News on Nutraceuticals

A prominent news health editor wrote a well-publicized news article this week entitled "Are Your Vitamins Killing You?" His basic point was that dietary supplements will not make you healthier, and may actually increase your risks of disease.

Is this true? You may be surprised at my answer. Within certain parameters, there is an element of truth in his premise.

Before you stop reading in amazement or disgust, please consider the following comments.

Notice the words "an element of truth." The most believable presentations often mix truth with fiction to achieve some credibility with a larger number of people. We have to establish the definition(s) before we can sort out the true from the false.

Here is the "element of truth." The vast majority of vitamins or supplements that are available today are artificial, chemically produced to imitate some substance in nature. Their so-called "active ingredient" is isolated and multiplied many times more than it ever occurs in a natural food. No nutrients that normally accompany this factor in food are included. For these reasons, the "supplement" is actually foreign to the body, not recognized as food, and often goes out undigested. In that case, supplements do not make a person healthier, and in some instances as quoted, they may increase the risks of disease.

We call such products "nutraceuticals," because they are so aligned with pharmaceuticals - in their manufacturing process, the flawed principle behind their composition, and in their frequent failure to produce better health. And yes, there are a few research studies - all using nutraceutical products - that prove that "vitamins" don't work.

Don't get me wrong, though. There are multitudes of research studies that prove the abysmal failure of the far more toxic and dangerous pharmaceuticals to produce health or decrease risk of disease. The negative results quoted in the news article.about supplements are completely dwarfed by comparison! There's an all-too-common pattern of one drug being followed by another and another in the attempt to counteract "side effects," resulting in a downward spiral of the patient's health.

There is good reason why at Thropay Health Center we use concentrated whole-food supplements by Standard Process. From soil to supplement, these products are primarily organically grown foodsthat retain their natural balance of nutrients. Using the complete food gives much better "bang for the buck," because nutrients working together accomplish better and greater benefits than isolates that require multiplied amounts in order to "work."

As so many of our patients can attest, the results in promoting health are nothing less than phenomenal! It's important to understand, too, that we can't rely upon supplements alone for our health. Dietary changes, removal of present toxins, natural exercise, and watchful maintenance are all big players in the journey to better health.

Just one more week for our April promo! Elvira has been giving free 20-minute massages to those who referred someone new this month. Thank you for your referrals!

Call us anytime at (562) 861-3896.