"Should I take a multivitamin?" This seemingly simple question has nagged me for years. It is one of the most common questions that my staff, my colleagues, and I hear. I have turned over the pros and cons for more than two decades. I know many of you are aware and concerned that the foods readily available to us today don't supply all the nutrients that we need.

In theory, the idea that we can make up for our diets' shortcomings with supplements is great. However, most supplements today are pharmaceuticals; they are isolated or synthesized in a lab. No nutrient ever occurs isolated in nature. When these nutrients are removed from their natural state, the effects they have on the body are different from the effects of whole foods. As with all pharmaceuticals, some of these effects are wanted, others are not. Sometimes these effects are harmful.

Vitamin C, a.k.a. ascorbic acid, is a good example. Ascorbic acid occurs in nature in small amounts in a complex of many other components, some known, and others unknown. All of the components of the complex, including ascorbic acid, work together. Nutrient complexes contribute to natural processes in the body. In contrast, synthetic ascorbic acid ?the usual source found in supplements today? alters natural processes. As with all pharmaceuticals, many effects are immeasurable, many remain unknown.

So, tied up in the question "should I take a multi?" are numerous questions on the value and safety of synthesized supplements. However, two years ago, several doctors told me of their successes using Standard Process products with the Health Equations Blood Test and Recommendations. I eagerly ìdid my homeworkî and now witness unprecedented results by combining Health Equations and Standard Process. The multivitamin offered by Standard Process is Catalyn.

Standard Process is the first and oldest "supplement" company. "Supplement" is in quotes here because the Standard Process products are very different from most supplements we use today. Standard Process products are whole food supplements. This means two things. First, they are extracts or combinations of extracts from food. Second, the food extracts are not single nutrients. They are nutrient complexes.

The idea that whole foods are essential to successful absorption of nutrients is not new. Catalyn and other whole food supplements are not "the latest trend." Dr. Royal Lee created Catalyn in 1929 to fill nutrient gaps in the diet of that era. Our refined, processed, packaged foods today contain less nutrients than foods in 1929, and soil depletion continues at exponential rates. The need to supplement our diet has grown more dire.

Standard Process's Catalyn has provided me an answer to the question that has troubled me for so long. Yes, a multivitamin is necessary. I recommend Catalyn because it's the best we've got. A multimineral is also necessary. Health Equations electrolyte formulas are the best multiminerals weíve got. You can receive a brochure on Catalyn by calling or e-mailing Health Equations. You can learn more about our electrolyte formulas from future Health Equations bulletins.

The Standard Process Website offers detailed information on all their products including Catalyn.

© Health Equations 2003

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