Do you take vitamins?
Dealing with some health issues I take a lot of supplements. And recently I’ve been questioning where they come from and have found more questions than answers. Although after all is said and done taking these supplements is far better for me than taking steroids so either way I’m not going back.
But I do want my vitamins to be high quality and come from a sustainable clean all natural source. Did you know there are synthetic vitamins? How do you know which ones are synthetic? The easiest way to tell is if the amount on the bottle states the potency in one pill or serving size is higher than anything you would find in nature (example 1000% Daily Recommended Allowance of Vitamin C per serving), the product contains synthetically produced ingredients, no matter what the producer of that product might claim. (from organicconsumers.org). Crazy because I have always looked at these as being better for me because I am guaranteed to get what I need and then expel what I don’t.
The problem with synthetics is that our bodies are not made to digest them. In the case of fat soluble vitamins they can build up inside our bodies instead of being metabolized. In addition to being synthetic the vitamins in a bottle do not come along with their naturally occurring counter parts that help them to be absorbed into your body. Nature usually packages things together to help each other be absorbed into your body.
I recently read a claim that B vitamins are made from petrochemicals!! The horror! What? So I ran to my cabinet and pulled out my B12 sublingual vitamin made by “Natures Bounty” and it says percent of daily value: 41,667% !!!! WHHAATT! I have no idea what that even means but it surely can’t be good. All I know is that I studied wildlife in grad school, and I have not taken organic chemistry in years and do not have a pharmacy degree but someone better tell me the truth about what I am putting into my body that I think is “good” for me.
This blog post is to make you aware of vitamins. I think they are good. But unfortunately I think companies have taken advantage of us thinking they are “good” and have now started putting crap in them. It’s time to learn more and fight back. So go to your medicine cabinet and read your labels. I started with the % daily values and was shocked. Then I tried to search for any petrochemical clues. To be continued, because now I am furious and full of questions!
Ever feel like life is so hard and time consuming because you spend your time making sure you aren’t getting screwed over… by the bank, by the doctor, by your 401K, by the dentist, by your credit card, by your phone bill and now by “natural” vitamins!
So here is my current intake of supplements that keep me going strong medicine free everyday for the past almost 3 years (diet is a big part too):
- Fish oil
- B complex
- B12
- Mutlivitamin
- Vitamin E
- Vitamin D (recently added this about 3 weeks ago)
I am off to gather more information on this vitamin fiasco. I hope to report back soon with good news.
In the meantime… check your medicine cabinet and start asking questions!
To Be Continued.