The Concept of Full Spectrum Nutrition

The term Full Spectrum Nutrition as coined by me back in the early 1990's. It refers to any formula that provides all of the known nutrients into one formula. Many multi-vitamin formulas do not come close to providing all the known nutrients for the human body. These we call fragmented formulas. Every day your body needs at least 100+ nutrients for optimal health and wellness. These include 3 fatty acids, 16 vitamins, 72 major and trace minerals, phytonutrients, amino acids and antioxidants. Ideally, these should be provided in one formula for the sake of compatibility and to create an economical multi-vitamin/mineral product. In these times, people are looking for discounts supplements, but we should not have to sacrifice quality in exchange for a discount supplement. Saving money on supplements, yet still getting quality can be best achieved by combining all the known essential nutrients into one formula. This prevents consumers from having to purchase multiple supplements just to get the baseline nutrients. Products such as Centrum, One-A-Day and others offer only a part of the essential nutrient spectrum for optimal health. When you look for a supplement, be sure you read the Supplement Facts box. The Supplement facts box is there to provide you with information on what your multi-vitamin/mineral formula provides. In a Full Spectrum supplement you should have 3 fatty acids, 16 vitamins, 72 or so major and trace minerals, phytonutrients, amino acids and antioxidants. Since these nutrients work together, they should be present together in an economical liquid supplement.

Composition of Vitamin & Mineral Formulas

There are several forms that vitamin and mineral supplements to choose from. The most common and often least expensive are in tablet form. Tablets offer higher potencies in smaller spaces due to the tight compression of the material. Tablets have the convenience of being able to take fewer pills but the breakdown and absorption of many tablet formulas is very poor. You may have heard of the stories about the thousands of vitamin pills found in sewers and septic tanks that have passed through the body undigested. Sadly, these stories are true. Those at the greatest risk for absorption problems are those over the age of 50. As we age our ability to digest and break down hard tablets decreases. This is why it is important to consider the delivery system for those of that age group. The better supplements are found in capsule form. Capsules can be either from animal or vegetarian sources. Encapsulated multi-vitamin/mineral products tend to break down in the stomach very rapidly, usually less than 3 minutes. This allows the natural stomach acids to begin to prepare the nutrients for absorption. This is further enhanced if you take your multi-vitamin/mineral supplement with a meal. The food in the stomach will also increase the rate at which your system will absorb the nutrients. The last delivery system for a good Full Spectrum Supplement would be in a liquid suspension. Liquid supplements are far superior to either tablets or even capsules since we can easily adjust the pH of the fluid in which the nutrients are suspended. Keep in mind that most nutrients absorb at the cellular level in an acidic pH. By acidifying the liquid base, we add another layer of increased absorption potential. Another area of discussion when it comes to multi-vitamin supplements is that of additives or fillers. Fillers are most often used as binder in hard tablets, but can also be used in some capsule formulas as well. Some fillers are harmless and actually enhance absorption by preventing moisture and caking of the nutrients. Other fillers in supplements are there simply to fill out the tablets or capsules by increasing the volume of the material contained within.

Natural vs. Synthetic Vitamins

The controversy continues, sometimes to the extreme about the differences and benefits of natural occurring vitamins vs. those synthetically made in a laboratory. Generally speaking, the fat-soluble vitamins must always be taken in their natural, organic state. Synthetic fat-soluble vitamins can store in the liver and soft tissues, building up to toxic levels. You may have heard about the potential dangers from taking high doses of vitamin A. In each and every case, those who became toxic from vitamin A were all taking synthetic vitamin A!! Since all fats including fat-soluble vitamins must be processed in the liver, the liver can only recognize natural fats. When it comes to the water-soluble nutrients, they are much different than their fat-soluble counterparts. Water-soluble vitamins cannot be stored in the body longer than a few hours. For this reason they can almost never become toxic. When we discuss natural vs. synthetic, we are leaving out one other category of nutrient and that is synthesized. Synthesized nutrients are actually grown on living plant foods and as such are biologically the same as so-called natural vitamins.

Women's Multi-Vitamins vs. Men's Multi-Vitamins

A current trend in multi-vitamin/mineral products is to specialize in formulas for men or for women. There are really little differences between the needs of men and women and as such so-called specialty formulas for men or for women can be met in one single formula. Extra amounts of key nutrients usually found in Women's Multi-Vitamins can certainly be included in a non-gender specific formula for both men and women. So to, can any extra nutrients that have been shown to benefit men, normally included in men's multi-vitamin formulas, be added to a Full Spectrum high potency non-gender specific formula. It is often much more economical for a family to be able to take the same formula than it is to have to buy a separate Men's Multi-Vitamin formula and a Women's Multi-Vitamin formula. Stores like GNC, Rite-Aid, Henry's Market and Whole Foods offer these wide varieties, but the extra cost for them, in these economic times, may not be the best option. Both men and women, eliminating the need for Men's Vitamin Formulas and Women's Vitamin Formulas separately, may take our Full Spectrum liquid supplements.

Other Specialty Formulas

There are several other specialty multi-vitamin/mineral formulas on the market that are worth noting. The first one that comes to mind is the prenatal multi-vitamin formulas, designed to be taken during pregnancy and sometimes also recommended for some time afterwards. These formulas also provide higher potencies of key nutrients, especially folic acid. We work with a large number of physicians who routinely recommend our Full Spectrum liquid as their supplement of choice for a prenatal multi-vitamin formula. This is because our LiquiDaily Supreme provides over 120 nutrients is a very easy to assimilate and absorb delivery system. Prenatal vitamins, in most cases offer little more than our Super Formula already provides. The prenatal vitamin supplement formula idea is valid, but certainly may be met by our Liquid Supreme formula. The same formula that we use for our clients at our Centers around the world is available to you as well. You can obtain the LiquiDaily Supreme by contacting www.phoenixnutritionals.com Other specialty vitamin/mineral formulas on the retail market include Energy multi-vitamin formulas, Acne multi-vitamin formulas, Hair multi-vitamin formulas and Multi-vitamin formulas for the skin. Again, each of these specialized formulas has their place, but many of the ingredients offered in these formulas may be found in a good broad-spectrum liquid multi-vitamin formula. The amino acids found in the multi-vitamin formulas for the hair and the multi-vitamin formulas for the skin are also in a good Full Spectrum multi-vitamin/mineral formula such as the one we use. This again, eliminates the inconvenience and extra expense of having to purchase a special multi-vitamin formula for the hair, skin or even for acne. Energy multi-vitamin formulas offer higher potencies of the B complex nutrients but unless these are taken spaced throughout the day, much of the potency of the Energy multi-vitamin formulas may be lost due to the water solubility of the B complex group.

Other Important Factors To Consider

When choosing a multi-vitamin/mineral formula, there are some other factors that should also be considered in the selection. First of all the source of the nutrients is very important. This is especially true in the case of the minerals. Most minerals are very difficult for the body to absorb. As such, it is important to choose a multi-vitamin formula that uses chelated minerals in their product. Chelation, the binding of a mineral with another substance, such as an acid, will enhance the absorption of the chelated minerals in the formula. By selecting a formula with chelated minerals, you help to ensure that the absorption of these minerals is improved. There is a term that is also used to refer to absorption-enhanced minerals and that is plant derived or plant based minerals. These are naturally chelated with plant acids or fulvic acids that provide a safe and highly absorbable mineral for use in multi-vitamin and mineral formulas. Fulvic acids have been studied and utilized in formulas for many years. The absorption rate of fulvic minerals or those derived from plant sources is considerable. Fulvic or plant derived minerals are the best sources of the trace elements needed in very small amounts. Because trace elements are needed and measured in microgram amounts, absorption is essential. Many multi-vitamin formulas also include a variety of herbs or herbal extracts. These can provide extra benefit to the overall formula when added in the right manner. There are several nutrients that can compete with one another for absorption and others that can actually break down other nutrients. In these instances, we must use a process of insulation so that we can protect one nutrient from interaction with another. All of these many and complex factors must be utilized when formulating and manufacturing a high potency multi-vitamin formula.

To conclude our discussion of Multi-vitamin and mineral formulas, there are several essential points that a consumer should consider. The first factor is of course, potency. A formula must provide adequate amounts of each of the known essential nutrients in order to meet the body's daily requirement. The minimum dosage is rarely enough as we all absorb nutrients at different levels of efficiency. Next we must consider absorption. It has been said that 'you are what you eat', but we know that really you are what your body is able to absorb and assimilate. By utilizing key assembly factors such as Chelation of minerals, proper acidic pH of the formula and by suspending the nutrients in highly bio-available liquid delivery systems, we can help to enhance the absorption of the vitamins, minerals, amino acids, phytonutrients, and antioxidants. Lastly, ratios of one nutrient to the other are critical in establishing the bio-chemical balance of the internal chemistry of the human body. When all of these factors are put together, the end result is a formula that is not only complete but also highly absorbable. Also, because you can get all these nutrients in one bottle, the cost to the consumer becomes much less and in these economic times an important factor to also consider.