The importance of nutritional supplements

By RUSS MASON, M.S.
Special to the Saipan Tribune

Over the years, I had the pleasure of interviewing dozens of doctors and other healthcare practitioners. Virtually all of them took supplements every day, and urged his or her patients to take them also. Some doctors had vitamins for sale in their offices and some even went so far as to create their own line of supplements.

Many people believe the myth that if you eat a good breakfast, lunch, and dinner, you will get all of the nutrients you need for you daily life. You will be fine. Not true. And there are two reasons why food alone won’t supply you with optimum amounts of nutrients.

First, most food that is eaten in the CNMI is processed, or has been created in a processing plant or factory. During the process, nutrients are stripped out-very often by high heat. But sometimes the raw materials, such as those foods that go into cans or frozen foods, lack the nutrient density of eating fresh food. A canned tomato does not have the nutritional value of a fresh, vine-ripened tomato.

Second, many of the big farms in the world have depleted soil, which the farmers attempt to bolster with fertilizers. It is the soil that provides the source for the plant, and for the vitamins and minerals that eventually are carried into it. But if the soil is poor, then the nutrients won’t be in the plant or fruit.

There is more. Most commercially grown fruits and vegetables have been sprayed, often more than once during their growth cycle, with pesticides, herbicides, and fungicides. These chemicals find their way into the fruit or vegetables and will contaminate whoever eats them. These are small, trace amounts but they still can affect you and your health.

One might think that locally grown fruits and vegetables are free from toxins, but farmers here also use chemicals to keep bugs from ruining the plants. In fact, not long ago, a farmer was cited for using a banned chemical. I don’t recall what it was now-maybe chlordane.

A simple soak will help drastically reduce the amount of toxins on your produce. In a gallon of water, add 1 tsp of Clorox bleach. Soak all fruits and vegetables for 10 minutes. Then dump out the Clorox water, rinse out the pail, and soak the fruits and vegetables in clean, fresh water, for another 10 minutes.

Why take vitamins?

Given that most food is nutritionally depleted, supplements can fill in the gaps and get your blood nutrient levels up to optimum. I’ll bet that if 100 CNMI citizens were to be given a blood test, one that checks nutrient levels of 24 vitamins and minerals, almost everyone would be deficient-in everything. If you are nutritionally depleted, then your immune system may be compromised and the likelihood of your getting sick increases dramatically.

There are two basic kinds of vitamins: water soluble and fat soluble. Water soluble vitamins (such as vitamin C, the vitamin B’s) tend to be used up quickly, so they have to be replenished every day.

Vitamin C is affected by levels of activity stress, so that if you drink a glass of orange juice, the 20mg of vitamin C will be used up within 30 minutes. That is why doses of 1,000mg of vitamin C are often recommended. That dose will just last a longer time. Most of the One-Per-Day vitamins have only 60mg of vitamin C, and miniscule amounts of the B vitamins. Optimum dosages are 500-1,000mg of vitamin C every day; 25-100mg of the B complex. Once again, if you are in a highly charged, or stressful, job, then go for the higher dosages.

The fat soluble vitamins are vitamin E, vitamin D, vitamin A, and vitamin K; the body can store these temporarily, but get used up eventually. And vitamin E is one nutrient you can’t get in adequate amounts from food. You have to take a supplement. 400iu’s is the standard dose, of mixed tocopherols. E is absolutely essential for good health.

There are quite a few important minerals, of which most people do not get enough. If you drink milk or eat dairy products, you may be getting enough calcium, but magnesium is also essential, and is often neglected. Calcium and magnesium function well together, and sometimes you will see Cal-Mag formulations sold by vitamin companies. Other essential minerals are zinc (for men especially), iron (for women and seniors, especially), selenium (works very well with vitamin E and has been shown to prevent certain cancers).

A healthy heart

A friend of mine lives in California. He does not take supplements, and two weeks ago was rushed to the hospital with heart problems. He is OK now, but there are nutrients that Rick could have taken that would have helped to prevent his condition.

For a healthy heart, magnesium, 500mg, every day, is essential. Magnesium helps to control an irregular heartbeat (cardiac arrhythmia, pvc’s). Coenzyme Q-10 has been show to be an effective adjunct in treating congestive heart failure. Taking magnesium and CoQ10 every day is a smart way to help prevent heart problems down the road. And this is just a small part of a “healthy lifestyle”-which you probably know about.

Often heart problems are actually problems with clogged arteries, due to an excessive buildup of plaque. But this condition can also be helped, with a daily cocktail of nutrients, created by the late Dr. Linus Pauling, Ph.D., and winner of two Nobel prizes. In a blender with 12 oz. water, you add 1 tsp vitamin C powder, ½ tsp Lycine powder, and ½ tsp Proline powder. Blend it and drink it every day. It will help to clear out your arteries and keep them clean. At least that is what Dr. Pauling has stated. I know of no studies about this, but then-who would fund such a study? Certainly not the pharmaceutical industry! But I do it anyway, because Dr. Pauling is smarter than me about nutrients.

Bottom line: take your vitamins. You’ll reduce your risk of getting sick, have more energy, and generally feel better.

The information contained in this column is intended as general information only, and not as individual medical advice. Readers should obtain professional medical advice before taking action with respect to their individual situations.

For the better part of a decade, Russ Mason wrote for a medical journal, Alternative & Complementary Therapies. His principal assignment was to interview a physician, or other health care practitioner, about new and important treatments, as well as diet and nutrition. Prior to that, he worked at NBC in New York for 16 years, often as a writer for their television programs.