Our message is clear. We will continue to see an increasing trend of degenerative diseases unless and until we put a fix in two aspects, namely, our toxic environment, and the mal-nutrition at the cellular level.
The latter one is easier to handle because each one of us can be the best guardian of our own body. We need to understand that our body has already the ingenious defense system(s) in place, only that we have to do the good job of providing our body cells with ammunition -- the optimum nutrition they need.
With improved awareness on the need for nutrition, the prevalent question is no longer “Why supplements?” but “What supplements?”.
The acronym “CBAPPS” is something that we would go by. Personally, I would not even consider any supplements at all if they don’t pass the test as we explain below. Remember we are talking about optimal nutrition here.
“CBAPPS” stands for Completeness, Balance, Absorbability, Potency, Purity, and Safety. (If you are in Australia, you might find it easy to remember by “decoding” it as “the Commonwealth Bank’s Power Point Slideshow”.)
Completeness – having a full spectrum of nutrients is important. If we have to make a cake, we must include all the ingredients per the recipe: flour, butter, egg, sugar, and water, etc. Any absence of even one ingredient would not give us the end result as expected. Couldn’t imagine what a cake made without egg would taste like?
Balance – following our example of the cake, we need to see that all the ingredients are there in the right ratio or else the outcome would be totally uncontrollable. After all, nutrients work best in synergy together.
Having the right balance is important. For instance, too much of folic-acid supplementation could mask an underlying vitamin B12 deficiency. As for calcium, it is best taken with the right proportions of magnesium and vitamin D to enhance its absorption and retention in bone. However, too much of vitamin D could cause deposits of calcium in internal organs, and increase the risk of kidney stones.
Absorbability – your tablets must readily dissolve or it really doesn’t matter what is in them. Back in 1977, a research by the University of Maryland in the United States discovered that only three out of the nine sampled prenatal vitamins dissolved. The three that dissolved were produced under what are called the U.S. Pharmacopoeia (USP) standards.
Potency – here we are concerned about the strength (or quantity) and quality of the supplements to be effective, to be able to show results.
In this context, we are looking at optimal levels of nutrients, not RDA levels (which are only the lower limits set for certain acute deficiency symptoms). We are particularly interested in companies that follow pharmaceutical-grade Good Manufacturing Practices. This means that only pharmaceutical grade raw materials are purchased and the manufacturing process is subject to the same rigorous quality checks as for pharmaceutical products.
Purity – a good example of the importance of purity in a nutritional product is calcium. Contrary to general perception, studies indicate that calcium from natural sources such as oyster shells may contain substantial amount of lead which is a potent neurotoxin linked to several neurological and behavioural disorders. On the other hand, the laboratory-refined calcium is found to be the purer choice with lead level below the FDA’s tolerable daily intake for young children.
The essential question here is to find the supplements that are pharmaceutically pure according to leading authorities and benchmarks.
Safety – As we often remind ourselves: “above all, do no harm”. Do you still remember Pan Pharmaceuticals in Australia back in 2003? Arguably, it was one of the biggest contract manufacturing companies on ethical drugs and health supplements in the world. However, because of product cross-contamination and its failure to comply with manufacturing standards, it was the subject of the biggest product recall in Australia.
What happens if suddenly you are told that the fish oil that you have been taking contains heavy metal and have to be recalled? Can you “recall” it from you body? Heavy metal, as we understand, could stay in the body for well over 30 years.
One can easily appreciate the complexities involved in choosing the right supplements. However, for the long-term good health of us and our family, it is all worth researching for.
To this date, our basic references for quality benchmark are FDA pharmaceutical-grade GMP (not just GMP), USP (U.S. Pharmacopoeia), and BP (British Pharmacopoeia) compliance.
The latter one is easier to handle because each one of us can be the best guardian of our own body. We need to understand that our body has already the ingenious defense system(s) in place, only that we have to do the good job of providing our body cells with ammunition -- the optimum nutrition they need.
With improved awareness on the need for nutrition, the prevalent question is no longer “Why supplements?” but “What supplements?”.
The acronym “CBAPPS” is something that we would go by. Personally, I would not even consider any supplements at all if they don’t pass the test as we explain below. Remember we are talking about optimal nutrition here.
“CBAPPS” stands for Completeness, Balance, Absorbability, Potency, Purity, and Safety. (If you are in Australia, you might find it easy to remember by “decoding” it as “the Commonwealth Bank’s Power Point Slideshow”.)
Completeness – having a full spectrum of nutrients is important. If we have to make a cake, we must include all the ingredients per the recipe: flour, butter, egg, sugar, and water, etc. Any absence of even one ingredient would not give us the end result as expected. Couldn’t imagine what a cake made without egg would taste like?
Balance – following our example of the cake, we need to see that all the ingredients are there in the right ratio or else the outcome would be totally uncontrollable. After all, nutrients work best in synergy together.
Having the right balance is important. For instance, too much of folic-acid supplementation could mask an underlying vitamin B12 deficiency. As for calcium, it is best taken with the right proportions of magnesium and vitamin D to enhance its absorption and retention in bone. However, too much of vitamin D could cause deposits of calcium in internal organs, and increase the risk of kidney stones.
Absorbability – your tablets must readily dissolve or it really doesn’t matter what is in them. Back in 1977, a research by the University of Maryland in the United States discovered that only three out of the nine sampled prenatal vitamins dissolved. The three that dissolved were produced under what are called the U.S. Pharmacopoeia (USP) standards.
Potency – here we are concerned about the strength (or quantity) and quality of the supplements to be effective, to be able to show results.
In this context, we are looking at optimal levels of nutrients, not RDA levels (which are only the lower limits set for certain acute deficiency symptoms). We are particularly interested in companies that follow pharmaceutical-grade Good Manufacturing Practices. This means that only pharmaceutical grade raw materials are purchased and the manufacturing process is subject to the same rigorous quality checks as for pharmaceutical products.
Purity – a good example of the importance of purity in a nutritional product is calcium. Contrary to general perception, studies indicate that calcium from natural sources such as oyster shells may contain substantial amount of lead which is a potent neurotoxin linked to several neurological and behavioural disorders. On the other hand, the laboratory-refined calcium is found to be the purer choice with lead level below the FDA’s tolerable daily intake for young children.
The essential question here is to find the supplements that are pharmaceutically pure according to leading authorities and benchmarks.
Safety – As we often remind ourselves: “above all, do no harm”. Do you still remember Pan Pharmaceuticals in Australia back in 2003? Arguably, it was one of the biggest contract manufacturing companies on ethical drugs and health supplements in the world. However, because of product cross-contamination and its failure to comply with manufacturing standards, it was the subject of the biggest product recall in Australia.
What happens if suddenly you are told that the fish oil that you have been taking contains heavy metal and have to be recalled? Can you “recall” it from you body? Heavy metal, as we understand, could stay in the body for well over 30 years.
One can easily appreciate the complexities involved in choosing the right supplements. However, for the long-term good health of us and our family, it is all worth researching for.
To this date, our basic references for quality benchmark are FDA pharmaceutical-grade GMP (not just GMP), USP (U.S. Pharmacopoeia), and BP (British Pharmacopoeia) compliance.
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