One thing that Chris did not really touch on is some fairly new science on the effects of the various multi-vitamin mineral structures. Studies are showing that some mineral forms (sulfates and gluconates) cause increased free radical production in the intestines, as well as being less soluble and available for the body to absorb. Chris correctly identifies that the AAC mineral forms (amino acid chelate) are better, but clearly hasn't been advised about AAOS mineral forms (amino acid oligosaccharide) that entered the market in 2008.
In November 2010 the Nutrition Journal published a study that shows the different rates of free radical production using each of the 4 mineral forms that are found in multi-vitamin/mineral supplements today. WARNING: This publication contains THICK science, so I will do a brief layman's summary right here. Of the four mineral forms, the sulfates and gluconates produced 4x and 3x as many free radicals as the AAOS form. The AAC form produced 2x as many free radicals as the AAOS form, making the oligosaccharide minerals the clear winner! (footnote, Centrum uses oxide mineral forms, which are worse than any of the four forms represented in the study. They are so bad they didn't even choose to represent oxide minerals in the study. Some previous studies have shown the oxidation rate of oxide forms vs. AAOS forms to be up to 6x however.)
To briefly summarize, free radicals are naturally occurring particles that are malformed, generally because they are missing an electron. These happen within the body as a result of many natural processes like breathing, muscle movement, and digestion. Our body fights these free radicals through the use of anti-oxidants, the ACES (Vitamin A, C, E, and Selenium) primarily. Free radicals have been linked in medical studies to a wide variety of modern chronic diseases such as cancer, Alzheimers, aging, Crone's disease, you name it. We don't need extra free radicals pumping into our bodies if we can possibly avoid it.
When synthetic forms of minerals enter the intestinal track, they crystallize. This makes the minerals almost entirely non-absorptive and also triggers the rapid production of free radicals.
Another thing Chris touches on is that it is almost impossible to get enough of certain nutrients just by eating normal foods, even organic foods. The correct proportions of those nutrients are simply hard to come by, for many reasons. One is that we as a general population are lazy and rely on processed foods, fast foods, and those just don't have the right stuff in them. Another reason is that our farm soils are depleted and mineral deficient. Even the RIGHT foods don't have as much nutrition in them as they once did, and our cross-country shipping of them further depletes the value of those foods, as they are harvested green and unripe to keep them from rotting, handled roughly and stored in dark spaces.
So check out the latest installment of 9 Steps to Perfect Health by Chris Kresser at the Healthy Skeptic. Let me know in the comments below if this information was valuable.
9 Steps to Perfect Health – #4: Supplement Wisely
Previous articles:
- 9 Steps To Perfect Health – #1: Don’t Eat Toxins
- 9 Steps to Perfect Health – #2: Nourish Your Body
- 9 Steps to Perfect Health – #3: Eat Real Food
No comments:
Post a Comment