What is a Good Multivitamin? Don’t Equate Vitamins With Good Health

In 2002, The Journal of the American Medical Association released a recommendation that all adults should take a multivitamin each day in addition to eating a healthy diet. But there is evidence that suggests that merely adding a one-a-day tablet may not be the best way to ensure proper nutrition.

According to the Physician’s Desk Reference only 15 to 30% of vitamins and minerals, in any pill form, are absorbed by the body. There are several reasons for this.

Pills, tablets and caplets are made in molds. No matter what the active ingredient is, the manufacturer has to add fillers, binders and waxes in order to take up space and hold the pill together. Talcum powder, sugar, whey and yeast are among the most common fillers, and the companies that claim not to use any of these are probably using dehydrogenated animal fat.

So don’t simply equate vitamins with good health – you’d be better off evaluating what’s not in the vitamins than what’s in them.

Vitamin molds are sprayed with a releasing agent (i.e. grease) to allow the pill to fall easily out of the mold. This releasing agent normally consists of shellac — the very same shellac used on wood floors and boats! And it is a mixture of shellac and 200 proof alcohol that goes into the making of time release capsules!

US Standards require tablets to dissolve within 15-30 minutes once in your stomach. To identify what’s really in your vitamins, place white vinegar in a glass and drop in your pill. If it isn’t dissolved within 15-30 minutes, you are paying a high price for fillers.

What is a good multivitamin? It is best to avoid synthetic vitamin preparations totally and look for a liquid supplement to ensure absorption. Look for supplements that are extracted from a whole food source.

We are meant to eat food, not chemicals. You wouldn’t put the wrong gasoline grade in your car, so don’t put cheaply made supplements into your body to avoid spending the money. The risk to your overall health is just not worth it.

Not convinced? Here’s a disturbing fact cited by Chiropractors Economics in their March/April issue: in Tacoma Washington, 250,000 lbs. of undigested pills are pulled out of the sewers every six weeks. And in Salt Lake City, over 150 gallons of vitamin pills show up in their filters every month.