Bio-Availability - Why Vitamin Supplements are Not All the Same

A Healthy body requires a diet containing all thesubstance is available in inexpensive pure form
raw materials necessary for renewing it's cells.that has both stimulated medical research and
Tomorrow you will have 50 million different skinmade it possible for everyone to take the
cells and in a week your whole intestinal mucoussubstance as a dietary supplement. However, we
membrane will have been replaced.should not just grab the first Q10 product we see
Unlike a car, the body renews itself every minutebecause there are difference in the bioavailability
and needs the right fuel to do so. It is nowof different products. For example one needs to
acknowledged that many diseases are connectedtake much larger doses of Q10 in a granulated
to diet and lifestyle and so people are taking anform than if it is available dissolved in oil in a soft
increased interest in nutritional research.o If notcapsule. Tablets have no positive effect.
exercised muscle is replaced by fat, physicalDanish pharmacist Malene Weis at the Danish
inactivity results in our bones losing both strengthCollege of Pharmacy and other pharmacists from
and calcium.o Mental activity slows down ifthe state University in Copenhagen tested 4
intellectual faculties are not maintainedo The agingdifferent types of Q10 on a number of
process is under way.volunteers. The researchers measured the
Today we know that diet and exercise, stressamount of Q10 in the bloodstream over a period
and smoking are factors that greatly influence ourof 96 hours after the volunteers had been given
health. To withstand premature wear and teara single dose of 100mg. The one which was
and fight illness it is important that the bodyshown to be absorbed best by the body was one
receives the necessary vitamins and minerals,in which Q10 was dissolved in Soya oil contained in
trace elements, enzymes and essential fatty anda soft gel capsule. Thus it was this Q10 which
amino acids. If we can't get them all in our foodwas statistically shown to have better
then we should be taking supplementsbioavailability. The three others used had :o Q10
Biochemists have shown in recent years thatdissolved in Soya bean oilo lecithin or polysorbate
prescription medicines help as far as symptoms80o Q10 powder in a hard gelatine tablet
of illness are concerned but at the same timeToxic symptoms or side effects have never
increase the tendency for rancidity in the body.been observed even after long term intakes at
Perhaps this explains why enormous investmentshigh doses.
in treating illness have neither resulted in aOne interesting study shows the levels of Q10 in
significant increase in life expectancy nor inthe bloodstream of people given Q10 as a dietary
improving the quality of life. However, more andsupplement for a twelve month period. Four
more investigative science points to the role ofproducts were used and 21 people recruited. The
diet in the treatment of a whole host of illnesses.absorption rates varied widely between the
As far back as 1978, England's Peter Mitchell wonproducts but in all cases the Q10 disappeared
the Nobel Prize for Chemistry as a result of hisquickly from the body after the study. Food
work into the significance of co-enzyme Q10 forsupplements need to be taken on a continuous
energy production in the cellular system. Now thebasis.