Supplemental Vitamins & Minerals

What are Vitamins?

Vitamins are substances which, in small amounts, are necessary to sustain life. They must be obtained from food as they are either not made in the body at all, or are not made in sufficient quantities for growth, vitality and well-being. Lack of a particular vitamin or mineral can lead to incomplete metabolism, fatigue and other health problems, and in severe cases, to deficiency disease. A deficiency of a particular vitamin causes disease symptoms which can only be cured by that vitamin.

Vitamins are chemically unrelated substances and all are organic. Organic substances are those that contain carbon and come from materials that are living, such as plants and animals, or that were once living. It is impossible to sustain life without all the essential vitamins.

Is it Possible to Get Enough Vitamins and Minerals From Food?

People living in Western cultures usually have all the nutritional advantages and disadvantages of an affluent lifestyle. By choosing the right types and amounts of food from the wide range of fresh, processed, mixed or pre-prepared food available, it should be possible for the average person to meet the RDAs for vitamins. However, the food available in Western cultures provides more fats, sugars, sodium and alcohol than is consistent with a healthy diet.

Leaving aside the fact that opinions differ as to exactly what constitutes a balanced diet, not everyone is able to, or wants to, eat such a diet all the time. Individual vitamin and mineral requirements may vary as much as 200-fold due to differences in genetic make up, lifestyle, physical and emotional stress, and other factors. Some people are able to meet their nutritional requirements with an average diet and no supplements, while others have needs which are greater than their diet can meet.

The issue of the quality of the food we eat is also relevant. Modern methods of food production and manufacturing can adversely affect the nutritional value of food. Soil quality has been lowered through farming methods and the use of fertilizers. Many chemicals are added to food during the growing and processing stages and several of these, including pesticides, can accumulate in the body and have toxic effects. Fruit and vegetables are often picked before they are ripe, in some cases before they have developed their full content of vitamins and minerals. When food is stored for later use, some of the content may decay during storage. Processing of foods removes many valuable nutrients, and a person whose diet is high in these foods may be at risk of nutrient deficiencies.

How Good is the Average Diet?

Surveys suggest that most people do not consume a balanced diet. Results of nutrition surveys show a large gap between the dietary guidelines and what people actually eat. A US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey shows that sugar intake makes up 25 per cent of total calories and fat intake approaches 34 per cent. This means that foods which have poor nutritional value make up over half the daily calories.

Other results show that:

• On any one day, an estimated 45 per cent of people don't consume any fruit or juice, and 22 per cent don't eat any vegetables. Less than 10 per cent of people consume the recommended five or more servings of fruit and vegetables.
• Only a third of the population consumes foods from all the food groups on a typical day, with less than 3 per cent consuming foods from all food groups in at least the recommended amount.
• Many diets contain half the recommended amount of magnesium and folic acid, as many as 80 per cent of women who exercise may be iron-deficient, and the average calcium intake is 636 mg per day (two-thirds the RDA).
• Seventy-one per cent of males and 90 per cent of females consumed less than the 1980 recommended dietary allowance (RDA) of vitamin B6.
• The average calcium intake of teenage girls resembles that necessary for 3–5 year olds.

How Much of Each Vitamin and Mineral do we Need?

For every person who asks this question, the answer will be slightly different. Each one of us has different needs and different ways of meeting those needs – a unique combination of stress and biochemical individuality. Genetic factors play an important part in this. For example, recent research indicates that as many as 5 to 15 per cent of people may have a particular type of genetic mutation in the DNA which codes for an enzyme involved in the metabolism of an amino acid known as homocysteine. This leads to higher homocysteine concentrations and therefore an increased risk of heart disease, and in women, of having babies with neural tube defects. Because folate and other B vitamins are involved in homocysteine metabolism, such people have higher folate requirements than those who do not have this type of genetic mutation, and may need supplements. Future research may show the presence of other common genetic variations, which throws doubt on the concept of assuming normality for nutrient requirements in any population.

Lifestyle factors also play a part. Someone who smokes or has a history of illness will have greater vitamin and mineral needs than someone who does not. The nutrient needs of an Olympic athlete are different to those of someone who sits on the couch and watches TV all day. Needs also vary according to sex, age and specific life events; a pregnant woman needs more iron than an elderly woman. Stress, disease, prescription drugs, environmental factors and intense physical activity can also raise requirements.

People vary in their ability to absorb and metabolise different nutrients. One person's genetic make up may mean they get enough vitamin C from an average diet whereas another would benefit from taking a supplement. The amounts and types of food people eat and the way they cook also affects the ability to obtain enough nutritional value from food.

Recommended Dietary Allowances and Suggested Optimal Intakes:

	Men	Women	Suggested intake
Vitamin A	1000 mcg	800 mcg	1500 mcg
Beta carotene			10 to 30 mg
Thiamin	1.2 mg	1.1 mg	5 to 10 mg
Riboflavin	1.3 mg	1.1 mg	5 to 10 mg
Niacin	16 mg	14mg	10 to 100 mg
Vitamin B6 (under 50)	1.3 mg	1.3 mg	2 to 50 mg
Vitamin B6 (over 50)	1.7 mg	1.5 mg
Vitamin B12	2.4 mg	2.4 mg	11 to 100 mg
Pantothenic acid	5 mg	5 mg	10 mg
Biotin	30 mcg	30 mcg	30 to 300 mcg
Folic acid	400 mcg	400 mcg	400 mcg
Vitamin C	60 mg	60 mg	100 to 1000 mg
Vitamin D (under 50)	200 IU	200 IU	100 to 600 IU
Vitamin D (over 50)	400 IU	400 IU
Vitamin D (over 70)	600 IU	600 IU
Vitamin E	10 mg	8 mg	67 to 500 mg
Vitamin K	80 mcg	65 mcg	60 to 300 mcg
Boron			2 to 7 mg
Calcium (under 50)	1000 mg	1000 mg	1200 to 1500 mg
Calcium (over 50)	1200 mg	1200 mg
Chromium	20 to 200 mcg	20 to 200 mcg	200 to 400 mcg
Copper	1.5 to 3 mg	1.5 to 3 mg	3 mg
Fluoride	3.8 mg	3.1 mg
Iodine	150 mcg	150 mcg	200 mcg
Iron	10 mg	15 mg	15 to 30 mg
Magnesium	420 mg	320 mg	350 to 500 mg
Manganese	2 to 5 mg	2 to 5 mg	10 mg
Molybdenum	75 to 250 mcg	75 to 250 mcg	250 mcg
Phosphorus	700 mg	700 mg	700 mg
Potassium	2000 mg	2000 mg	2000 to 5000 mg
Selenium	70 mcg	55 mcg	100 to 200 mcg
Vanadium	10 to 60 mcg	10 to 60 mcg	50 to 100 mcg
Zinc	15 mg	12 mg	15 to 30 mg

 

Super Supplemental Vitamins & Minerals

Super Supplemental Vitamins & Minerals augments any diet. Balanced nutrients are often in short supply during periods of physical stress or convalescence, or in a diet consisting of mostly processed foods. Supplementing your diet with Super Supplemental can help fill the void.

Benefits:

• Provides 100 percent or more of current daily requirements for 12 essential vitamins, plus significant amounts of 13 important minerals.
• Contains two important carotenoid antioxidants, lutein and lycopene.
• Offers extra amounts of essential B-vitamins (depleted by physical stress) for energy. 

Nutritional Facts - Amount per tablet.

		% Daily Value
Vitamin A (80% retinyl palmitate, 20% beta-carotene)	1000 mcg	125
Vitamin C	125 mg	208
Vitamin D	2.7 mcg	54
Vitamin E	18.2 mg	182
Vitamin B1 (thiamine)	24 mg	1670
Vitamin B2 (riboflavin)	4.7 mg	294
Niacin	15 mg	83
Vitamin B6 (pyridoxine HCl)	7.2 mg	360
Folic acid	85 mcg	42
Vitamin B12	25 mcg	2500
Biotin	79 mcg	53
Pantothenic acid	34 mg	569
Calcium	105 mg	13
Iron	7.5 mg	54
Phosphorus	66 mg	8
Iodine	50 mcg	54
Magnesium	100 mg	34
Zinc	7.5 mg	34
Selenium	25 mcg	*
Copper	25 mcg	*
Manganese	0.75 mg	*
Chromium	25 mcg	*
Choline	12.5 mg	*

*Daily Value not established.

Serving Size 1 Tablets.
Servings per Container: 120

Recommended Usage:
Take one tablet with a meal twice daily.

Ingredients: di-calcium phosphate, magnesium oxide, vitamin C, potassium citrate, cellulose (plant fibre), calcium, zinc gluconate, steric acid, pantothenic acid, vitamin E, sodium carboxymethylcellulose, ferrous fumarate, niacin, magnesium stearate, selenium, choline bitartrate, inositol, calcium citrate, biotin, vitaminB6, thiamin, beta-carotene, magnesium, copper gluconate, silicon dioxide, broccoli flowers, asparagus stems, cabbage leaf, alfalfa herb, hesperidin, lemon Bioflavonoids, rutin, vitamin B12, Rose Hips extract, horsetail herb, vitamin D, potassium iodide, chromium, folacin and kelp plant.

£19.95 £15.96

We also have Mega-Chel, which provides a powerhouse of nutritional support for the circulatory system.

Or maybe you would like to try Skeletal Strength, formulated to provide nutrients necessary for proper structural system function.

Herbasaurs Chewable Vitamins

Herbasaurs Chewable Vitamins and Minerals are designed especially for children. Getting your kids to eat their veggies might be a struggle, but you’ll never have to beg them to take their Herbasaurs.
 
Not only do these tablets taste good, they contain 12 essential vitamins plus iron that children need to grow strong, healthy bodies. They’re sweetened with fructose and contain natural fruit flavour. Contains no sucrose, starch, preservatives, artificial colours or artificial flavours. Each Dinotab® is stamped with an Herbasaurs character.

Benefits:

• Supports the general safety of the body perhaps better than any other kind of supplement.
• Decreases fatigue.
• Strengthens major organs and bones.
• Teaches your child to be health-conscious at an early age.
• Vitamin A promotes eye health and night vision.
• Vitamin B12 supports myelin sheaths for proper nerve function.
• Vitamin C supports collagen formation and is a powerful water-soluble antioxidant.
• Vitamin B6 can support emotional well-being.

Nutritional Facts - Amount per tablet.

		% Daily Value
Vitamin A	750 mcg	94
Vitamin C	60 mg	100
Vitamin D	5 mcg	100
Vitamin E	10 mcg	100
Vitamin B1 (thiamine)	1 mg	71
Vitamin B2 (riboflavin)	1.5 mg	94
Niacin (niacinamide)	10 mg	56
Vitamin B6 (pyridoxine)	1.5 mg	75
Folic Acid	200 mcg	100
Vitamin B12 (cyanocobalamin)	7.5 mcg	750
Biotin	0.15 mg	100
Pantothenic Acid	5 mg	83
Iron	2.5 mg	18

Serving Size 2 Tablets.
Servings per container: 45

Recommended Usage:
Children 2-3: Chew one tablet daily with a meal.
Children 4 and older: Chew two tablets daily with a meal.

Store all supplements out of the reach of children.

Ingredients:Sorbitol, mannitol, fructose, vitamin C, papaya fruit, niacin, freeze dried orange juice, vitamin E, ferrous fumarate, magnesium stearate, choline bitartrate, inositol, wheat germ flour. Flavouring: natural lemon/juice, rose hips extract, pantothenic acid, vitamin A, riboflavin, vitamin B6, thiamin, kelp plant powder, myrrh gum powder, vitamin D, folacin, biotin and vitamin B12

This sucrose-free base includes sorbitol, fructose, magnesium stearate and natural flavours.

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We also have Chewable Calcium for Kids, a great way to make sure your kids are getting sufficient levels of calcium and other important minerals.

Click here for a multi-vitamins fact sheet. (pdf download).