Is Biotics Research Corporation a good vitamin company?

In recent days I have been doing some research about the vitamin company Biotics Research Corportation.

This company is used widely by many alternative medicine doctors and chiropractors. 

First according to this company's website (http://www.bioticsresearch.com) here are their claims about their products:
1.  We maintain complete control over the selection of raw materials and the testing of ingredients prior to their approval for use in our products.
2.  All incoming raw materials are subject to appropriate testing prior to their release for production. Tests conducted include identity, potency, biological activity, microbiological, including bacteria, yeast and mold (including aflatoxins) and heavy metals (arsenic, cadmium, lead & mercury). Retained samples are maintained of all raw materials and finished products for future testing requirements (raw material stability and finished product expiration date verification).
3.  Unlike many companies that are struggling to meet the new GMP requirements established by the FDA.--Here are the requirements.

If you noticed these supposed FDA requirements are for the regulation of medical products.  If you go to the FDA website you can find that there is actually no regulation requirements for nutritional supplements so I would view this company's claim as false or wrong information.

So I called the company (800-231-5777).  I spoke to Kelly.

Here are the questions I asked with her responses:

Are your supplements made from all natural raw materials? and if so can you guarantee it?

Most of our supplements contain raw materials, but it depends on what is available in the market.  So we can't guarantee that every product every round will have the same amount of raw materials.

Do the ingredients in the supplements come from non-genetically altered materials which have been grown free from pesticides- are you able to guarantee it?

We can guarantee that our supplements do not come from genetically altered materials, but they are not organic.
Do you do your own testing or do you invest in 3rd party testing for purity  and quality? 
We do our own testing on-site for purity.

             So you know where all your ingredients originate from?
              No, we have several vendors we receive our individual ingredients from and then we test them here.

             What are your quality standards for testing?
              It would take me hours to explain that to you as it is different for every product.

How are your soy products produced?  Are they heated?

We receive our soy from outside sources, but it is in the raw form.  It is processed here at low temperatures.

              What temperature is that at?
              We don't give out that information.

Based on this information, you be the judge if this is a company you are comfortable with.   For me personally I would not use this company based on their answers.   For questions email me at: genesistohealth@comcast.net 

Who's Testing YOUR Supplements?

It's so tempting... You've been getting your supplements from a company that you know and trust - a company that does clinical studies on their products and performs rigorous quality controls. 
You know their products are pure, safe and effective... BUT...  You're shopping in your favorite drug store or discount store and you see the same supplements for just a couple of dollars!  You can't help thinking... "Wow! Here's the same stuff I've been taking for a lot less money"..."Why not save my money?"..."They must have run some quality control tests on their products"... "After all, how bad can they be?"

The answer is - pretty bad!  Check out the following information from Stephen Chaney, PhD.

The events of last week illustrate just how bad. On March 2nd, 2010 the makers and sellers of fish oil supplements were sued by the Mateel Environmental Justice Foundation in California for not telling consumers that their products contained toxic levels of PCBs.

I find it amusing and somewhat scary that the FDA did not initiate this action and force the manufacturers to take their contaminated products off the shelves. Instead an environmental consumers group had to sue them for not including PCBs on the label! They sued them under California proposition 65 which requires a warning label whenever a product contains toxic
ingredients.

The defendants in this lawsuit were Omega Protein, a Houston-based company that is the world's largest producer of omega-3 fish oil, and the many companies that they produced fish oil for - companies like Rite Aid, CVS, GNC, Now Health Group, Pharmavite, Solgar and Twinlab. 
And those aren't the only ones. The Mateel Environmental Justice Foundation only tested 10 omega-3 supplements manufactured by Omega Protein to date and have found PCBs in all of them. They plan to continue testing and to add other companies to the lawsuit if their products are also contaminated.

Even scarier is that many of labels on these products said that the omega-3 supplement was treated to reduce or remove PCBs. As a consumer you were lead to believe that they were safe! 
The bottom line is that the manufacturer probably didn't test for PCBs and neither did the companies selling their omega-3 supplements to the consumer.  The alternative - that they tested the products, knew that they were contaminated with PCBs and sold them to the public anyway - is even worse.  As if that weren't scary enough the FDA announced a massive recall of products containing textured vegetable protein manufactured by a company called Basic Food Flavors because of salmonella contamination.

The problem is that there are at least 56 different kinds of consumer products containing this company's textured vegetable protein - including salad dressings, dips, packaged snacks, potato chips and soup mixes (Who knew that salad dressings contained textured vegetable protein?).  That means that this recall will be huge. It will affect many foods that most people buy and use every day.  Once again, the problem is that neither the manufacturer or the companies using the textured vegetable protein had run the basic quality control assays that would have detected salmonella contamination.

So What Can You Do as a Consumer?

1) Get your supplements from an established company with a reputation for quality and integrity. I would recommend choosing a company that has been around for a number of years so that you know that their reputation is based on their track record over the years rather than just on hype.

2) Make sure that they run rigorous quality controls on their products. I would choose a company that requires pharmaceutical grade quality controls on their products.

3) Make sure that they have published clinical studies on their products that prove both safety and effectiveness. Again I would recommend choosing a company that has many published clinical studies on their products rather than just one or two.

Why I Choose Shaklee Supplements

I choose Shaklee supplements because Shaklee insists on rigorous quality control tests on every one of their ingredients and on their finished products. For example, they import ultra pure, triple distilled fish oil from England and test it for PCB contamination after they receive it. They also have published over 70 clinical studies on their products in peer-reviewed scientific journals. Shaklee is very unique in the industry.

For information about the company Shaklee or for ordering information click here.

I'd also be happy to answer any questions or to help you choose the correct supplement.

What's in Your Multivitamin & Why It Matters

When it comes to vitamins and other nutrients, experts agree on only one thing: Insofar as possible, it's best to get them from food.
Why? Foods contain a wealth of nutrients, all bundled together the way that evolution has shaped our bodies to use them. In addition to protein and carbohydrates plus essential fats and vitamins and minerals . . .

• plant foods—including vegetables, fruits, beans and whole grains—contain fiber and important phytochemicals
  
• fish contains vital omega-3 essential fatty acids
  
• nuts contain healthful unsaturated fats and other nutrients
  
   

all of which help our bodies fight off cancer and heart disease and diabetes, the major killers of the 21st century in industrialized countries. However, it is sometimes difficult to obtain enough of a particular nutrient from food. Processing can destroy nutrients. Lifestyle choices can lead to inadequate intake of some nutrients. Special circumstances, such as pregnancy or reduced absorption by older people, can lead to higher needs for various nutrients. Even though fortification of foods has done its best to close these gaps, taking a multi-vitamin can be a wise strategy to ensure getting enough. And many Americans do. Multivitamin/mineral formulas are the most widely purchased supplement in the marketplace. Which variety of multi is best?

Regular tablet or time release?
Here again, opinions vary. A regular tablet discharges all its nutrients into the stomach in a single burst, while time-release formulas are intended to produce more of a steady-stream effect over the course of a day. One scientist recommends the time-release formulation, because any nutrients that the body cannot use within a few hours goes to waste, and are excreted through the urine or perspiration or stool. Another scientist points out that the human gut is designed to absorb specific nutrients in particular "sweet spots" along its length. Any nutrients that are released "downstream" of those absorption points are simply wasted. Probably the best strategy for the minimalist approach is to cut a single tablet into halves or thirds or quarters, and take one with each main meal of the day. Our bodies are designed to absorb vitamins and minerals together with the foods that normally contain them.

Synthetic or natural?
Most vitamins are made now synthetically—which means they are assembled in state-of-the-art chemical laboratories. This process ensures that they are identical both to one another and to the "naturally occurring" forms made by plants and animals. The main exception where the "naturally occurring" nutrient is superior to the synthetic is vitamin E, which consists of eight forms in nature and is better absorbed by the body. The essential minerals are all atomic elements (in other words, like hydrogen and oxygen), and their natural forms are usually some variety of rocky ore. Plants absorb these minerals from the earth and water where they grow, and use them in many different ways. In multi-mineral formulas, the minerals are supplied in a variety of different molecular forms. Questions about which molecular forms are better absorbed by the body could fill an entire article in itself, and will not be addressed here. We recommend that you ask a nutritionist to review any claims about absorption that you wish to know more about. Generally speaking, the labels of multi-mineral formulas are required to say how much of the mineral is supplied and in what form. For example, "500 mg calcium (as calcium carbonate)" should mean that your body will be supplied with 500 mg of calcium, and that the source is calcium carbonate. Alternatively, "500 mg calcium carbonate" would mean 500 mg of the entire mineral—which means getting considerably less calcium because it is only part of that mineral! Unscrupulous manufacturers have been known to use misleading language, so read labels carefully and compare brands.

Does your multi-vitamin dissolve properly?
Some manufacturers claim that many brands of vitamin tablets are so hard that they go through the body undissolved, and quote nurses who find vitamin pills in the bedpans of their patients. While this can happen, here's a simple "acid test" you can apply to find out if your multi—or any other pill!—dissolves properly:

1. Place approximately one cup of white vinegar in a small bowl and warm it to 98 degrees or so by placing it inside a larger bowl of water that you "top up" several times with warm water from the tap. (The goal is to keep the vinegar reasonably close to 98 degrees for half an hour.)

2. Drop your multi-vitamin (or other pill) into the vinegar, and jostle it about every five minutes or so by gently shaking or swirling the cup. While you can also stir the mix with a wooden stick or toothpick, be careful not to touch the tablet itself.

3. The tablet should dissolve within 30 minutes. (This is the USP standard for all pharmaceutical tablets.) If it doesn't dissolve within a full hour, it's not doing you much good. Get another brand!

What about all those "inactive" ingredients on the label?
Inactive ingredients in vitamin tablets—technically called excipients—serve several functions.

Fillers: Sometimes the active ingredients in a tablet would result in a pill too small to hold. Or as in multi-vitamins, the formula can include "oil and water" ingredients that don't mix with one another. In these cases, the manufacturer adds one or more filler ingredients to the brew so it can be formed into a tablet either big enough or stable enough to hold. Fillers can be a problem for people who are allergic to them. Read the ingredient and "does not contain" lists for substances you are concerned about. Common fillers include lactose (milk sugar), microcrystalline cellulose, corn starch, sugars (including sucrose, mannitol, sorbitol, fructose, dextrose), whey and yeast.

Binders: These do exactly what the term implies: They are sticky or gluey substances that hold the pill together. Commonly used binders can include povidone, xanthan gum and Carbopol (an acrylic resin). Some fillers may also act as binding agents.

Coatings: These help hold the tablet together so it doesn't break apart in the mouth. They also mask any unpleasant tastes, and often contain colorants. If you prefer to avoid dyes, these should appear in the list of ingredients.

Lubricants: These assist the manufacturing process in releasing tablets from the tablet-forming machines. Commonly used lubricants include magnesium stearate, stearic acid, sodium stearyl fumarate, polyethylene glycol, and hydrogenated vegetable oil.  All excipients used must be listed in the US Pharmacopeia or National Formulary (for products sold in the USA), and are usually either food products and thus digested normally, or chemically inert so that they pass through the body and are not absorbed.

Does price matter?
Yes and no. When the formulas for two brands are essentially the same, purchase the cheaper one unless:

• you wish to avoid specific excipients
• the tablet does not dissolve in the "acid test" described above
• the brand has not passed GMP inspections

Good manufacturing practice (GMP) procedures establish methods of ensuring that raw materials are indeed what they are supposed to be, and that the final product contains the ingredients and potencies listed on the label. Inspections are crucial because they ensure that the manufacturer actually follows these GMPs.

Recommended brands

Shaklee 
 

Effectiveness of Statins Called into Question

Who really benefits from taking statins?  There are natural approaches for lowering cholesterol that may be much safer for certain people.  The information revealed in this article is alarming and should be shared with anyone you know who is currently on a statin. 

Effectiveness of statins is called into question - latimes.com

If you are currently taking a statin and have not already had a heart attack, you might want to explore other possibilities.  This can be used to replace your current statin medication.  Try something that doesn't cause you more health problems.

Natural Skin Care...so good you can eat!

In my own quest for good skin care and suffering from sensitive skin issues most of my life, the following organic home remedies I have found work pretty well regardless of your skin type.  Olive oil is extremely high in antioxidants, including vitamin E. Antioxidants are nutritional powerhouses that protect against age-accelerating free radicals. The oil of this miraculous fruit will guard your body and your skin... from the inside out.

Organic Olive Oil

For centuries, Greeks, Egyptians, Romans, and others took advantage of olive oil not just in food, but as a healing agent and anti-aging skin regiment.  No wonder women from Italy have such wonderful skin.  There are many ways you can use Olive Oil for skin.  I use mine as a mask, I use about 1 teaspoon and spread on face, leave on for 10-15 minutes and then wipe off with wet wash cloth.  Doing this about 2-3 times a week will help reduce redness--best for people with face irritation (rosacea and/or acne).  Another way you can use this is as an everyday moisturizer, use about 1/4 teaspoon.  

Other uses of olive oil include: Bath: For a moisturizing soak, add about ¼ cup olive oil and several drops of essential oil to your bathwater, Dry Skin: Gently massage a small amount of olive oil on extra dry areas such as elbows or heels, Feet: Apply a liberal amount of oil to feet at bedtime. Cover with cotton socks. Not sexy... but oh-so-soft feet in the morning!, Hair: For a simple oil treatment, warm several tablespoons of olive oil (again, not hot). Rub into scalp and hair. Cover with a shower cap or small plastic bag. Leave on for 20-30 minutes, Lips: Alleviate chapped lips with straight olive oil. Dab on lips... especially helpful at bedtime. Also eating 1 tablespoon of olive oil a day will improve overall skin.

Organic Oat Flour

Oats can be very soothing to irritated skin.  The key is to make sure the Oat flour is not bleached (organic) and does not contain any wheat or gluten as this can be very irritating to your skin.  Mix oat flour with water to create a paste like consistency.  Then spread on face, keep on for about 10 minutes and then rinse off.  This also works great as a bath, but the results will not be as dramatic because the consistency will be diluted.  

Calendula

Calendula has a long history of use as a wound-healing and skin-soothing botanical. This lovely marigoldlike flower (although called pot marigold, it is not a true marigold) is considered a vulnerary agent, a substance that promotes healing. Calendula also has anti-inflammatory and weak antimicrobial activity.  However, you have to be careful in identifying the correct type--any type of fat-based ointment or cream could cause further skin issues.  You can either take this orally or find a organic skin care product with higher amounts.  Best works with Linden, the two together provide skin healing agents calming in flamed skin.

**If you have any questions about any of these or would like recommendations, please email me.

Creating Healthy Skin

Skin is our largest organ. We should want to take good care of it—wouldn’t you agree?

What chemicals are you wearing?
There are many ways we take in toxins, and one of them is by absorption through our skin. So it’s important to know what ingredients are in the products we use on our skin day-in and day-out. If you are using products that contain questionable ingredients you may be putting yourself at great risk.

Rachel Carson first introduced the possibility that chemicals may have a detrimental effect on human health when she wrote the book, Silent Spring in 1962. Theo Colborn in her book Our Stolen Future furthered the premise that synthetic chemicals that mimic natural hormones (also called hormone disruptors) are upsetting normal reproductive and developmental processes. And then in the year 2000 the book Hormone Deception by D. Lindsey Berkson was called “a wake-up call for the 21st. Century” by Ann Louise Gittleman. 

We cannot make the assumption that a product is safe just because it comes from a well known company. Also, with so much information available on the internet, we must be careful that we are dealing with reputable sources when doing our research. I am going to discuss a few of the many questionable ingredients commonly found in drug store and department store brands, but ultimately, it is up to each of us to due our own due diligence before choosing any products.

Ingredients we should avoid:

• Formaldehyde: a highly toxic substance. It is a known cancer-causing agent. It damages the neurological connectors in the body. It is an irritant to the eyes, nose, throat and lungs.
• Parabens: used primarily as a preservative in skin care. A chemical that can disrupt hormones and possibly a link to breast cancer and heart problems.
• Triclosan: can disrupt hormones and remain stored in the body and eventually damage the lungs and kidneys. It is used widely in a number of household products. Also causes thyroid concerns.
• 1,4-dioxane: a contaminant produced during manufacturing, so the FDA does not require it to be listed as an ingredient on product labels. Found in products that create suds, like shampoo, liquid soap and bubble bath.

Some of the other questionable chemicals that are routinely found in personal care products are:
Polyethylene glycol, propylene glycol, sodium laurel sulfate, sodium laureth sulfate, fragrance...and the list goes on.

To add to the confusion of reading labels - many of these chemicals are listed under other names. For instance you will not find “formaldehyde” on a label, but maybe methylene oxide.

How Does Skin Age?
First of all, there is chronological aging or the natural aging process where skin gets older with the passage of time—Cellular functions simply slow down, skin elasticity declines, pigment becomes irregular. The result is wrinkled and sagging skin with uneven skin coloring.

There is also a component of aging called accelerated aging. This occurs in part because of increased exposure to the sun and environmental pollutants, which create free radicals on the skin. Simply put: pollution plus UV radiation equals free radicals. When free radicals reach the skin a chemical reaction occurs that creates inflammation and genetic mutations at the cellular level. It is estimated that 80% of visible aging is from sun and environmental exposures.

Every day 73,000 free radical attacks on each skin cell trigger damaging enzymes...Skin you don’t even see already looks older! 

So What’s The Answer?
Scientists have discovered that the same nutrients that keep us healthy on the inside also keep us healthy on the outside. To create a successful skin care line, each and every one of the biochemical reactions involved in the free radical damage process had to be identified and blocked – we are talking about antioxidant protection.

You might be wondering “If I’m taking a lot of antioxidant supplements, wouldn’t that protect my skin?” Good question. But it doesn’t work like that. Good nutrition is indeed essential for overall health, including the health of the skin. But there are free radical assaults from the outside of our bodies. Scientists know that effective amounts of antioxidants are very difficult to formulate into skin care products. There are plenty of products out there with vitamin C, E and B6 on the label but many of these ingredients are in forms that the skin can’t utilize and they’re often present at very low levels. At best they only address certain parts of the biochemical chain reaction and only the visible problems. They don’t address all of the causes.

There's only one company that I know of who has successfully been able to look at each destructive link in the chain of damage and then block that part of the reaction with the appropriate antioxidant. To do this took a unique complex of 7 ingredients which they called Vital Repair®. This signature complex now has three patents on it.

It is important to note that extensive research went into the formulation of this anti-aging skin care system, and after the products were developed, the company spent over one million dollars in independent clinical testing to insure safety & effectiveness.

The company who developed these products is Shaklee - recognized as pioneers in the development of nutritional supplements for over 50 years; and the line, introduced in 1998, is called Enfuselle. In all Shaklee has 8 patents on Enfuselle - a rarity in the skin care industry.

Whether you choose Enfuselle or another line of anti-aging skin care, the most important thing is that you are sure the products contain no toxic ingredients and that the vitamins in the products actually penetrate into the skin layers to reverse past damage and prevent against future aging. Your skin will thank you, AND you won’t have to worry about the chemicals you might be wearing.

Here’s to your healthy skin! (And don’t forget your sunscreen).

The Truth about Toxins in Personal Care & Cosmetic products

Here is a helpful link on toxins in personal care and cosmetic products, click here.

For a safer non-toxic alternative check out these products, click here.