Lowering Blood Pressure Naturally - The Grape Seed Extract Connection

In a recent study done at the University of California at Davis, it was discovered that a standardized dose of grape-seed extract lowered blood pressure. Systolic blood pressure (the top number in a blood pressure reading) dropped 12 points, on average. Diastolic blood pressure (the bottom number in a blood pressure reading) dropped an average of 8 points. Click on the following article to read about it.

Grape-seed Extract for Blood Pressure?

Polyphenol antioxidants found in grape seeds naturally increase blood vessel dilation (vasodilation), which increases blood flow and decreases blood pressure. Grape-seed extract is exactly what it sounds like--an extract produced from the seeds of grapes--with high levels of polyphenols, particularly one polyphenol known as proanthocyanidin. I use it to control the pain and inflammation for my father's arthritis. Consequently, he has no more pain. Amazing.

A Unique Way to Manage High Blood Pressure!

Grape-seed extract is available in capsules, tablets, and tinctures. Look for products that are standardized to 95% OPC content. (OPC is an abbreviation for oligomeric proanthocyanidins, which are a class of flavonoid complexes.) Grape seed extract is considered safe. However, because herbs and dietary supplements are not strictly regulated by the U.S. food and Drug Administration, it is difficult to verify the purity and strength of products claiming to contain grape-seed extract. That is why you should look for one that is pharmaceutical-grade and has the letters "USP" on the label (United States Phamacopeia). This is a level of manufacturing that has higher standards and may assure the purity and potency of what you are taking. In addition, it should be certified by a respected independent lab like Consumer Labs or the NSF to make sure their claims are true.

I take a grape-seed extract product called "Proflavanol 90" made by Usana Health Sciences. It is a pharmaceutical-grade (USP) grape-seed extract that is standardized to 95% OPC content. It is certified by the NSF and carries NSF's trusted Certified for Sport™ Mark. USANA also received Good Manufacturing Practices registration and dietary supplement certification in 2007 through NSF. Usana Health Sciences is the official health supplement supplier to the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour. Thousands of Olympic and Pro athletes also trust their health to Usana Health Sciences.

Are Your Vitamins Synthetic Or Natural?

About 40% of Americans popped a vitamin or mineral within the past month. The most common vitamins taken include vitamin C, B12, B6, niacin, thiamin, B2, E, A, D and folic acid. But are they the right kind? For many years, the pharmaceutical companies have produced synthetic vitamins in a laboratory setting. The "Whole Food" supplement industry claims that only natural vitamins from whole food sources will give you the health results your body needs and deserves. They claim that "Natural" vitamins from whole food sources are safer and more effective (absorbable) than a synthetic vitamin made in a lab. To defend their position, they site several vitamin studies that have come out over the last few years that seem to suggest that taking synthetic vitamins could be useless and even life threatening.


Although I would agree that many vitamins that come from a natural source are more superior to a synthetic source, I will not get into the flawed science of these studies today. I have covered this before. It is nothing but a regurgitation of the old anti-supplement propaganda. When the “Whole Foods” multivitamin companies use these studies as a proof that all synthetic vitamins are bad, they show themselves to be intellectually and professionally irresponsible. They prove no such thing. Here are a few links that might explain what I mean.


Vitamins Found To Be Risky And Impotent

Rebuttal to the Recent FLAWED Report that Antioxidants Shorten Lifespan

Vitamin Studies: Rebuttal to Allegation That Certain Vitamins May Shorten Lifespan

Many of these studies used synthetic forms of vitamin E that are petroleum-derived products or they used dosages that were 100 times higher than the safe upper limits would allow. In some cases, they used dosages that were way under the amount that would be therapeutic for their condition. Would you take a tenth of an aspirin for a headache? How about 100 aspirins at one time? If you drink to much or not enough water, it could kill you too.

But what about multivitamins? Can I trust them to be balanced and safe? According to the following report from MSNBC, Consumer Labs studied 21 products and found that only 10 met the stated claims on their labels or satisfied other quality standards. Two contained high amounts of LEAD and one (for children) contained a dangerous amount of vitamin A.



Synthetic Vitamins vs. Whole Food Supplements

Some claim that synthetic vitamins are the problem and encourage you to trade your synthetic vitamins in for whole food supplements which they claim are safer and more effective. I have noticed at least a dozen different companies that are marketing a "natural" whole food supplement in the last year. My chiropractor believes that vitamins should come from natural sources. Synthetic vitamins do not absorb well into the body and can sometimes do more harm than good. He claims that 90% of all synthetic vitamins are not absorbed and that they go down the toilet. He recommends an all-natural vitamin that is made from real fruits and vegetables. He sells it in his office. I read over the literature that he gave me and did a little research on my own. Let me ask you a question. Which one of the following three pictures looks "natural" to you?





















The vitamin that my chiropractor was selling had a vegetable based pill and a fruit based pill with several fruits and vegetables packed into a tiny pill. The American Society for Nutritional Sciences published a study of this vitamin in the Journal of Nutrition five years ago. The vegetable blend for the vitamin was made of carrot, broccoli, spinach, tomato juice extract and kale leaf powder, which contain a variety of carotenoids.The claim was that it lowered your chances of getting a heart attack through the lowering of plasma homocysteine in men.


In a response to that study, two German scientists observed that the vitamin was fortified with ß-carotene, ascorbic acid, vitamin E and folic acid. After testing the plasma levels of test subjects, they found a significant increase in ß-carotene but the other carotenoids levels like plasma lycopene and lutein+zeaxanthin did not change at all. They suggested that the dried vegetables in the vitamin had carotenoids that were either not bioavailable (not well absorbed) or that there were none in there in the first place. In other tests, subjects who ate real vegetables saw a rise in plasma levels of the carotenoids missing in the vitamin takers (source: Fruit and Vegetable Concentrate or Vitamin Supplement?).

A whole food supplement sounds like a good idea in theory. Eating more organic fruits and vegetables is certainly the way to go but sounds questionable when put in the form of a pill. What happens to the fruits and vegetables that are dehydrated and ground into a powder form? Remember, fruits and vegetables contain some vitamins but are not pure vitamins. You would have to eat 7-10 oranges to get 500 mg. of natural vitamin C. You would have to eat 33 pounds of spinach or drink a whole quart of canola oil to get a therapeutic level (400 mg) of natural vitamin E. How do you fit that in a few tiny little pills?

Fiber Reduces Heart Disease
What happens to the fiber? According to the American Heart Association, it is the fiber in our diet that contributes to lower incidence of heart disease. The whole food supplements are devoid of most or all of the fiber they once contained. They take all of the water and fiber out so that they can fit it into the pill form. People who don't get enough fiber in their diet pop a few veggie or fruit pills thinking this will make up for their lack of fresh fruits and vegetables in their diet. This becomes their excuse for not eating and lulls them into a false sense of security. Less fiber in your diet has been linked to more obesity, higher blood pressure and cholesterol. How much fiber should you be eating per day? Click here to access a fiber calculator that will tell you how much you need personally. Remember, the average American eats about 14 grams of fiber per day. That's way below what is considered healthy.

Taking Whole Food Supplements is not the same as eating whole foods.

When preparing a whole food (fruit or vegetable) for use in supplements, the water must be removed by either spray or freeze drying the food. The amount of food left is usually within a ratio range of 10:1 and 5:1. In other words if you had a supplement containing say 500mg of a particular freeze dried whole food then that would be equal to between 2.5 – 5 grams of the real fruit or vegetable. Consider that in relation to an average sized banana (which weighs approximately 125 grams). So, our 500 mg supplement provides the gross weight and nutritional value of only about 1/25th to 1/50th of a banana! That's one TINY bite of the Banana. It also means you'd have to swallow 25 to 50 (500 mg) supplements just to equal one average banana!

Fruits and Vegetable Have Declining Nutrients

Of the 13 major nutrients found in fruits and vegetables, six have declined substantially over the last fifty years, according to a study by Donald Davis, a biochemist at the University of Texas at Austin.

Using data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Davis concludes that recently grown crops have shown decreases of up to 38 percent in protein, calcium, vitamin C, phosphorus, iron and riboflavin when compared with produce from past decades. According to the Journal Of The American Medical Association, "low levels of the antioxidant vitamins (vitamins A, E, and C) may increase risk for several chronic diseases. Most people do not consume an optimal amount of all vitamins by diet alone. Pending strong evidence of effectiveness from randomized trials, it appears prudent for all adults to take vitamin supplements."

Because of our depleted soils, green harvesting, cold storage, processing, and food preparation methods, our foods have a significant decrease in nutritional value. This is certainly true of the micronutrients, especially the antioxidants.

So, if the vitamin content of fruits and vegetables is dramatically declining, what are you getting in a whole food supplement? Maybe a better question is, what are you not getting?

What is in a Whole Food Supplement?

I looked at the ingredients of a popular new whole food supplement. They have a veggie and a fruit supplement. Here is what I found. The veggie supplement contains broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, kale, brussels sprouts, celery, asparagus, bell pepper, cucumber, carrot, tomato, spirulina, dunaliella, chlorella, cilantro, parsley, milk thistle, aloe vera gel, vitamin A as beta carotene plus mixed carotenoids, real vitamin C from camu-camu, alpha lipoic acid, green tea extract, grape seed extract, barley leaf, acidophilus and bifudus, inulin fiber, Bioperine, ginger, clove, garlic, lycopene, lutein and Indole 3 carbinol. The fruit supplement contains wolfberry , blueberry, bilberry, elderberry, cranberry, strawberrry, camu camu, noni, orange, lemon and lemon peel, lime, tangerine, grapefruit, mango, papaya, pineapple, grape, cherry, apricot, apple, pear, watermelon, tumeric root, cayenne, cinnamon, malodextrin, vitamin B12, Dulse, coral powder and several other ingredients that are also found in the veggie supplement.

It sounds great! What is in the supplement does not bother me. It is what I don't see, that concerns me. How much wolfberry is actually in each pill? How much of anything is in each pill? Why won't they disclose this? If I want to compare how much vitamin C is in there compared to another vitamin, how would I go about that? If I want to compare anything to that vitamin, it would be very hard without knowing how much of anything is really in there.


According to the literature, they claim that it is not about the quantity. It is about the balance of cofactors and the synergy between all of the ingredients. Vitamin C is better absorbed when it's cofactors of bioflavonoids are present. According to them, "less is more."Unfortunately, they will not independently verify the ingredients and the vitamin potency of those ingredients. The marketing is energetic but the science is weak.


According to the Comparative Guide to Nutritional Supplements, synergy of all the vitamins and cofactors are also important. So is quantitiy and quality. The conclusion of the author and biochemist, Lyle MacWilliam and 13 other nutritional experts (whose opinion are noted in the book) is that vitamins work best when they are in balance with each other and in balance with their cofactors. While many vitamins (A, C, E) are best in their natural forms, some vitamins are more readily absorbed and more efficient in their synthetic form.

Are Synthetic Vitamins Poorly Absorbed?

According to a recent advertisement for a whole food multi, 90% of all synthetic vitamins are not absorbed. They just make "expensive pee." Again, this is an intellectually irresponsible statement that makes a distortion of the truth.

A multivitamin might be made up of 40-100 different ingredients. Some are more absorbable than others. Calcium, for instance is poorly absorbed (~25-35%), no matter what form it is in - and for good reason, to prevent dangerous "calcium intoxication." The idea that any calcium is 100 percent absorbed by the body is ridiculous and if true, would be potentially hazardous. Coral calcium is a form of calcium that has been touted as a superior form of calcium because it is natural. It is nothing but the dead remains of a coral reef that has washed up on some beach. It is made up of calcium carbonate and is the same thing as the calcium carbonate in found in "synthetic" vitamins. It does not absorb any better than the "synthetic" form.

There are many factors that can affect the absorption of vitamins and minerals in the body. Some of these factors are a function of the person taking the nutrient and are dependent on the age of the person, the integrity of their digestive system, the state of their health, the time of day, the person's gender, and if the supplements were taken on a full or empty stomach. People whose nutrient needs are greater - such as growing children, pregnant or lactating women, and those who are currently deficient - may have significantly enhanced absorption rates for certain nutrients.

Boron, molybdenum, and iodine can be absorbed at over 90 percent, while the average absorption rates of zinc, copper, and selenium can range from 30 to 80 percent depending on the form.


Asking The Wrong Question

Assuming that all synthetic vitamins are bad and all vitamins derived from whole foods are good is not wholly accurate and misses the point. There is a common misconception that "natural" vitamins and minerals are extracted from plants in their pure form, and as such, are superior to "synthetic" vitamins and minerals which are made in a laboratory. This is a very misleading distinction.

First, it is not possible to extract pure vitamins from plants without considerable and significant chemical processing. Dehydrating and grinding the plants into powder is a form off processing too. Some of the natural qualities of fruits and vegetables are lost in such a process.

Next, the biological activity of a compound has nothing to do with its source but is determined by its chemical structure. In other words, it makes no difference whether the chemical originates from a leafy plant or a test tube - it is the same compound, regardless. Some (not all) vitamin and antioxidant compounds can be efficiently synthesized in laboratories to produce products that are identical in chemical form to those found in nature, and that are totally pure and totally safe (and oftentimes much less expensive than their "natural" counterparts).

In addition, some synthetic vitamins are preferentially absorbed over food sources. One good example is folic acid, which is preferentially absorbed and utilized over natural food folates that must go through several conversion processes to be utilized as folic acid.

Vitamins should not be chosen based on whether they are "natural" or "synthetic." Ingredients should be chosen based primarily on their effectiveness, bioavailability, purity, and safety.

When choosing a vitamin supplement (natural, synthetic or a combination), choose one that is

1. A pharmaceutical-grade product. Most vitamins are manufactured on a food-grade level. The difference between the two are like the difference between how pizza and penicillin are produced. When you make a pizza, it doesn't matter how many or how much of any one ingredient you put on there. You don't have to be that exact with pizza. If a rat hair gets in there, no one will know. Penicillin, on the other hand has to be exact and pure. Every pill must have the EXACT amounts with no other traces of anything else in there. Vitamins that are manufactured at a pharmaceutical-grade level should insure the potency, safety and purity of their product. What is on the label should be guaranteed to be in the bottle.
2. Certified by an independent lab. Vitamins are not regulated by the FDA, so there is no way you can know if there are contaminants (lead, steroid, pharmaceuticals) in the product without having it certified by an independent lab like the NSF, Consumer Lab, Natural Products Association (NPA), True-Label Program, USP Dietary Supplements Verification Program, NHPD (Canada's version of FDA), Therapeutic Goods Association (TGA - Australia's version of the FDA) and Independent ISO 17025 verification.
3. Rated Highly in the Comparative Guide To Nutritional Supplements . If you are from the United States or Canada, watch the first movie clip about the Comparative Guide to find the top rated supplements. If you are from Australia or New Zealand, watch the second clip about the Comparative guide and the top supplements in your country.
   
   U.S and Canada
   
   NutriSearch Comparative Guide to Nutritional Supplements
   
   Australia and New Zealand
   

Comparative Guide to Nutritional Supplements, Australia-New Zealand Edition

Comparative Guide To Nutritional Supplements

I walked into the health food store one day looking for some dietary supplements and my eyes glazed over. There were so many bottles and varieties to choose from. I was like a deer caught in the headlights. How do you know what is best for you? Does it really work and how much should I take? Can I take this with my current medications?

Consumerlab.com, a U.S.-based testing facility for dietary supplements, recently completed a study of 47 nutritional supplements and found that eleven U.S. multivitamin products—almost 25% of the products tested—failed their quality control tests. A number of the products were significantly short in the amount of important vitamins or minerals. Some contained too much lead and another failed to break apart properly for absorption. To review this report, log on to http://www.consumerlab.com/.

Finally, there is an authoritative guide to help consumers navigate the maze of nutritional products on the market today. It is the result of several years of effort by Biochemist Lyle MacWilliam. Mr. MacWilliam is a trained biochemist and kinesiologist and a contributing author to leading health publications. He has served, at the behest of Canada’s Minister of Health, on an expert advisory team for natural health products, which developed a new regulatory framework to ensure Canadians have access to safe, effective and high quality nutritional products. His wide-ranging consulting experience includes work for the British Columbia Science Council, Environment Canada, Human Resources Development Canada, and Health Canada. He has been invited by companies, organizations and individuals around the world to speak on nutrition and lifestyle issues, including presentations on adults’ and children’s supplementation needs, the prevention of degenerative disease, and the need for lifestyle change to promote optimal health.



Neither the author, Lyle MacWilliam, MacWilliam Communications Inc., nor NutriSearch Corporation have any fiduciary ties to any of the companies or products listed in the Comparative Guide to Nutritional Supplements or its sister publications; nor do they profit in any way from the sale of nutritional products listed in the guide. In addition, production of the guide is not funded by any nutritional manufacturer or other public or private interest.

NutriSearch Comparative Guide to Nutritional Supplements starts at the beginning and leads you through a complex world where vitamins, minerals and antioxidants take center stage: your body.

Throughout our lives, normal processes within our cells create free radicals, or oxidants, which can damage the cells and the underlying DNA. Outside factors, including solar radiation, electrical currents, pollution, cleaning products and many other sources of oxidants also contribute oxidants to our systems. Over time, the damage created by these oxidants has been implicated in degenerative disease—cancer, heart disease, diabetes, osteoarthritis, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and many others. It's this oxidative stress that lies at the heart of the aging process itself.

The guide starts with a detailed discussion of the current scientific evidence surrounding aging and supplementation, followed by a description of the criteria used to examine nutritional supplements and a summary of what constitutes a high-quality supplement.



The final section is devoted to full-color, detailed graphs of each product examined, along with their scores and five-star rating against our Blended Standard, created from the published recommendations of seven recognized nutritional authorities.

• Over 1,500 US and Canadian supplements scientifically rated and compared



• 18 critical Health supports Criteria required to evaluate supplements



• 300 full-colour graphs so you can easily compare top-rated products



• Scientific evidence that shows supplements can optimize health and retard the aging process.



• Helps you to determine which supplement is best for you and your family, using a scientifically-based approach. After evaluating 2,000 different products, only 33 of them earned the NutriSearch five-star rating. Taking each product at face value was not good enough for the author. He wanted the manufacturers to prove that their labeled content was accurate. So each company was invited to prove their compliance through independent 3rd party analysis. Out of those, only 4 companies chose to step up to the plate for this final hurdle. Only 4 stand-alone products received the NutriSearch Gold Medal of Achievement.
  
  
  
  
  
  

• Creating Wellness Alliance is sold through Chiropractic offices and cost $64



• TrueStar Health is a Canadian company that markets through fitness centers $47



• Douglas Laboratories markets through doctors offices and cost $57



• Usana Health Sciences markets through independent distributors at $40

The top three combination products to receive the NutriSearch God Medal of Achievement are also listed below.



Usana Rated #1 Supplement In North America By Independent Lab




Usana Products are in the Physicians Desk Reference (for drugs)


Usana has been certified by the NSF and also received Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) Registration through NSF International Dietary Supplements Certification Program. Click here to see the copy of the NSF/ANSI certificate. Click here to see GMP certificate.




Founded in 1992, USANA Health Sciences is a science-based company that develops advanced nutritional, personal care, and weight management products, which are distributed in 13 international markets through network marketing. The name “USANA” derives from Greek and Latin and means “true health.”
Usana's Commitment to Quality Assurance & Good Manufacturing Practices


About Usana and the NSF

It doesn't stop there. Usana products are also certified by independent labs like Consumer Lab, Natural Products Association (NPA), True-Label Program, USP Dietary Supplements Verification Program, NHPD (Canada's version of FDA), Therapeutic Goods Association (TGA - Australia's version of the FDA) and Independent ISO 17025 verification.

USANA HEALTH SCIENCES PRODUCT RECEIVES APPROVAL OF CONSUMER LABS.COM

USANA PRODUCTS MEET REQUIREMENTS OF INFORMED-CHOICE & HFL

Usana in Forbes Magazine

USANA HEALTH SCIENCES WINS TWO UTAH BEST OF STATE AWARDS FOR THE FIFTH TIME

USANA HEALTH SCIENCES EXPANDS RESEARCH PARTNERSHIP WITH RENOWNED LINUS PAULING INSTITUTE

USANA Founder Dr. Myron Wentz Receives Albert Einstein Award in Jerusalem

Usana Sponsors Olympic and Pro Athletes

Usana Athletes Bring Home The Gold

USANA Receives Certification Through NSF's Certified for Sport Program

Usana 15 Year Anniversary

Usana Is Official Supplier Of The Women's Tennis Association



Usana is a health supplement supplier of the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA)

#3 on "Annual List" of 100 Hot Growth Companies, June 6, 2005

Usana Featured On CNN News Program

Comparative Guide to Nutritional Supplements, Australia-New Zealand Edition

Vitamins Found To Be Risky And Impotent

On February 18th of this year (2007), the Journal of the American Medical Association published a report that did a meta-analysis of the ability of antioxidant supplements to be used in the prevention of several diseases. It concluded that treatment with beta carotene, vitamin A, and vitamin E may not have any health benefits and may in fact increase mortality (the risk of death).

According to the Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon state University, this study is based on flawed methodology and ignores the broad totality of evidence that comes to largely opposite conclusions.

It is important to understand that this current study is not a new clinical trial, but a statistical analysis determined from many studies (called a meta- analysis). Meta-analysis studies are actually designed to pool similar studies for statistical comparison. However for this meta-analysis, the authors combined studies that differed vastly in design, use rates, duration, and study population. After careful review, it appears that the authors simply analyzed data that fit a predetermined conclusion, which is an invalid use of a statistical method. This is a great example of improper statistical use in research methodology.

There is a large body of data including observational studies, prospective epidemiological studies and randomized clinical studies that have shown positive benefits of antioxidant supplementation (including reduced cardiovascular disease, some cancers, immune support and reduced progression of eye disease). Interestingly, these studies were excluded from the analysis. And while the initial analysis examined 1201 research papers from 815 trials, only 68 trials were actually used in the final analysis.

Furthermore, when the initial results from this data did not show any effect on death rates, the authors removed an additional 21 studies (called a sub analysis) to draw their conclusion that supplements increase risk of mortality. Interestingly, in these 47 remaining studies, the doses used greatly exceeded normal use rates, and in many cases, were well above tolerable upper intake limits (UL) (i.e. they used doses that may not be safe). In contrast, the studies eliminated from this study generally used doses that did not exceed the UL (upper limits) and were more in line with actual use rates.

Finally, the majority of the studies examined are secondary prevention studies. That is, the study populations had already been diagnosed with diseases such as heart disease and cancers. This is a very risky population to study, and conclusions from these studies should not be used to make recommendations for prevention in generally healthy populations.

Several scientific organizations and other researchers have already published criticisms of this paper. Professor Balz Frei director of the Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University stated:

"This is a flawed analysis of flawed data, and it does little to help us understand the real health effects of antioxidants, whether beneficial or otherwise. Instead of causing harm, the totality of the evidence indicates that antioxidants from foods or supplements have many health benefits, including reduced risk for cardiovascular disease, some types of cancer, eye disease and neurodegenerative disease. In addition, they are a key to an enhanced immune system and resistance to infection. The "meta-analysis" published in JAMA, which is a statistical analysis of previously published data, looked at 815 antioxidant trials but included only 68 of them in its analysis. And two of the studies excluded " which were published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute and the prominent British medical journal Lancet " found substantial benefits and reduced mortality from intake of antioxidant supplements."

"If these two large studies had been included, none of the reported effects on increased mortality would have been significant, with the exception of the effects of beta carotene. And the research showing a higher incidence of lung cancer in smokers who take supplements of beta carotene or vitamin A is old news, that's been known for many years. Very high doses of vitamin A are known to have multiple adverse health effects."

"All the new study really demonstrates, is a bias toward identifying studies or research that show harm caused by antioxidants, and selective removal of research that shows benefits."

It is a mystery why the authors chose to evaluate this small carefully selected group of studies, or why they ignored the larger body of evidence published on the benefits of antioxidants. But it appears to be an obvious attempt to sensationalize incomplete data that serves no purpose other than to alarm a large portion of the supplement using population. Do not be fooled by this report.

Click on other links below to read additional comments on the JAMA study.

Council on Responsible Nutrition: Meta-analysis on Antioxidants Provides Muddled Conclusions

Study links antioxidant supplements to increased mortality

Natural Products Association Says Medical Journal Study on Vitamins and Mortality is Flawed

Dr. Oz Reveals The Vitamins You Need Most For Healthier Living

Dr. Mehmet Oz is a frequent guest on the Oprah Winfrey show. Here is a clip where he and Dr. Michael Roizen are interviewed on ABC News about the importance of vitamins in our diet. Click on the following blue link (below) to watch it:

ABC News: Vitamins 2008 Movie Clip

If that clip does not seem to be working today, Click Here to see the list that he recommends.
At pennies-a-day, vitamins provide the nutrients we need to help the body to sustain and heal itself without the side effects of most drugs. The question becomes, can they help us in any significant way that cannot be done through eating a balanced and nutrient rich diet? And are they safe? Watch the following video by a certified clinical nutrtritionist as he explains why eating a balanced diet may not be enough.




In the next video, the BBC reports on the connection between vitamin deficiency and disease. Here they talk about a two time Nobel prize winner, Dr. Linus Pauling and how he discovered this connection.




The Linus Pauling Institute has been a hotbed of research into the effects of vitamins on our health. Click on the following link to find what research has been done on different nutrients and their effect on different diseases.

Linus Pauling Institute: Disease Index


There are thousands upon thousands of supplements on the market. How do I know what I need and which one do I choose? Are there some that are better than others? The next video exposes how some vitamins that do not make the grade when they are clinically tested. Consumerlab.com has tested many of our popular vitamins and have found that one out of four vitamins don't even live up to their claims. Too much vitamin A in a childrens vitamin can cause bone weakening. Some have unacceptable levels of lead in them! In the following video, you can pick up some tips on how to choose a good quality vitamin. Remember, you get what you pay for. Picking the wrong vitamin can be very expensive.




NutriSearch Comparative Guide to Nutritional Supplements


Finally, there is an authoritative and independent guide to help consumers navigate the maze of nutritional products on the market today. It is the result of several years of effort by Biochemist Lyle MacWilliam. Mr. MacWilliam is a trained biochemist and kinesiologist and a contributing author to leading health publications. He has served, at the behest of Canada’s Minister of Health, on an expert advisory team for natural health products, which developed a new regulatory framework to ensure Canadians have access to safe, effective and high quality nutritional products. Click on the following link to read my review of this book.

The Comparative Guide to Nutritional Supplements


They call vitamins supplements because that is what they are. They supplement a good diet and should be only one of the things a healthy person should do. Along with other things like exercise and proper sleep, they can contribute greatly to your health.

Here is another clip from an Australian News Program that mentions the Comparative Guide to Nutritional Supplements


HOW TO CHOOSE A MULTIVITAMIN FROM AUSTRALIA'S "TODAY TONIGHT" NEWS PROGRAM





Comparative Guide to Nutritional Supplements, Australia-New Zealand Edition