Can I trust supplements/vitamins to have what they claim?

[Radi]

ok! I want to ask you guys, how do you know what they put in supplements capsules ? how can you trust the manufacturers if they are controlled by the same guys who want to poison us? For example, with Blue Ice Skate Liver Oil capsules which I want to buy, but can I trust the manufacturer? :)

[ThePythonicCow]

how can you trust the manufacturers
I suppose, like any company or person, you have to watch and learn. One never knows for certain. But some companies seem to act more consistently in-line with one's one values over time, in various ways. Also listen to the recommendations of others whom you trust.

[kanishk]

whenever i go to buy tablet which is having beneficial compounds in proper quantity, not mixed with other harmful compounds or compounds which nullify the effect of beneficial compound, I found that those brands are no longer available or never been heard by seller.

[Flash]

Usually yes, they have what they claim, and more.

I am not a specialist, there are much more knowledgeable people than me, right here on Avalon, about this topic. But here is what I found:

This is the more that is the problem. Usual vitamins have fillers (to hold the vitamins together) and those are far from healthy. First, they often contain gluten, being wheat based. Second, they often containt other product such as sweeteners,etc. You want to avoid these thing in order to allow for a better absorption of the vitamins by the intestine.

Second, the commercially available vitamins in pharmacies and over the counter are often completely synthetic. They will not be absorbed by the body the same way and have the same impact as those vitamins that are from natural sources (plants origins). It seems that some synthetic vitamins may even hamper absorption of other necessariy components such as other vitamins.

So, my conclusion and research led me to:

Use only high grade natural vitamins sources and recognized high quality level companies making natural bio vitamins.
Ensure that the company making the vitamins are testing their vitamins for standardized content. Lots of natural companies making vitamins do not have standardization and content quantitie and even quality may vary from one batch to the other.
Accept to pay much more to have quality paired with standardization
Learn which are the reliable sources, when companies are bought out, often the method they used prior are not being followed anymore.
Do not overdose on anything

[Flash]

whenever i go to buy tablet which is having beneficial compounds in proper quantity, not mixed with other harmful compounds or compounds which nullify the effect of beneficial compound, I found that those brands are no longer available or never been heard by seller.

The Indian regular food diet is very balanced on average. As lons as you insured that your foods are not grown in poluted grounds, to avoid chemical poisoning, and that they are grown following natural Indian methods (not Monsanto GM modified food of Monsanto pesticide in the ground), you should have enough vitamins in your food not to need any supplements.

There is still enough ancestral farming in India, i think, to be able to have sane food sources. Correct me if I am mistaken please.

[Arrowwind]

My opinions are a little different.

Standardization of herbal products means that the herb has been extracted. You may not want this in your formula. Some herbs are better whole leaf, or at least you can be assured that they are not messed with. Many fine herbal products are non standardized such as Dr. Christopher's and Natural Sunshine, which is where I go if I am wanting to purchase an herbal product in a bottle. Natures way is Ok too. My understanding is that standardized herbal products, if standardized over seas do not have to be radiated when coming into the US... I'll have to check on that one.. not absolutley sure, but if its true that could be part of the push for standardization. None of the old time herbalists standardized their products.

But on the other hand if you are treating something like vascular disease you may want to get a standardized product, like in pycogenol to make sure you are getting the job done in just one or two capsules. What they are actually doing is setting up a system so that folks who dont really know what they are doing steer away from products that are not processed, and hence will also be leary to use herbs that they grow on their own cause they think that there is something special in that pill from a corporation.

Regarding vitamins... what is commonly called synthetic vitamins can be very absorbale and usable by the body. The clinical studies on them prove it. Vitamin B6 is such an example.. On the other hand synthetic oil based vitamin should be avoided like the plague. They dont standardize vitamins. They come in an RDA, from the conventional pharaceutical based companies. Their dosages are about worthless.

Vitamin c is a classic example. 60 mg is the RDA (recommended daily dosage) but the great vitamin c experimenters and now Naturopaths on a daily basis prescibe dosages of 1 gram up 30 or 40 grams orally or up to 100 grams by IV adminstration for the desired theraputic effect.

Non synthetic vitamins that clinically pass competancy test are Standard Process. I have seen extremely good results with them regarding cardiac patients in clinical studies a NMD did regarding their use. Perhaps that is why so many naturopaths and chiropractors use them. In these products you will find low dosages of a vitamin but that is retained in a natural organic complex of compounds hence its effectiveness. I like standard process because there is veryconcrete info found though them on exactly which of their products are needed for very specific chronic conditions.

Regarding dosase for the average person trying to treat a disease condition with a vitamin that is known to work for that condition... overdose, overdose, overdose. One of the primary errors in using vitamins to treat a problem is underdosage. Doubling and tripling the serving size is often required to get the job done... for example... but alas doubles and triples the cost too.. Typical standard daily dosage on B6 is generally 50 mg or so.. but 100 to 200mg may be required for specific tasks. In general one needs to have a very good vitamin book or to be trained in usage from something like a clinical nutrition course. Theraputic levels are oven much higher than what the serving recommends. Vitamin D3 is also another I have first hand experience with mega dosaging in to get a theraputic level for skin conditions. You will also see that if you get away from the mind set projected in the USA and UK that other countries have much more experience in mega dosages because they dare to beak out of the propaganda mindset.

In India in some nursing homes 600,000 II of D3 is injected into nuring home patients annually. Their studies show that this increases lifespan and prevent falls as compared to instutions that do not use D3.

Mega dosages of B12 are required to heal a wide variety of nerve and nervous system disorders. Dosages range from 10mg a week injectd to 10 mg a day for short periods. Doctors in the US administer generally 1 to 2 mg a month. Its no wonder is does dam little good. 10mg preloaded injections are standard over the counter products in Mexico. When I told my Mexican doctor what American doctors do regarding this vitamin he laughed and just couldnt believe it. Anyway such injections cured chronic sciatica pain for me, caused by an injury to my periformus muscle that a whole summer of therapy and anti-inflammatories did nothing for.

[Strat]

Depending on what you take, you should feel the difference. Take a 1 A Day and see if you feel any different (you won't). Then take real supplements. The difference is night and day.

At the moment I take a 'packet' of vitamins along with a nootropic and a 5htp supplement. That, along with my overly strict diet has a huge effect on my mind and body. I never buy cheap supplements. Also remember there are different quality ingredients, just because a supplement lists the ingredients you want doesn't mean they are high quality.

[Radi]

ok! thanks everybody for the info! :) so can someone recommend me some good and trusted brands for supplements which I can order online? I want to take some detoxifying pineal gland stuff. I'v heard that Choline, Folic Acid, Magnesium, Iodine, Skate Liver Oil , Algae, Chlorella, Cilantro, Vitamin D, Vitamin K-2, Brown Seaweed, Niacin, Red Ginseng Root, Shilajit, Mucuna DOPA, L-Cysteine, Chlorophyll , can help , but I have no experience with them, so I don't know which can be danger or beneficial ...

[778 neighbour of some guy]

ok! thanks everybody for the info! :) so can someone recommend me some good and trusted brands for supplements which I can order online? I want to take some detoxifying pineal gland stuff. I'v heard that Choline, Folic Acid, Magnesium, Iodine, Skate Liver Oil , Algae, Chlorella, Cilantro, Vitamin D, Vitamin K-2, Brown Seaweed, Niacin, Red Ginseng Root, Shilajit, Mucuna DOPA, L-Cysteine, Chlorophyll , can help , but I have no experience with them, so I don't know which can be danger or beneficial ...

Spirulina, L arginine, laminine, mms( jim humble), zeolites, liverflushes ( andreas moritz), zapping ( hulda clark), sprouts, sole

Most of us learned by trial and error i think, i know i did, all of these things toghether are quite an investmest to be honest, start with the products that you are the most interested in and can afford would be my suggestion for whatever that may be worth, its up to you, the info is all here.

Your body is a nice place to start, its the only thing you can call your own anyway.

[Arrowwind]

Iodine will do most of the work for detox of the pineal. go here for the best by of 15% which delivers about 12 mg per drop. www.herbhealers.com
I order Bitotec vitamin D3 best price here.. www.vitalady.com and I have personally validated its effectiveness though blood lab exams on myself and other people, and have had excellent clinical results with megadosages and maintence dosages.. not true for other products I have purchased for this vitamin.
pharmaceutical grade niacin is good enough from twin labs
Excellent products are found on www.iherb.com where I get my K2, chlorella, agae, etc
this link will tell you about a good coupon for your first purchase on iherb
http://www.healthsalon.org/a-coupon-for-you/

[Radi]

thanks for the info ! :)

[onawah]

I like Jarrow brand. My naturopath recommends Jarrow, and I've known some live foods gurus who recommend that brand.
I get mine from Vitacost.com which is similar to iHerb.
You can save quite a lot by buying online from those sites instead of in health food stores, and when you buy a certain amount, you get free shipping.
The very best supplements I know of come from Jon Barron, and his newsletter and archives are excellent too.
http://www.jonbarron.org/
Only problem with his supplements is they are pricey, but he really does his research and uses the best ingredients.
I also like Dr. Mercola's supplements and info, but again, pricey.
I have been using Spirulina from Nutrex, which is grown in Hawaii for years, as many live foods enthusiasts do, but since Fukushima, I'm not sure the seawater it's grown is is safe anymore. But normally, Spirulina is a wonderful food source, so complete that you can almost live on it. A good source of Spirulina or Chlorella (with the cell wall broken) will give you plenty of chlorophyll, which is actually more expensive if you buy it separately.
Sprouted grains, seeds, nuts, legumes that you sprout at home are great sources of natural nutrition, if you are willing to do a little work.
Buying cheap, synthetic vitamins is a waste of money.
And I have it on good authority, once a brand is carried by WalMart, that means the company has basically sold out and cannot be trusted anymore, even if their products were good originally.

[Radi]

by the way, the tap water where I live now, is white as milk from chlorine (I guess) ! I think that they put too much ! Is it true that if I wait the chlorine vaporize in the air? I usually wait for several mins before drinking, until the water come back to her natural vision. I know that drinking tap water is not recommended not only because of chlorine, but because many other weird stuff they put in. And I wonder if this double osmosis filters really clean , or they are created by to fool us and to think that we are purifying the water?

[Prodigal Son]

Every now and then, maybe once every few weeks, because of my Alzheimer's that seems to be setting in early, I forget to take my daily multi. Four out of the last six times that I forgot, I came down with a cold.... or worse... a nasty bout with bronchitis, one of which resulted in the need for a Z-pack.

Too much to be a co-incidence, in my opinion.

I know I'm somewhat of a mental case, so it could possibly be psychosomatic. My mother was a full-fledged hypochondriac, and I got a lot of her genes.

In summary, I do think the vitamins are what they claim to be.

I take Centrum Silver by the way.

[conk]

ok! I want to ask you guys, how do you know what they put in supplements capsules ? how can you trust the manufacturers if they are controlled by the same guys who want to poison us? For example, with Blue Ice Skate Liver Oil capsules which I want to buy, but can I trust the manufacturer? :)

Yes, you can trust Blue Ice and their products. Their cod-liver oil is supreme. I take it and the skate fish oil. They have been endorsed by many alternative MDs. Vitamins to avoid are the cheap, synthetic variety. Supplements must be in their raw, whole food form. Standard Process brand is the premier line of supplements. Search for them and read. You'll be impressed. There are other brands that use only raw, whole food-based vitamins. Chapter of Life, Garden of Life are two very good brands. If you're not paying about $25 or higher for your multivitamin, you're wasting your money and likely harming yourself.

Arrowwind, I'm surprised that you support the use of synthetics. Dr. Bruce West has healed more heart patients than any physician alive and he uses only Standard Process. His trials with synthetics yielded poor results.

[ThePythonicCow]

A new thread has started up, on a similar subject: Multi-vitamins... are they worthwhile?? (http://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?54043-Multi-vitamins...-are-they-worthwhile). Those who enjoyed the above thread might enjoy the new thread as well.