NUTRITIONAL SUPPLEMENT PYRAMID
At VitaMedica, we use an approach called the nutritional supplement pyramid. The nutritional supplement pyramid is similar to the well-known food guide pyramid. In the food guide pyramid, certain foods (e.g., whole grains, vegetables, and fruits) are emphasized and recommended as the basis of a healthy diet. Other foods, such as dairy and meat products are recommended in smaller amounts.
The food guide pyramid works as a guide to help people to make logical and healthy choices about the foods and beverages they consume daily. Likewise, the nutritional supplement pyramid is designed to ensure a logical approach to nutritional supplement use.
There are four basic recommendations in the supplement pyramid to establish a solid nutritional program:
- Take a high-quality multiple vitamin and mineral supplement
- Take a source of the essential omega-3 fatty acids
- Take extra antioxidants
- Take botanicals or accessory nutrients for specific purposes or conditions, as needed
Vitamins & Minerals
Each of us requires a number of essential nutrients to achieve optimum health. However, because most of us do not follow a well-balanced diet on a consistent basis, we often do not obtain the nutrients our bodies need. As a result, our diet needs to be supplemented with a high-quality multiple vitamin and mineral supplement. VitaMedica’s Multi-Vitamin & Mineral supplement contains all the key vitamins and minerals in optimal amounts.
Essential Fatty Acids
Like vitamins and minerals, essential fatty acids (EFAs) are essential nutrients that are required by our bodies and must be obtained either through diet or supplementation. Because most people do not eat enough fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds and consume too much processed, packaged foods, their diets lack in essential fatty acids. The two essential fatty acids – alpha-linolenic acid (an Omega-3 fatty acid) and linoleic acid (an Omega-6 fatty acid) are very important to the health of the body and skin. An excellent source of EFAs is flax seed oil. Flax seed oil is the world’s richest source of Omega-3 fatty acids, containing an impressive 58 percent by weight. VitaMedica’s Flax Seed Oil, is an essential fatty acid supplement made from organic flax seed oil.
In addition to alpha-linolenic acid the Omega-3 family of essential fatty acids includes EPA (Eicosapentaenoic Acid) and DHA (Docosahexaenoic Acid). As Omega-3 fats, both EPA and DHA promote the development of favorable prostaglandins, which reduce body inflammation. Although our bodies are able to convert alpha-linolenic acid to EPA and DHA, our ability to form these important compounds is limited. This is why these two fats are considered “conditionally essential”.
Certain types of fish and fish oil contain high levels of EPA and DHA. Supplementing the diet with these high-quality fish oils, leads to the production of health-promoting prostaglandins. In particular, EPA and DHA have been increasingly documented to benefit cardiovascular health by lowering cholesterol, making the blood less sticky, and decreasing the incidence of abnormal heart rhythms. This is an important consideration given that cardiovascular disease is the number one killer for both men and women in this country.
In general, it would be best to obtain the important Omega-3 fatty acids that our bodies require, from foods. However, for many individuals who dislike seafood this can be problematic because it would be necessary to eat cold water, fatty fish, such as salmon, on a frequent basis. Also, because of concerns about ocean pollution and farm-raised fish having lower levels of Omega-3s, supplementation with VitaMedica’s Super EPA/DHA Fish Oil is an excellent alternative.
Antioxidants
Antioxidants play an especially important role in health. Antioxidants provide protection against free-radical damage. Loosely defined, a free-radical is a highly reactive molecule that can bind to, and destroy body components. Antioxidant nutrients like Vitamin C, Vitamin E, Vitamin A, and selenium are very important in providing protection against free-radical damage. It is believed that antioxidants play a role in providing protection against the development of heart disease, cancer, and other chronic degenerative diseases. In addition, antioxidants are also thought to slow down the aging process.
Based on extensive data, it appears that a combination of antioxidants provide greater antioxidant protection than any single antioxidant. Therefore, in addition to recommending that individuals consume a diet rich in plant foods, especially fruits and vegetables, research suggests using a combination of antioxidant nutrients rather than high dosages of any single antioxidant. Mixtures of antioxidant nutrients appear to work together harmoniously to produce the phenomena of synergy. In other words, 1 + 1 = 3.
This concept of synergistic formulations has helped to change our thinking about nutritional supplements and the skin. The prevailing wisdom in the skin care field has been that only topically applied antioxidants can reach the skin in appreciable amounts. Recent research has shown that taking internal synergistic formulations, provided in adequate doses, can reach the dermis and epidermis in significant and effective amounts. VitaMedica’s Broad Spectrum Antioxidant contains a range of antioxidants including a natural carotene blend, Vitamin E, Vitamin C, copper, manganese, selenium, ginkgo biloba, green tea, grape seed extract, alpha lipoic acid and milk thistle extract.
Botanicals & Accessory Nutrients
Once the bodies’ requirement for the above basic nutrients has been met, targeted supplements can be added to address specific health issues or skin conditions. These include herbal supplements, for example: St. John’s Wort for depression, Echinacea for colds, or ginkgo biloba for memory enhancement. As the name implies, accessory nutrients are not essential in the human diet, but when taken, can be useful for solving a variety of health problems. Examples include the supplement glucosamine sulfate, which is used by many for symptoms of osteoarthritis, or MSM (methyl sulfonyl methane), which is useful as a natural anti-bacterial and anti-microbial agent. VitaMedica’s Healthy Skin Formula contains accessory nutrients such as Burdock root, Oregon Grape, Dandelion and Yellow Dock which help detoxify the skin and blood of toxins.