Confused About What Vitamins Are The Right Choice For You?
Confused about which nutritional supplements to choose? Here’s my advice. I have spent a lifetime researching nutrition and health, including which forms of nutrients are the most bioactive – or have the greatest potential to provide benefits. Here are some of my chief insights among the major supplement classes:
- Vitamin A: Some forms of supplemental vitamin A, when taken in even moderate daily doses, can be toxic. I recommend beta-carotene in addition to other mixed carotenoids. These are precursor forms, meaning the body can make all the vitamin A it needs from beta-carotene, which is not toxic.
- Vitamin D: Inexpensive vitamins tend to contain vitamin D2 (ergocalciferol), the kind synthesized by plants. But when humans eat plant-derived D2, it needs to be converted by the body to D3 (choleciferol), the form most readily used by the human body and which skin makes when exposed to ultraviolet light. Although vitamin D2 will contribute to adequate daily intakes, I recommend D3 as this form has been shown to have greater biological activity in human tissue.
- Vitamin E: In nature, this vitamin is found as a combination of eight different active compounds – four tocopherols, and four tocotrienols. Many manufacturers use inexpensive, synthetic versions of one or only a few of those eight forms. The poorer forms will be only d-alpha tocopherol or dl-alpha tocopherol. I recommend a complete, naturally derived mixed tocopherol/tocotrienol complex that more closely mirrors the natural vitamin E found in foods.
- Calcium: Manufacturers make calcium supplements in many forms, including calcium carbonate (the main constituent of chalk, and the most common supplement type), calcium lactate and calcium aspartate. I suggest calcium citrate because it is more easily absorbed, especially by older people who may have less stomach acid. Although more expensive, calcium citrate is more than twice as bioavailable as calcium carbonate.
- Fish Oils: Oils derived from the fat of cold-water fish are an excellent source of essential omega-3 fatty acids. Unless carefully sourced, however, these otherwise natural compounds can be contaminated with toxic heavy metals. Look for products derived from fresh catches and waterways with minimal pollution. I know that many people opt for flaxseed oil in place of fish oil. While ground flaxseed has many health benefits, the oil is weakly converted into the omega-3 fatty acids you would get from fish oil.
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