Transcript How to Choose a Supplement

How to Choose a
Supplement
©Dr. Kevin Passero 2005
What is the Goal of Your Supplement
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To assist the body in its ability to function
optimally
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Primary health should be maintained through
healthy living practices and good lifestyle
hygiene.
Lifestyle Hygiene
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Eating a healthful diet plentiful in fresh
vegetables, fruits and high quality meats.
Avoiding highly processed foods that contain
hydrogenated fats, preservatives and artificial
colors and flavors.
Drink ample amounts of filtered water.
Exercise regularly
Maintain good sleep habits
Looking at your Health
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One of the most important things to do when
considering what supplement you should take is
sitting down and evaluating what aspects of
your health need the most support.
Family History
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Family History can be one of the most
important markers for what health challenges
you may face in the future.
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Start by making a list of all the health problems
primary family members suffer from.
Influencing Factors
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Next take into consideration lifestyle habits that
may have contributed to these problems.
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For instance if you Father was a smoker and had
heart disease your risk may not be as high if you
don’t smoke.
Red Flags
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If a certain trend is very consistent throughout a
family history pay very close attention to it.
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For example colon or breast cancer can often be
very common between parents, siblings, aunts
and uncles.
Red Flags
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If one or more of your family members was
afflicted with a condition (like heart disease) at a
younger than average age, you should be extra
cautious about your risk factors.
Family History
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If your family history shows a strong trend
towards a chronic disease, you will want to
choose supplements that have been studied to
support the body’s resistance to that particular
disease process.
Other Pertinent Health Conditions
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Supplements are often chosen on a basis of
supporting the body through already existing
conditions.
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Always consult with a qualified healthcare
practitioner to determine which supplements are
best suited to safely support your body.
Other Pertinent Health Conditions
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It is important to consider health conditions you
may currently have and how that may affect your
body’s ability to utilize, absorb or process a
supplement.
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It is also very important to consider what types
of pharmaceutical medication you are on and
how these can interact with supplements.
Choosing the Type of Supplement
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Powders
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Liquids
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Capsules
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Tablets
Powder and Liquids
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Powders and Liquids are often the most highly
absorbed forms of supplements.
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This makes them well suited for individuals with
a decreased ability to digest and absorb nutrients
and for those who cannot swallow pills.
Powders and Liquids
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Because Elderly individuals often have compromised
digestion, powders and liquids are the preferred form
of supplementation.
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People with conditions that affect the digestive tract,
like chron’s disease, ulcerative colitis, celiac spure, and
IBS are also good candidates for liquid and powder
forms of vitamins.
Liquids and Powders
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Children are also good candidates for these
forms of supplementation because many do not
yet know how to swallow pills.
Capsules
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Capsules are the best absorbed pill form of
supplements.
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The gelatin capsule is very easy for the body to
breakdown.
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Capsules production requires no binders or
coatings.
Tablets
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Out of all forms, tablets are the most poorly
absorbed.
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Tables require the use of binders and coatings
for the production process.
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For healthy people with strong digestion, it is
usually not an issue.
Additives
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All of the supplement forms can have additives in them
that negatively affect people with certain sensitivities.
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Soy, corn, wheat, diary and other substances may be
present in some supplements.
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This can cause various negative side effects for sensitive
individuals. Always check with the manufacturer to see
if your supplement contains any of these additives.
Purity
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Many times the raw materials used in supplements were
produced in ways that create impurities.
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For example, many B-vitamins contain dairy byproducts as a result of poor manufacturing.
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For sensitive individuals this can be a problem.
Purity
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Artificial preservatives like BHA and BHT are
also commonly added to raw ingredients.
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These preservatives have been implicated in
certain types of tumor growth.
Nutrient Forms
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For certain types of nutrients (specifically the B
family) co-enzyme forms of nutrients can be
used.
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Co-enzyme forms are in a state that the body
can easily utilize.
Bio-Availability
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Many nutrients are available in a variety of
forms.
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Certain forms allow the body to more easily
utilize that nutrient.
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Kreb cycle bio-nutrients like citrates, alpha
ketoglutarates and succinates are very bioavailable for use by the body.
Bio-Availability
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Always check what forms nutrients are in when
selecting a supplement.
Review
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Goals
Looking at your health
Family History
Current Health Conditions
Powder/Liquid/Tablet/Capsule
Additives
Bio-Availability
Botanicals
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Standardization
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Liquid
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Dry Herb
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Cultivation
Standardization
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Most studies conducted on botanical products
are done on standardized preparations.
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This means that a certain constituent of the
plant has been selected for and is concentrated
to a set amount.
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Advantages/Disadvantages
Liquids
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Usually in the form of tincture in a base of
either alcohol or glycerin
Able to be more highly concentrated than raw
plant material.
Freshness guaranteed for long periods of time.
Reduced compliance due to taste
Dry Herb
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Freshness a big issue. Many plants loose some
of their medicinal properties during the drying
and packaging stages. Further, the longer they
sit on a self the more medicinal properties they
loose.
Not as concentrated.
Freeze dried usually the best form.
Cultivation
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Wildcrafted- Plant was hand picked from a
natural habitat.
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Organic- Plant was cultivated using organic
farming techniques.
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Conventional- Plant was cultivated with the use
of pesticides and herbicides.