"Researchers at the University of California found that individuals who consume 17 or more different dietary supplements per day were found to be far more healthy than those who take no supplements or those who only take a multiple vitamin. The study was recently published in the Nutrition Journal. Avid vitamin-taking participants consumed a variety of supplements including a multivitamin/mineral, B-complex, vitamin C, vitamin E, calcium with vitamin D, herbs, carotenoids, omega-3 fatty acids, flavonoids, coenzyme Q10, glucosamine, zinc, probiotics, and more. The researchers found that taking these vitamins paid large health dividends as a greater degree of supplement use was associated with more favorable concentrations of serum homocysteine, C-reactive protein, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and triglycerides, as well as lower risk of prevalent elevated blood pressure and diabetes. The vitamin-taking group had much better nutrient concentrations in their blood and far lower amounts of disease-related biomarkers. This study clearly supports the use of a wide variety of nutrients to help sustain health. It really is common sense. Nutritional reserves are the foundation of health and the natural way your body helps itself. "
Byron Richards, CCN, Friday, January 25, 2008
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Gary Moller comments:
There has been much hoopla in the media recently about a meta analysis study which found that those taking nutrition supplements were less healthy than those who took nothing. What the reports did not tell us is that hundreds of studies were excluded from this meta analysis.
There is no question at all that providing the right nutrient(s) for a person with an identifiable deficiency will improve their health. There is no rocket science required to understand this - just common-sense. The only side effects of good nutrition are looking and feeling great. Sadly, processed foods tend to be stripped of many of the nutrients needed for a long and healthy life. Nutritional supplements are very useful for making up any deficits and their use may be short or long term, depending on the individual circumstances.
I am not in favour of dishing out nutrition supplements willy-nilly. While no harm will come, this can be an expensive way to try to stay or get healthy. I recommend a carefully considered, targeted approach to nutrition supplementation in conjunction with improvements to diet and lifestyle. This works very well and the health benefits can be considerable.
If you would like my assistance in working out your basic nutrition needs, please start by completing the Active Elements Assessment. Please include some information about yourself, including any health issues and tell me what you hope to achieve from consulting me.
Email Gary: gary at myotec.co.nz (Replace the "at" with @ and remove spaces). Please include any relevant background information to your question.
