives free!
It is wholesome!
It is suitable for vegan / vegetarian.
Below is the video showing how my friends and I incorporate VegeColorin our daily diet, and how easy it is!
Vitamins, vitamins, vitamins. Whether we get them from our daily diet, from sunshine, or from store bought capsules or liquids, vitamins are vital to our health and to the proper functioning of our bodies.
Vitamin deficiencies lead to a wide range of problems spanning from anorexia to obesity, organ malfunction, confusion, depression and fatigue.
However, whether or not our vitamins are hurting us is another story. What people are not aware of is all vitamins are not created equal, and most are actually synthetic.
What is a "Synthetic" Vitamin?
The type of vitamins that are the most beneficial is up for debate. A healthy, organic diet should provide a good amount of nutrients that the body needs, but supplements can help ensure that we are getting a healthy serving of specific vitamins.
The problem is that many vitamin and mineral supplements are manufactured synthetically with chemicals and do not come straight from their natural sources.They are made to mimic the way natural vitamins act in our bodies. Natural vitamins are derived directly from plant material containing the vitamin, not produced in a test tube.
Many synthetic vitamins lack the transporters and co-factors associated with naturally-occurring vitamins because they have been "isolated." The Organic Consumers Association emphasizes that isolated vitamins cannot be used or recognized by the body in the same way as the natural version.
The natural form come in packages with other vitamins, enzymes and minerals that control the way the body recognizes, metabolizes and uses them to make what it needs.
Isolated vitamins can’t always be used by the body, and are either stored until we obtain or create the nutrients required to use them effectively or are excreted. Synthetic vitamins are also devoid of necessary trace minerals and must use the body’s own mineral reserves which may lead to dangerous mineral deficiencies.
What’s the Big Deal About Synthetic Vitamins?
Synthetic versions of vitamins contain chemical compounds that were not meant for human consumption and do not occur in nature. Evolution has dictated that we eat the food we can gather from the earth, not the food we create in a lab.
Fat soluble vitamins in their synthetic form are especially dangerous because they can build up in our fatty tissues and cause toxicity. The reason that the synthetic form is more dangerous is because we get a high, concentrated serving of the vitamin rather than the amount that we would get from a food-based form.
Vitamins A, D, E and K are all fat soluble
Fat soluble vitamins are found naturally in butter, fish oils, nuts, and green leafy vegetables
Excesses of fat soluble vitamins are stored in the liver and fatty tissues
Most people do not get sufficient amounts of fat soluble vitamins from their diet
How do I know if the vitamins I’m buying are synthetic or natural?
The Organic Consumers Association has published an ingredient chart to help consumers identify natural vs. synthetic vitamins. Many vitamin producers want us to believe that we are getting a “natural product” because it seems more wholesome to take “natural” vitamins.
Unfortunately, vitamins can be labeled as natural if they contain as little as 10% of the natural form of the vitamin. This means that our “natural” vitamin could contain 90% of synthetically produced chemicals! B-Vitamins and Vitamin C are also usually synthetically produced.
Common Synthetic Vitamins to Avoid:
Look for clues on the vitamin’s label that offer insight into the origin of the vitamin.
People need to learn that their health is in their own hands. The fact is, they can be free of illness and brilliantly healthy if they choose a wholesome diet and lifestyle. On the other hand, an incorrect diet and poor lifestyle choices make people sick.
Below is a short video about the important of Wholesome Plant Foods compared to Synthetic Pills:
<Truth About Vitamins & Minerals Supplements>
Below table has some of the example of the vitamin source:
Below is the picture taken from the book
<Enjoying Health and Longevity with Nutritional Immunology> by Dr. Jau Fei Chen
Vitamin overdose could cause harm instead of benefits to our body.
Our diet should mainly focus on wholesome plant based foods, which provides us lots of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and phytochemicals. These essential substances are crucial to our health.
What is a Dietary Supplement?
A dietary supplement is a product intended for ingestion that contains a "dietary ingredient" intended to add further nutritional value to (supplement) the diet. A "dietary ingredient" may be one, or any combination, of the following substances:
- a vitamin
- a mineral
- an herb or other botanical
- an amino acid
- a dietary substance for use by people to supplement the diet by increasing the total dietary intake
- a concentrate, metabolite, constituent, or extract
Dietary supplements may be found in many forms such as tablets, capsules, softgels, gelcaps, liquids, or powders. Some dietary supplements can help ensure that you get an adequate dietary intake of essential nutrients; others may help you reduce your risk of disease.
What you need to know first about dietary supplements?
Dietary supplements include things like vitamins, minerals, herbs, or products made from plants. They can also be made from animal parts, algae, seafood, yeasts, fungus, and many other food substances or extracts. They include powdered amino acids, enzymes, energy bars, and liquid food supplements.
Some dietary supplements are formulated under careful conditions in clean, controlled laboratories and labeled accurately. Others are made less carefully, and have been found to contain none of the substances listed on their labels. And some supplements contain other substances that are not listed on their labels – fillers, different herbs, or actual drugs that are known to be able to cause harm.
If you are thinking about using dietary supplements as part of your cancer treatment, you’ll want to know more before you decide what to do. The information here will help you learn more about dietary supplements so you can make a more informed decision about using them safely.
Dietary supplements are considered safe until proven unsafe!
In 1994, the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA) defined dietary supplements as a category of food, which put them under different regulations than drugs. They are considered safe until proven otherwise. The DSHEA says that dietary supplements cannot contain anything that may have “a significant or unreasonable risk of illness or injury” when the supplement is used as directed on the label, or with normal use if there are no directions on the label.
A dietary supplement is considered “new” if it contains an ingredient not recognized as a food substance, unless it was sold as a supplement before October 1994. If it is new, the manufacturer must provide the FDA with reasonable evidence that the new ingredient is safe before the supplement is marketed to the public.
But manufacturers are not required to test new ingredients or supplements in clinical trials, which would help find risks and potential interactions with drugs or other substances. The DSHEA gives the FDA permission to stop a company from making a dietary supplement, but only when the FDA proves that the product poses a significant risk to the health of Americans. This means they are found unsafe only after they cause harm. This is the reverse of the way prescription and non-prescription drugs are handled.
Dietary supplements are usually self-prescribed, so there’s no controlled system for reporting bad reactions and side effects. Doctors and patients can report problems, but are not required to do so. If a supplement has unknown side effects or interactions with other drugs, foods, or supplements, they are not likely to be discovered as quickly as those of new drugs on the market.
Risks and side effects of dietary supplements
Like drugs, dietary supplements have risks and side effects. But sellers aren’t required to do research studies in people to prove that a dietary supplement is safe. And unlike drugs, dietary supplements are mostly self-prescribed with no input from informed medical sources like doctors, nurses, or pharmacists.
There’s a lot of wrong information out there. Even for those who are usually well informed, it can be hard to find reliable information about the safe use and potential risks of dietary supplements.
As part of its function to monitor supplement safety, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) tracks reports of illness, injury, or reactions from supplements. And supplement makers are required to report serious harmful effects to the FDA. Early numbers are reported on the FDA website. Recent FDA information shows that the number of reports has continued to climb each calendar year:
2010: 1,009 reports of dietary supplement adverse events
2011: 2,047 reports of dietary supplement adverse events
2012: 2,844 reports of dietary supplement adverse events
Exposures to supplements (such as vitamins, herbs, protein powders, and botanicals) accounted for more than 35,000 calls to US poison control centers in 2011. Of these calls, more than 4,000 people were reportedly treated in health care facilities. More than 800 cases were described as having moderate to severe outcomes, with 4 deaths reported to poison control centers.
Most people who suffer unexpected side effects, illnesses, or drug interactions from dietary supplements don’t call a poison control center or the supplement manufacturer. This means that the numbers we have are likely very low estimates of actual events.
Used properly, certain dietary supplements may help reduce the risk of some diseases, reduce discomfort caused by certain drugs or conditions, or simply make you feel better (improve your quality of life). And most people can use dietary supplements safely within certain dosage guidelines. But taking dietary supplements can be risky, especially for people who are getting cancer treatment.
Special problems for people getting cancer treatment
There are several ways that supplements can cause problems for people during cancer treatment. For example, some dietary supplements can cause skin sensitivity and severe reactions when taken during radiation treatment. People who are getting radiation treatments should talk to their doctors before taking any supplement.
People getting chemotherapy may be at higher risk for drug interactions if they take dietary supplements. There is also concern that antioxidants might interfere with cancer cell-killing treatments. Cancer experts often recommend that patients avoid dietary supplements altogether until their cancer treatment is over. But if you decide to take supplements anyway, be sure to let your doctor know exactly what you are taking.
Here are some images taken from the book <Enjoying Health & Longevity With Nutritional Immunology> by Dr Jau-Fei Chen.
If dietary supplements are able to help to cure diseases, why till today, mortality rate still climbing high?
It was 20 years ago since the law was announced that all dietary supplements' ingredients must reviewed by FDA (Foods and Drugs Administration for their safety before they are marketed. However, human still suffer from various types of chronic diseases till today, are the advanced medical technology that we human possessed today, still unable to ourselves from such diseases?
Take a look at these numbers, taken from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (link located at bottom of the picture).
Why are there such huge numbers of death caused by Heart disease? Cancer, a disease which abnormal cells divide without control and are able to invade other tissues, ranked number 2 of death caused in US for year 2014 alone! It is very clear that something has gone wrong or misconception about the diet that we practised everyday. I believed that everybody has this experience, where we visit clinic or hospital when we fell sick, doctor will issued us medications such as pills and pain killers, and antibiotic. Are these pills really helped to cure our illness? Do you know that such medication will caused harm to our body rather than helping to free ourselves from falling sick?
Panadol (aceraminophen), belongs to a group of medicines called analgesics (pain relievers) and antipyretics (fever reducers). It works quickly to relieve pain caused by conditions such as headache and osteoarthritis, and to reduce fever caused by infection. It is used by itself as well as in combination medication products for cough, cold and pain relief. (Details link here: http://chealth.canoe.com/drug/getdrug/Panadol) It is very sure that Panadol is not the medicine to cure our fever, or cough, or flu, but to slows down or more precisely, suppresses our pain caused by these illnesses.
So, what is the thing that really cures us from illness? The answer is our immune system! Our immune cells, which located at various parts in our body, protecting ourselves from bacteria and viruses 24/7! (To read more about our immune system, please click here: Our Immune System ) It is very important to nourish our immune cells with proper nutrients so that our immune system works perfectly all the time. (To read more about what are the 3 nutrients to boost our immune system, click here: What is Nutritional Immunology)
