by Carrie A. Corson, from the February 2001 Newsletter

I went to the Web sites of the companies that make the vitamins sold here at the Moscow Food Co-op, to get answers to some of the questions I hear the most from customers choosing supplements. I thought these Web sites were excellent and I would encourage customers to visit them. Here are their answers.

When is the best time to take vitamin supplements?

According to Karen Sullivan, author of Vitamins & Minerals, An Illustrated Guide, it's best to take most supplements after a meal. Absorption of supplements is best when the body has bulky food to work on. It is especially important to take time-release formulas with food.

Water-soluble vitamins, especially B-complex and C, are excreted rapidly from the body. So breaking your dose into three parts to take after meals will give you the best chance of maintaining a high body level.

If you have to take all your supplements at once, it is best to take them after your biggest meal of the day. It is also important to take vitamins and minerals together as minerals are essential for the proper absorption of vitamins.

Remember to check your label. It should advise you as to specific instructions on best times to take. Also remember that your health care professional may advise you to vary these guidelines in order to obtain a particular result.

What role do antioxidants play and why should I take them?

Olympian Labs had a great answer. Antioxidants are a group of vitamins, minerals and enzymes that help protect the cells in our body from the formation of free radicals. Free radicals are atoms, or a group of atoms, that can cause damage to our cells, which can lead to the impairment of our immune system and to various diseases, including heart disease and cancer. Free radicals are formed from overexposure to the sun, radiation and toxic chemicals (often found in foods we eat and the air we breathe), and through the normal metabolic actions in our body.

Antioxidants function as free radical scavengers. These scavengers neutralize the free radicals by ingesting them and making them incapable of harming our cells. Even a good diet may not provide adequate antioxidant protection, so it is usually suggested that we take a good antioxidant supplement each day. Vitamins C, E and beta-carotene, and the minerals zinc and selenium are all antioxidants. Flavinoids, also known as proanthocyanidins and anthocyanosides, are also powerful antioxidants. These can be found in the herb ginkgo biloba, in the skins of black cherries, blueberries, blackberries and in extracts of bilberries. Antioxidant enzymes include methione reductase, catalase and the substance coenzyme 10. Find Olympian Labs Web site at www.olympian-labs.com.

How do I choose a multi- vitamin/mineral supplement?

We carry over 25 different multi-vitamins. If you're looking for a good multi, and you can't decide which is the best, you can narrow your choices with a few questions.

• Do you want a vegetarian product? If you do, anything contained in a gelatin capsule would be eliminated.

• Do you only want something in a tablet form, capsule form, or liquid?

If you are only interested in taking one pill a day, this will take away over half of your selection. While this is convenient, keep in mind that to maximize absorption and utilization, most authorities suggest taking several pills over the course of the day, at different meals.

Other points to consider when choosing a multi are any allergies or sensitivities you might have to particular ingredients. Are you supplementing a "good diet" or "poor eating habits?" Are there certain nutrients that you are particularly concerned with (i.e. lots of antioxidants, B-vitamins, etc)? And what kind of potencies fit your needs? Answering these questions can go a long way toward choosing a multi vitamin/mineral supplement that is just right for you.

What is the difference between d-alpha tocopherol and dl-tocopherol forms of Vitamin E? And why is d-alpha tocopherol more expensive?

Vitamer, manufacturer of the Moscow Food Co-op brand supplements, has the answer. Unlike many vitamins whose synthetic form is "nature identical," synthetic vitamin E is not the same as natural vitamin E and has lower biological activity. Here's why: Biochemically speaking, vitamin E can either be right or left "handed." This is indicated with the letters d and l. The form that exists in our food and the form that our bodies need is the d form: d-alpha tocopherol. The l form does not work in our bodies.

When vitamin E is made synthetically, a mixture of d and l forms is automatically produced and cannot be separated. Recent studies have indicated that synthetic vitamin E does not stay in the body nearly as long as natural vitamin E, making it a much less effective protector. Learn more from Vitamer at www.vitamer.com.

What is the difference between Vitamin D2 and D3?

Again, I turned to Vitamer. D2 is a synthetic version of D3. Vitamer only uses D3 in their supplements. The D3 found in the Moscow Food Co-op brand comes from two sources, fish oil and wool (it is extracted from the wool oil). While the wool oil (cholecalciferol) is a vegetarian source (the animal is not harmed), it is not a vegan source. Although Vitamer strives to provide vegan alternatives, D2 in particular is hard to obtain and is not as efficient as D3. Therefore it is not used in their formulas.

Well, that's it for this month. Here are a few more Web sites you might find interesting: Enzymatic Therapy at www.enzy.com, Nature's Life at www.natlife.com and Nature's Plus at www.naturesplus.com. Happy surfing.

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