All Natural Vitamins Lessen Risk of Toxic Overload

Everyone, and especially the diabetic individual, should choose all natural vitamins over synthetic formulations. Preferably, we should try to meet all our nutritional needs from the food we eat.

You may have heard the statement "my food is my medicine." Some pre-twenty-first-century fellow who never knew the term fast food may have said it. The truth is...

This dietary mantra is especially significant for people with diabetes, cardiovascular and similar lifestyle-related health conditions.

Multivitamin formulations can be dangerous

It's quite clear that vitamins should be part of our daily food intake. All-natural vitamins extracted from food sources come closest to what we get naturally from the food we eat.

An article (Kato, et. al.) by researchers at Feist-Weiller Cancer Center, Shreveport, Louisiana cites the "risk of iron overload in middle-aged women." Almost all multivitamins have iron. Many people tend to "rate" the quality of these off the shelf products by the size of the constituent vitamins and minerals, not being mindful of how much they actually need.

Although the article does not mention all natural vitamins or their sources, it did suggest that it is unlikely that iron overload would occur in middle-aged women through their diet and nutritional supplements.

One should probably add, "whenever these supplements are taken as directed."  It is easy to envision a sort of hysteria or sense of need being created in people (via advertising and misinformation) about the need for more and more vitamin supplements.

Another article by Penniston and Tanumihardjo (2003), suggests it might be time to re-examine the practice of prescribing multi-vitamins "to the elderly and other patients whose needs for certain micronutrients are high." It specifically dealt with the issue of vitamin A consumption.

It may be time we promoted the use of all natural vitamins and the consumption of foods rich in sources  of these nutrients. Take carrot and broccoli for example... when used raw or lightly cooked without destroying the vitamin, these are excellent sources of vitamin A and iron.

Actually,  for people with diabetes, there is hardly a better source of iron than Fenugreek - an anti-diabetes medicinal herb. Fenugreek has 33.5 mg or iron per 100 grams.

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Common plant-based vitamin sources

The table (above) lists other all natural vitamins and mineral sources. Note that this is a listing of only plant-based sources, and for most of the nutrients only one primary source is given.

What are all natural vitamins and minerals?

All natural vitamins and minerals are only all-natural if they are taken in the way nature has provided them for us. Any kind of processing or packaging tends to ruin their effectiveness.

Take the case of vitamin C supplements. It was shown that a 500 mg vitamin C pill was less effective than 50 mg of the nutrient in an orange since the phytochemicals which give the vitamin it's effectiveness are not isolated (nor included) in the synthetic formulation.

Taken in their natural states (i.e. in the foods we eat), vitamins and minerals are much more beneficial than multivitamin supplements. If we would eat right, we would not have a need supplementation.

Here is a link if you are interested in all natural vitamins, minerals, and salts. Especially great if you are a diabetic.

Special note about Vitamin B₁₂

Note that the only living things capable of synthesizing Vitamin B₁₂ are bacteria and other microorganisms, e.g. yeast.

The bacteria that are usually found in the mouth and intestines produce some Vitamin B₁₂. Where a deficiency of this vitamin exists, it is usually due to a difficulty absorbing the vitamin.

References

Kato I., Dnistrian A. M., Schwartz M., Toniolo P., Koenig K., Shore R. E., Zeleniuch-Jacquotte A., Akhmedkhanov A., Riboli E. (2000). Risk of iron overload among middle-aged women. Int J Vitam Nutr Res. 2000 May;70(3):119-25.

Penniston K. L., Tanumihardjo S. A. (2003). Vitamin A in dietary supplements and fortified foods: too much of a good thing? J. Am Diet Assoc. 2003 Sep;103(9):1185-7.

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