Vitamins/ Minerals

Whole food supplements comprise a unique class within the food supplement industry. But the distinction must be made to avoid confusion over the differences between foods, food supplements, whole food supplements, vitamins, multi-vitamins and herbs. more...

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Vitamins/ Minerals

Few consumers recognize the difference and are more swayed by promotion and advertising than by scientific nomenclature.

By definition, whole food supplements are foods that have been compressed into tablet form, poured into capsules or powdered. The word “whole” indicates that the end product — a supplement — does not contain parts of foods, or synthetic or isolated vitamins. Ideally, the foods comprising these supplements have not been subjected to irradiation, contain no pesticide or herbacide residues, contain no GMO (genetically modified organisms), have not been sterilized, and do not contain animal products that have been subjected to steroids, antiobiotics or other drugs. The closer to nature, the more benefit foods provide the consumer.

Further, whole food supplements should not contain isolated minerals, amino acids, carotenes or any other substance that is not native to, and still intact within, the original food. Thus, a supplement that contains foods plus a mixture of isolated (also called “fractionated”) vitamins, minerals, amino acids and other substances, does not constitute a whole food supplement. Examples of whole food supplement ingredients may include carrots, broccoli, kale, alfalfa, wheat grass, acerola cherry, cauliflower, kelp, wild pansy, spirulina, bovine liver, bovine kidney, radishes and quinoa.

Food researcher Vic Shayne, PhD, writes, \"Since the above types of food ingredients are natural, they contain a host of nutrients that exist within a “complex.” A food complex includes not only vitamins and minerals, but also many cofactors (helper nutrients) that are found in nature’s foods as a result of the evolutionary process. Cofactors and food complexes therefore cannot be made in a laboratory nor can they be duplicated by scientists. Many nutritional doctors and researchers conclude that cofactors are often more valuable than vitamins and minerals, and that food cannot be duplicated due to its complexity, dynamism and energy. Cofactors within nature’s foods (which are found also in whole food supplements) include, but are not limited to: vitamins, minerals, terpenes, trace mineral activators, enzymes, co-enzymes, chlorophyll, lipids, essential fatty acids, fiber, carotenoids, antioxidants, flavonoids, pigments, amino acids, whole proteins and more.

\"The human organism is biologically suited to ingest and utilize nature’s whole foods for its sustenance, including the optimal functioning of cells, and for the processes of healing and prevention. Because vitamin and mineral pills are merely comprised of isolated chemicals, the body often regards these as foreign invaders. Many vitamins, minerals and amino acids produce toxic side effects ranging from skin itching and flushing (niacin, for example) to liver impairment (vitamin A palmitate, for example).\"

Read more at Wikipedia.org