Double X Vitamins

Is natural really that much better?

Have you ever looked at the ingredients list on a multivitamin and wondered to yourself, what is all this stuff? Those fancy names that we see are synthetic forms of vitamins. Today we look for essential vitamins, minerals, and phytoniutrients from supplements because our food loses nutrients through refinement and processing, such as pasteurization. The question is, is there a difference between a synthetic and a plant based multivitamins? And if so, how do we know which multivitamins are synthetic and which ones are truly natural?

Scientists have found ways to replicate the nutrients in plants from a laboratory-formulated version of the vitamins.  For example many people in America are not getting enough chromium in their diet because it is not found in the soil here, so it does not get into the foods we eat. Naturally, chromium is a glucose tolerance factor which helps protect our bodies against diabetes. The laboratory version of Chromium, chromium picolinate does not contain the GTF (glucose tolerance factor) that occurs in the natural form of chromium. So essentially you are wasting your money if you are taking a synthetic version of chromium. There are countless examples of why taking synthetic versions of vitamins are missing essential nutrients that we should be getting from a plant-based diet.

Many “Plant Based Multivitamins” claim that they are plant based but only have a small percentage of natural plants in the vitamins and use synthetics. Many of the synthetic vitamins are made from coal tar derivatives that are the same ingredients that cause cancer. Some of the ingrediants to look out for on a your multivitamin label are words like; acetate, bitartrate, chloride, gluconate, hydrochloride, nitrate, and succinate. These are synthetic ingredients that will let you know that your vitamin is not 100% natural.

It is also important to consider weather or not plant-based vitamins are certified organic. Organic is a big buzzword these days, so it’s also something to consider when looking at the label to make sure that it says USDA organic. Some products falsely claim they are organic but are not.  Everyone knows that organic is the way to go because it does not have the chemicals or hormones that many of our foods have these days. The fertilizer used on most farms in America is actually a derivative of petroleum. Another thing to consider when taking a multivitamin is that, when a plant is grown with the aid of a pesticide or fertilizer, it depends on those fertilizers and does not have all the nutrients of plants grown organically. The organic plants have to develop a stronger resistance to diseases and infections, which gives them more nutrients that our bodies need. So not only are we avoiding the chemicals. You can think of it like a human who does not take antibiotics and therefore has a stronger immune system because of it.

Most people will tell you that it is important to take a multivitamin every day. However, many people still avoid taking vitamins. Some of the reasons for this are the effects of taking a multivitamin are more subtle than say, taking a Tylenol to ease the pain of a headache, or to take an anti-acid to prevent heart burn. So in your search for the best multivitamin take these 5 reasons into consideration of what it can do for your health.

Our diets are lacking necessary nutrients – Let’s face it, it’s hard to eat a balanced, healthy diet these days. You’ve got a busy life with a full time job, kids going to school, cleaning the house, and you somehow manage to squeeze in time for a social life. How are you going to eat three healthy meals a day? Taking a daily multivitamin can help you get the vitamins and minerals that you might be missing from not eating as healthy as you would like. Taking a multivitamin supplement may be the most sensible way to fill those nutritional gaps in your diet. Many multivitamin reviews would agree that for the average American taking a daily multivitamin is highly recommended to give you the essential nutrients so you can be at your best all day every day.

Energy- Everyone is looking for more energy, weather it’s to cram all night for an exam, to get through that afternoon lull, or to wake up in the morning to get the kids off to school, everyone wants more energy. Vitamins are a great way to provide energy that you want. A lot of people prefer to ingest caffeine or sugar to give them that boost but that usually results in a crash a few hours later.  Vitamin B12 is ever so popular these days. You see it in energy drinks everywhere. If you go to the doctor and tell him you need more energy the doctor may find you have a Vitamin B12 deficiency and will most likely prescribe you to take a B12 injection every few months.  The best multivitamins will provide you with far more than 100% vitamin B12. Since B12 is a water-soluble vitamin. You can get vitamin B12 in a B12 a liquid shot, such as “XS Blast”. However, your Daily Multivitamin can also be a great source of vitamin B12. As well as the other B vitamins like B1, Riboflavin (B2), and B6 are great ways to produce the energy you need in a natural way without the crash later. Caffeine also causes dehydration, which is not good if you’re looking for your energy to do exercise or for competitive advantage in sports.

Boost immunity- When you were young, your mother probably told you to drink your orange juice because it had vitamin C, which was good for boosting your immune system. That’s true. Vitamin C increases the production of infection-fighting white blood cells and antibodies, as well as increases the levels of interferon. Interferon coats your cells with an antibody that helps resists viruses from entering the cells. Vitamin E is also essential; vitamin E stimulates the production of natural killer and B cell. The B cells seek out and destroy bacteria and cancer cells. Taking

Vascular health- First off, what is vascular health? The vascular system relates to the blood vessels in your body.  The vascular system passes oxygen rich blood cells to the rest of your body and returning it to your lungs to get fresh oxygen in. You have heard of cardiovascular exercise, that’s because it refers to getting the blood flowing to all parts of your body. Increasing vitamin D3 helps our blood flow and prevent heart attacks. You can also get D3 from sunlight. Vitamin K2 can help calcium deposit into your bones rather than into arteries. Vitamin C is also important for the formation of collagen, which is found in your blood vessels, bones, ligaments, and tendons.

Increased metabolism– Our metabolism is how our body takes our food and converts it into fuel.  As we get older, our metabolism slows down, making it harder to keep off the pounds, and also making eating that hot fudge Sundae or that Cheeseburger much more difficult to burn off. If you’re looking for a way to stay thin, increasing your metabolism can definitely help. Vitamin B12 helps your body produce healthy red blood cells so that will help us get the proper energy and boost your metabolism.  You also need magnesium; magnesium helps with protein synthesis and energy metabolism. Eating green can boost your magnesium intake as well. Also, Vitamin c may increase your metabolism by decreasing oxidative stress on your body.