Category Archives: Whole Foods

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What to know when buying food supplements

NATURAL VS. SYNTHETIC VITAMINS

 It could be said that never in history has so much money been spent on the advertising and purchasing of any merchandise, with so little knowledge of the product itself, on the part of either the seller or the buyer, as has been spent on vitamin and mineral supplements.

Billions are being spent annually, and most of the purchasers, wholesalers, retailers or direct-to-consumer salespeople do not know the difference between a synthetic, a crystalline, and a truly natural vitamin, or the difference between a chelated organic and an inorganic mineral.

What’s the difference between natural and synthetic? In short, it’s the difference between something that’s living and something that’s dead. That’s a big difference.

NATURAL WHOLE FOOD VITAMINSOn vitamin labels the word “natural” has no specific definition other than that the substance exists somewhere on the planet or in outer space. The key words to look for are “Whole Food Vitamins” — this means vitamins as they are found in food, not tampered with in any way that would change their molecular structure, their biological or biochemical combination, or their actions. 
  
 SYNTHETIC means that a chemist attempted to reconstruct the exact structure of the crystalline molecule by chemically combining molecules from other sources. These sources are not living foods, but dead chemicals. For example, Vitamin B1 is made from a coal tar derivative, and d-alpha tocopherol (so-called Vitamin E) is a byproduct of materials used by the Eastman Kodak company to make film. However, it is not legally necessary to give the source from which the synthetic “vitamin” is derived. Synthetic “vitamins” should more accurately be called drugs.  

HOW TO READ A VITAMIN LABEL
  
To identify synthetics on the label, look to see if a source is given. If it isn’t, assume the product is synthetic. These terms also identify a vitamin as synthetic: acetate, bitartrate, chloride, gluconate, hydro-chloride, nitrate, succinate. Carbonate always indicates the mineral is in-organic and therefore of no use to your body. All minerals have to be organically chelated and arranged in their proper ratios by vegetables in order for humans to be able to use them. All of them.
  
Whole-food natural supplements never come in high dosages. It is only possible to create high-dosage “vitamins” if you isolate one fraction as a crystalline, or synthesize one fraction as in synthetics. For example, take Vitamin C and E. In naturally-occurring Vitamin C Complex, the ascorbic acid portion comprises only about 5% of the whole complex. Similarly, alpha tocopherol only comprises a small percentage of Vitamin E Complex. Both serve as anti-oxidants for the vitamin complexes.
Legally, according to the FDA, the only portion of the Vitamin C Complex that is allowed to be called “Vitamin C” is the ascorbic acid portion, and the only part of the Vitamin E Complex that can be called “Vitamin E” is the alpha tocopherol piece—(the “d” in front of alpha means it’s synthetic, as in d-alpha tocopherol).

We, as consumers, have been thoroughly fooled and misled about vitamins and minerals. We have been hoodwinked into believing that large quantities of dead chemicals are more nutritionally potent than smaller amounts of high-quality living compounds. These chemicals are stimulants (drugs), not nutrients, and should therefore be under FDA control – better still, condemned for the toxins they are.

Relatively small amounts of whole-food natural vitamins, with all of their naturally-occurring synergists, are far more potent than high doses of synthetic imitation “vitamins.” They alone are nourishing to the cells. It is sheer arrogance for us to think that we can synthesize or in any way alter a natural design that is so crucial to our health and wellness and that we do not understand. There was one man who did understand human nutrition and that was Dr. Royal Lee, founder of Standard Process Laboratories. I thank God every day for him and for those who carry forward his work, providing the highest quality of nutritional and herbal products possible.

 To your good health

 Dr. Palombo

 tpal70@gmail.com

 

 

 

 

Vitamins in their natural state always exist as living complexes with specific synergistic co-factors, enzymes, phytonutrients and organic mineral-activators, and never as isolated single factors. A vitamin needs all of its synergists to function. Further, there are literally hundreds of such synergists, most of which have not yet been studied but are nevertheless very important.

 

CRYSTALLINE means that a natural food has been treated with various chemicals, solvents, heat and distillations to reduce it down to one specific “pure” crystalline vitamin. In this process all the synergists, which are termed “impurities,” are destroyed. There is no longer anything natural in the action of crystalline “vitamins”— they should more accurately be termed drugs.
 

 

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Eat the Whole Egg

The yoke is where the nutrition is.

Here’s to the faithful breakfast egg!  I found a great article on the nutritional qualities of the egg on Facebook and thought I would share it with my blog readers. 

You’ll find it at this link: http://www.truthaboutabs.com/whole-eggs-or-egg-whites.html

Here’s an excerpt:  “This is a perfect example of how confused most people are about nutrition. In a world full of misinformation about nutrition, somehow most people now mistakenly think that the egg yolk is the worst part of the egg, when in fact, the YOLK IS THE HEALTHIEST PART OF THE EGG!

“By throwing out the yolk and only eating egg whites, you’re essentially throwing out the most nutrient dense, antioxidant-rich, vitamin and mineral loaded portion of the egg. The yolks contain so many B-vitamins, trace minerals, vitamin A, folate, choline, lutein, and other powerful nutrients… it’s not even worth trying to list them all.

“In fact, the egg whites are almost devoid of nutrition compared to the yolks.

“Even the protein in egg whites isn’t as powerful without the yolks to balance out the amino acid profile and make the protein more bio-available. Not to even mention that the egg yolks from free range chickens are loaded with healthy omega-3 fatty acids.

“Yolks contain more than 90% of the calcium, iron, phosphorus, zinc, thiamin, B6, folate, and B12, and panthothenic acid of the egg. In addition, the yolks contain ALL of the fat soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K in the egg, as well as ALL of the essential fatty acids (EFAs).”

My tip: The harder the egg white, the more work it takes in the stomach to break it down.  The amino acids bond more tightly together with heat, as is the case with all cooked proteins.  Better to eat the egg white raw in a health drink.  The next best way to eat it is poached, soft-boiled, or soft-scrambled in a little olive oil and butter.  Yummy!  Add some chives or green onions, and a clove or two of garlic, and you have a tasty and healthy brunch.  And don’t forget the salsa!  Ummmm good!

“And now the common objection I get all the time when I say that the yolks are the most nutritious part of the egg…

“But I heard that whole eggs will skyrocket my cholesterol through the roof”

Click on the link and find out the truth about the egg and cholesterol.

To your health,

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Whole Food Vs Half Food Supplements

 

 

Only whole foods are “natural.”

Tony Pics for SA BookWe are born to see things whole.  We have to be taught fragmentation.  When a child sees an apple, it sees something whole.  This is well before it knows even how to spell the word.  In fact, a child has to be taught how to spell a-p-p-l-e.   But first it has to learn the letters of the alphabet in order to know what the letters are.   As we parents and teachers know, learning to break things down into their individual component parts is hard work for a young child just learning this method of educating its mind about its world, moving from a sense of wholeness to one of fragmentation.  And it hasn’t even begun to learn all the parts that make up the apple itself, the vitamins, minerals and other nutrients we’ve called by various names in order to make our minds feel intelligent. 

 (The word “vitamin” is derived from the Latin “vita” (life) and “amines”, or vital amino acids.  These building blocks of the body are made of molecules that contain the key elements of Carbon, Hydrogen, Oxygen and Nitrogen).

But what really are all these various fragments that make up the whole apple?  There are over a hundred nutrients in an apple, no doubt why one a day may keep the doctor away.   The “uneducated” child, or layman, might well take a “Who cares?” attitude as it reaches for an apple in the fruit bowl.  All it knows is that it loves its taste and it looks delicious to the eyes.  On the other hand, try and give the child (and some adults) a vitamin pill that has some, if not all, of the “vitamins” an apple has, and you will not get the same response as you get offering it a whole fruit that it likes, such as grapes, strawberries, apples, blueberries and bananas.  “What’s that?” the child may ask.

Children love whole foods, and I don’t think it’s all about how delicious they look or taste.  There’s an innate sense at work in us that resonates with wholeness.  Granted, the little boy wants to take things apart to see what they’re made of and how they tick.  I don’t notice little girls doing much of that.  They rather cry when little brother takes their doll apart.  Hum……

Parts crave wholenesss

Scientists, largely male in gender, have fragmented the world into pieces the human mind can identify and tag.  It’s the nature of the beast.  However, in the process of taking foods apart to identify and tag their parts, even synthesize them by artificial means, they’ve discovered something very interesting, if indeed enlightening, about “parts” in the natural world:  parts crave wholeness and will seek out their “friends” and partners in life when turned loose in a natural environment.  They can be held isolated in a “controlled” lab test, but not outside this artificial environment.  

Case in point

B Vitamins:  There are 9 of them known to be vital to human health.  There are some 20 other B Vitamins that have been identified in foods and animals, most of which we consume in our diets.  Notice how many of these are added to foods and “vitamin drinks” and put into high potency “B Complex” vitamin pills. You will usually find only 4 or 5,  but never 9 .  That’s because most, like Vitamin B4, cannot be extracted from food, nor can they be synthesized outside the body.  What is Vitamin B4?  Well, it’s only a co-enzyme that helps produce energy.  But it is essential to the rhythm of the heart beat. 

You’ll not find B7 added to foods and drinks either.   How important is VitaminB7?   Well, it only governs the anatomical and functional integrity of the intestinal tract and prevents digestive disturbances.  You won’t find B17 either. Well, how important is Vitamin B17 (amygdalin, also known as laetrile, found in a number of seeds, sprouts, beans, tubers, and grains)?  It only helps rid the body of cancer cells.  And I could go on, but I won’t do all of your homework for you.  You can Google Vitamin B and read all about it yourself.  It’s quite complex . . . and very informative.

Then there are the co-factors.

What in the world are the co-factors?  Well, they’re all the stuff that’s left over and thrown out as dross after the vitamins have been extracted from the food – or in the case of synthetic vitamins, what the scientists consider un-necessary and insignificant (mainly because they can’t isolate, tag and duplicate them, nor comprehend their significance) and therefore counted for naught.  Yet, the co-factors are the critical ingredients that facilitate the function of the nutrients once they are incorporated into the body’s anatomy, physiology and chemistry. Vitamins cannot be utilized without minerals, for example.  It is the inclusion of this “insignificant dross” into his food supplements that makes Dr. Royal Lee’s whole-food philosophy, and therefore his supplements (Standard Process Labs, Palmyra, Wis.), a cut above the rest, setting the benchmark for the entire food-supplement industry.

“Vitamins in their natural state always exist as living complexes with specific synergistic co-factors, enzymes, phytonutrients and organic mineral-activators, and never as isolated single factors.   A vitamin needs all of its synergists to function.  Further, there are literally hundreds of such synergists, most of which have not yet been studied but are nevertheless very important.”  (Health Light Newsletter, Sept. 2004) 

Minerals are balanced and proportioned by and in the vegetable kingdom.  They are naturally “chelated” – clawed apart by organic acids in the roots of the plants – so that they can be utilized by the animal kingdom.  It is important that their ratio one to another is appropriate for proper absorption and utilization in the body.  Unchelated, raw, elemental minerals (rocks), such as calcium carbonate derived from crushed oyster shells or dolomite, cannot be ionized fast enough in the body to render them useful. Most calcium supplements are elemental calcium carbonate.  Read the label. You want calcium lactate or citrate.

My Point: Fractioned high potency vitamins, synthetic or “natural,” are chemicals (drugs), not food . The body will only accept whole food for its nourishment.  Anything less is a toxin and will be dealt with and eliminated as such by your body.  The fact is, they hurt your body.   Elemental minerals, such as calcium carbonate, that cannot be readily eliminated are deposited on long bones until they can be ionized, absorbed and utilized. It takes nine steps to ionize calcium carbonate so that it is useful.  Calcium lactate and citrate take only one or two steps, so they are almost immediately absorbed into the tissues when consumed.

Now – and here’s our lesson for today – when you take a “B Complex” pill, which is made up of only a few chemical parts of the whole B Vitamin food essence, you turn loose in your body fragmented, unstable and craving molecules, functionally free radicals.  They will immediately set out to find and attach themselves to their “friends” in order to re-establish their stability and wholeness. Where will they find their friends and partners in life?  Well, in your gut, your bloodstream, your organs, and your body tissues.  It’s called “leaching” in bio-chemistry and clinical nutrition.  In other words, these fragmented, unstable partial “vitamins” rob  your body of what they need to complete themselves, simply because Nature abhors a vacuum.  That’s the bottom line. They give you nothing and take away plenty of vital nutrients.  As drugs, they only offer stimulation to make you feel good taking them, and in that sense they act like addictive substances.  They add nothing, not a molecule, to the health of your body. I could not be more clear and simple in my wording. 

For examples: “Vitamin C” (as ascorbic acid) is a good antioxidant but it’s not the whole Vitamin C.  It is the protective antioxidant of the C Complex, which consists of Biflavonoids, Tyrosinase (copper), Vitamins P, K and J factors.  Taken into the body, high-potency ascorbic acid leaches copper (tyrosinase) from it, an essential mineral to blood vessel integrity. Copper deficiency is at the root cause of bulging arteries (aneurisms).  Commercial “Vitamin E” as “d-alpha tocopherol,” may be another great antioxidant but it is not Vitamin  E.  Whole Vitamin E consists of four protective layers of tocopherols – that’s how fragile Vitamin E is – at the core of which are Selenium, Xanthine, Lipositols, Vitamins F1, F2, E2 and E3.  Taken into the body, high potency, synthetic d-alpha tocopherol – so called “Vitamin E” –  leaches selenium from the body, an essential mineral to cardiovascular health and the prevention of arterial plaque.  Yet the Food and Drug Administration allows these partial non-foods to be called “Vitamins C” and “Vitamin E” when they are not what they are called, a blatant display of the scientific fragment-oriented mentality. 

We still can’t fool Mother Nature

Enough said perhaps to get my point across for this important lesson.  Stay away from vitamin pills that are not made of whole food substances created by Mother Nature, who alone knows how to put the chemical world together in proportions and quantities we can utilize to our health and wellness.  No matter how “smart” we are in breaking down the world into its fragmented parts and tagging them, we will never be able to outsmart or fool Mother Nature.  We only hurt ourselves by cutting corners.  Whole foods are our only true source of vitamins and minerals. 

For me and my house, Catalyn by Standard Process Labs is by far the best whole-food vitamin and mineral supplement. Read it’s ingredients at www.standardprocess.com. It costs less than a nickel a day.  Send me an email and I’ll send you a four-month supply for $45, or a full year’s supply for only $125.  It also comes in a cherry-flavored chewable for children ($55 for 4 months supply when ordered along with 1 adult’s 4-months supply, or $65 if ordered separately (a year’s supply is $170).  Prices include drop-shipping and handling within the USA.

In conclusion:

There’s no such thing as a “One-A-Day” whole-food supplement.  The only “one-a-day” vitamin this doctor  recommends is the ripe and juicy apple.

To your health,

Dr. Tony Palombo

Chiropractor and clinical nutritional therapist

Email Dr. Palombo at tpal70@gmail.com. Visit his website www.healingandattunement.com .

Disclaimer:  Nothing written in this blog is intended to diagnose or treat any diseases. 

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