A Quick Guide for Evaluating Vitamin and Mineral Supplements
How Real Is Your Vitamin? To achieve standardized levels of vitamin and mineral ingredients, there are only two sources: Synthetically Made
Plant-Sourced
Synthetic vitamins may be produced chemically in a laboratory and are made from petroleum or coal tar; they’re not in a food form.
Naturally sourced vitamins are extracted from foods or plants or are cultured in yeast. Plants use multiple processes to accumulate minerals from the soil, predigest them and then bond them into a food matrix. Minerals from plants are, therefore, more soluble.
Because they are less expensive, most minerals used for supplementation are mined from the ground or manufactured from chemical processes. Tests have shown that these minerals do not dissolve well (they are not soluble) in either the stomach or small intestine.
Research suggests that naturally sourced vitamins are easier to absorb and retain than synthetically made vitamins.
Our PhytoMatrix™ caplets deliver real food-sourced nutrients!
Do You Know Where Your Multivitamin Comes From?
Approximately 150 million consumers in North America now take a vitamin/mineral supplement daily1. But most people don’t even know the source, quality or efficacy of the products they take. Mannatech believes that the best vitamin and mineral supplementation should include: • Naturally sourced vitamins in properly labeled amounts • Plant-sourced minerals in properly labeled amounts
Source Datamonitor: Dietary Supplements Market Trends & Opportunities 4/29/09 (Dietary Supplement Market USA)
1
How to Read a Natural Health Product Label Recommended dose is the manufacturer’s recommended daily intake expressed in the appropriate unit (tablet, capsule, soft gel, packet, teaspoonful).
Recommended dose (Adults): Take two caplets twice daily. Medicinal Ingredients: Two caplets contain 200 mg calcium (dicalcium phosphate and calcium carbonate), 200 mg phosphorus (dicalcium phosphate), 200 mg magnesium (magnesium oxide), 250 mg vitamin C (ascorbic acid), 134 mg AT vitamin E (dl-alpha tocopheryl acetate), 20 mg niacinamide, 18 mg iron (ferrous fumarate), 15 mg zinc (zinc oxide), 10 mg pantothenic acid (d-calcium pantothenate), 1500 μg RE vitamin A (vitamin A acetate and beta-carotene), 5 mg vitamin B1 (thiamin mononitrate), 5 mg vitamin B2 (riboflavin), 5 mg vitamin B6 (pyridoxine hydrochloride), 2 mg copper (copper sulfate), 400 μg folic acid (pteroylglutamic acid), 150 μg biotin, 15 μg iodine (potassium iodide), 150 μg boron (boric citrate), 80 μg vitamin K (phytonadione), 35 μg selenium (sodium selenate), 10 μg vitamin D (cholecalciferol), 6 μg vitamin B12 (cyanocobalamin).
Medicinal Ingredients heads the listing of nutrients contained in the supplement, followed by the quantity present per dosage unit. Milligram (mg) and microgram (μg) are units of measurement for vitamins and minerals. A milligram is equal to .001 grams. A microgram is equal to .001 milligrams. Non-Medicinal Ingredients heads the listing of ingredient used as non-active manufacturing aids.
Non-Medicinal Ingredients: Potassium chloride, microcrystalline cellulose, sodium carboxymethyl cellulose, magnesium stearate, silicon dioxide.
The Natural Health Products Directorate (NHPD) requires that all natural health product labels include a list of medicinal ingredients followed by the amount of each nutrient in the daily recommended dose. Companies have some freedom regarding how they present this information. At Mannatech, our expert Regulatory Affairs and Quality Assurance teams work very hard to ensure that what you read on our labels is what you will find in our products. Basically, with us, what you see is what you get.
Easily Identify Synthetics Synthetic vitamins may include:
Listed as:
Vitamin B2
riboflavin
Vitamin C
ascorbic acid
Vitamin D
calciferol
Vitamin E
dl-alpha tocopherol
Vitamin K
menadione or phytonadione
GET THE FACTS
Pantothenic acid
calcium D-pantothenate
Check out the label on our PhytoMatrix caplets; they contain natural vitamins and minerals like vitamin C from acerola fruit extract, magnesium from red algae and copper from mustard sprouts. No unpronounceable or unrecognizable names here. Become a label reader and you can be more confident in your choices. It’s only natural to want the best for yourself and your family.
Folic acid
pteroylglutamic acid
Any vitamin ending in the following is synthetic: acetate, hydrochloride, mononitrate, palmitate or succinate
Synthetic mineral names will usually end in one of the following: ascorbate
aspartate
carbonate
chloride
citrate
disulfide
gluconate
glycerophosphate
iodide
lactate
malate
methionine
orotate
oxide
picolinate
sulfate
† For more info on Supplements 101, check out our blog copy on HealthyScience.net. A portion of this copy was sourced from material produced by Proevity Continuing Education Group.
Customer Care: (866) 717-2175 For distribution in Canada only. © 2011 Mannatech, Incorporated. All rights reserved. Live for Real, Mannatech, PhytoMatrix and Stylized M Design are trademarks of Mannatech, Incorporated. Mannatech.ca Item Number: 1298211 • 15028.0811