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The Baffling World of Nutritional Supplements

by Jane Sheppard

In an ideal world, our kids would be getting enough nutrients from the food they eat. But we know that is not always the case. Even if we buy organic whole food, our children will not always eat it. A sad reality for a vast amount of kids is that they like the processed food better. We need to do the best that we can to provide our children with an organic whole foods diet. However, we may sometimes need to supplement this diet.

Natural Versus Synthetic Vitamins

There is a lot of controversy among nutritionists and much mixed data on what are the best forms of supplementation. Paavo Airola, N.D., Ph.D. studied world-wide vitamin research to find an intelligent answer. He states in his book, How to Get Well, “When you take natural vitamins, as for instance in the form of rose hips, brewer’s yeast or vegetable oil, you are getting all the vitamins and vitamin-like factors that naturally occur in these foods - that is, all those that are already discovered as well as those that are not discovered yet.” Whole food vitamins provide nutritional balance whereas synthetic vitamins can produce drug-like effects and cause the body to try to compensate for missing components.

This does not necessarily mean that synthetic vitamins are useless. According to Dr. Airola, they can be very valuable in short-term therapeutic treatment of acute conditions or severe deficiency diseases. However, if you are supplementing in order to make sure your child gets the nutrients he/she needs for health protection and disease prevention, natural food supplements can do the job.

Potency of Natural Versus Synthetic

One thing that may be confusing is the potency of natural versus synthetic. Natural food concentrates have a much lower “potency” in milligrams or micrograms. This may lead you to believe that they are less effective and not as powerful as synthetic vitamins. Vitamins are measured based on animal testing using isolated vitamin fractions. It requires a large amount of the separated synthetic vitamin to achieve a specific reaction in animals (and in humans). According to Judith DeCava, this reaction is a drug effect and not necessarily a nutritional reaction.

Whole food concentrates cause potent nutritional reactions since they are working with their natural synergists to be properly used by the body. As Judith DeCava states “...a minute amount of a vitamin that is left intact in its whole food form is tremendously more functional, powerful, and effective nutritionally than a large amount of a chemically-pure, vitamin fraction. Therefore, only small amounts of natural vitamin complexes are required. They are organic micronutrients, nutrients needed in tiny quantities, to accomplish many big biochemical jobs.”

Judith DeCava’s book, The Real Truth About Vitamins and Antioxidants, is thoroughly researched and documented. If you want to delve deeper into the benefits of whole food vitamins versus the efficacy and possible harmful effects of synthetic vitamins, I suggest reading this book and the many cited works she lists.

Nutritional Requirements are Unique for Each Child

Every child is unique in nutritional requirements. The Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDAs) set by the Food and Nutrition Board of the National Academy of Sciences are recommendations for the average daily amounts of nutrients for population groups. These are not requirements for a specific person. Individual requirements vary greatly, depending on many different environmental factors and other situations. One child may require ten times as much of one vitamin and half as much of another vitamin as another child.

One of the big factors in determining the quantity of vitamins and minerals our children need is the quality of their everyday diet. The National Academy of Sciences bases their recommendations on an average population that eats the typical American diet of heavy animal products, pesticides, sugar and other processed foods. This type of diet requires a higher intake of nutrients since so much is lost in the metabolism of these foods. This is especially true with a diet high in sugar since this “anti-nutrient” tends to leech vitamins and minerals from the body. Many nutritionists believe that nutritional requirements may be cut by a third or even a half for a child who normally eats organic whole foods since whole food is absorbed and utilized better by the body. You may want to consult a qualified nutritionist or other health professional to determine the specific nutritional needs of your child.

Calcium Supplementation

Many parents are worried that their children are not getting enough calcium in their diet and want to know about calcium supplementation. As with all supplements, there are many differing opinions on what is best. A reasonable solution is to feed your child as much calcium-rich food from plant sources as possible and supplement (if necessary) with a good source of calcium. After consulting with several nutritionists, I found that calcium citrate seems to be the best as far as absorption goes. Calcium carbonate from ground oyster shells is okay if a child has good stomach acid for absorption. They should be taken with meals for better absorption. Bone meal or dolomite are not good sources since they may contain lead or other toxins. Floradix (found in many health food stores) makes a good herbal calcium supplement. Although the calcium “potency” of Floradix is fairly low in milligrams, keep in mind the synergistic effect of the calcium-rich herbs. Also remember that a child who eats a diet from mostly plant sources may not need the 800 milligrams RDA that may be needed by a child on the typical American diet.

Deciphering Vitamin Labels

Sometimes it is confusing as to which vitamins are synthetic and which are natural. You must read the labels to know what you are getting. Be aware that there are quite a few companies with “natural” on their label using 100% synthetic vitamins. Some manufacturers try to mislead consumers with clever wording and pictures. A label that says Vitamin C - Rose hips may contain 95% ascorbic acid and 5% rose hips. Hopefully, the following chart will assist you in deciphering vitamin labels.

Reading Labels - How To Tell If It's Natural or Synthetic

(Extracted from How to Get Well by Paavo Airola, N.D., Ph.D.)

Use the information provided on this site as an educational resource for determining your options and making your own informed choices. It is not intended as medical advice or to diagnose, prescribe, or treat any specific illness.